Author:Linda Newbery
The Shell House is a beautifully written and sensitive portrayal of love, sexuality and spirituality over two generations. Greg's casual interest in the history of a ruined mansion becomes more personal as he slowly discovers the tragic events that overwhelmed its last inhabitants. Set against a background of the modern day and the First World War, Greg's contemporary beliefs become intertwined with those of Edmund, a foot soldier whose confusion about his sexuality and identity mirrors Greg's own feelings of insecurity. This is a complex and thought-provoking book, written with elegance and subtlety. It will change the way you think.
Powerful, challenging reading for older teens
—— Sunday MirrorCompelling . . . Elegiac, even literary
—— David Self , TESCelevrly intertwines two stories and encompasses some big themes . . . Intelligent and perceptive
—— GuardianA novel to read, think about, and then read again
—— Independent[An] enjoyably meaty read . . . Newbery writes wonderfully
—— Financial TimesAll demand to be read in translation of the originals and not sanitized retellings. Here, by examining letters, journals, annotations and posthumously unavailable papers, Zipes found some hitherto untranslated "ironic and macabre fables, humorous anecdotes, stories about the crusades, Norwegian legend, one 'feminist' tale among other things
—— Buffalo News