A National Book Award Longlist title!
""A wondrous book, wise and wild and deeply true."" âKelly Barnhill, Newbery Medal-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon
""This is one of those books that haunts you long after you read it. Thought-provoking and magical."" âRick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series
In the tradition of modern-day classics like Sara Pennypacker's Pax and Lois Lowry's The Giver comes a deep, compelling, heartbreaking, and completely one-of-a-kind novel about nine children who live on a mysterious island.
On the island, everything is perfect. The sun rises in a sky filled with dancing shapes; the wind, water, and trees shelter and protect those who live there; when the nine children go to sleep in their cabins, it is with full stomachs and joy in their hearts.
And only one thing ever changes: on that day, each year, when a boat appears from the mist upon the ocean carrying one young child to join themâand taking the eldest one away, never to be seen again.
Todayâs Changing is no different. The boat arrives, taking away Jinnyâs best friend, Deen, replacing him with a new little girl named Ess, and leaving Jinny as the new Elder. Jinny knows her responsibility nowâto teach Ess everything she needs to know about the island, to keep things as theyâve always been.
But will she be ready for the inevitable day when the boat will come backâand take her away forever from the only home sheâs known?
""A unique and compelling story about nine children who live with no adults on a mysterious island. Anyone who has ever been scared of leaving their family will love this book"" (from the Brightly.com review, which named Orphan Island a best book of 2017).