Yarrow Townsend

A stunning adventure from the Branford Boase Award-shortlisted author of The Map of Leaves. Anna lives on remote Windrose Island, caring for its birds. When her stepfather Caleb is arrested for smuggling, she must prove his innocence. The truth may lie on board the Albatross, a missing whaler. Anna and her friend Mina travel the high seas to find the lost ship before ruthless Society Man, Bartholomew Rime... But without a map, only migrating birds and the song of whales can show the way. A stunning new novel from the author of The Map of Leaves, shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2023 A masterfully-written, classic literary adventure with themes of female empowerment For fans of The Girl of Ink & Stars and The Lost Whale PRAISE FOR THE MAP OF LEAVES: 'A thrilling, beautiful, important book' NATASHA FARRANT 'A very special story' JULIA GREEN '[A] breathless marvel' FLEUR HITCHCOCK

Set in a world where plants talk, friendship is hard-won and adventure is around the bend of every river ... 'Townsend has crafted an uncannily rich and tactile atmosphere, grounding the reader in the setting so successfully that I could almost feel the river mist settling in my hair.' SARAH DRIVER 'Just finished this breathless marvel and there's so much to love about it. Wild and imaginative storytelling, it introduces us to talking oaks, poisonous rock and a central character with a lot to prove.' FLEUR HITCHCOCK Orla has lived on her own since Ma died, with only her beloved garden for company. When sickness comes and nature is blamed, Orla knows she must find a cure. Armed with her mother's book of plants and remedies, she steals away on a river boat with two other stowaways, Idris and Ariana. Soon the trio must navigate the rapids of the Inkwater to a poisonous place from which they may never return ... The debut novel from an astonishingly talented new writer A wild rapids-ride of a story, suffused at every turn with authentic details of the natural world A gorgeous gifty book: a flapped paperback with illustration by Marie-Alice Harel.