It’s impossible to put down: devastating and devastatingly good, one of my top three children’s novels of the year so far . . . A difficult story to pull off, but with his perfect pacing, lack of sentimentality and refusal to submit to a neat end, Boyne has won me over – all over again

A remarkable feat . . . Compelling

Disturbingly vivid, utterly readable and appealing to audiences of all ages

There is a sureness and a simplicity to the writing that is very impressive . . . In The Boy at the Top of the Mountain, Boyne has delivered a powerful account of how one boy was seduced by Hitler and Nazism and paid the price. The final pages, in which he meets the Jewish friend of his boyhood and seeks redemption, are very moving. Younger readers will lament the corruption of Pierrot; older ones will perceive what Boyne is trying to tell us: if this could happen to Pierrot, it could happen to us

An affecting morality tale . . . It is the chilling portrayal of adolescent corruption and atonement that lingers

Forceful . . . Reminding us that silence and compromise can foster their own overwhelming guilt

Exciting and thought-provoking . . . An excellent novel

With his perfect pacing, lack of sentimentality and refusal to submit to a neat end, Boyne has written one of the children’s books of the year

A powerful new novel from the author of the highly acclaimed The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, and it is equally atmospheric and disturbing . . . Mesmerizing

Another winner

Compelling and thought-provoking