Clara Kumagai’s Catfish Rolling (Head of Zeus/Zephyr) is set in the aftermath of the 2011 Japanese earthquake, an event that has left strange pockets of fractured time around the country. Since losing her mother to the devastation, Sora has felt aimless and alone and when her grief-stricken father goes missing, she follows him into uncharted spaces and unknown dangers. An outstanding debut, this is a unique and ambitious story of grief and coming of age, woven around a rich backdrop of Japanese folklore, culture and magical realism.
Candy Gourlay’s Bone Talk was shortlisted for both the Carnegie medal and the Costa children’s book award. Now she returns to the Philippines of the early 20th century in Wild Song (David Fickling Books), a companion novel that can also be read as a standalone. When Luki’s tribe is offered the chance to journey to America for the St Louis World Fair, she eagerly escapes the constraints of rural mountain life. Her overseas adventure brings great wonder, but Luki soon discovers a darker side, of racism and inequality. This is a powerhouse of a novel, rich and immersive, with a fierce and unforgettable narrator.
