The Girl with Gills

An original, middle grade fantasy debut awash with adventure. A determined heroine and a sinister villain clash to reveal river lore in a watery world of fantastical creatures and colossal challenges.

A FINANCIAL TIMES CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Thrilling, heartfelt, and luminous' Vashti Hardy
‘A stunning debut' Jasbinder Bilan
'The world-building here is so seamless it’s almost unnoticeable' School Reading List

An original, middle grade fantasy debut awash with adventure. A determined heroine and a sinister villain clash to reveal river lore in a watery world of fantastical creatures and colossal challenges.

In a time and place which might be now, people with gills, outcast larkers, live in secret communities.

They have houseboats along the river. Concealing their gills from land lubbers, they scour the mudbanks, trade their finds and live off their wits. Thirteen-year-old Effra has been supporting her brother, Fleet, alone since their beloved grandfather died six months ago.

When merciless Rivermun, a larker gone bad, threatens Fleet, Effra's quests begins. Rivermun asks for the impossible - he wants to overpower Mother River, to possess the river serpent’s pearl and for age-old debts to be settled. Effra must bargain with the imposing Mother River, dive into the underwater parts of the city, venture deep into the Rat Queen’s lair and confront the terrible river serpent to save not only Fleet, but everything the larkers stand for. Luckily, she is not alone. She befriends a sentient sewer rat and a landlubber girl called Bow, who will help her in her quest.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
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Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

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