Rift - Libby Hathorn

A rift seemed to have taken place. It was as if the town had slowly and silently split into two parts. Two opposing camps. Those who wanted to be with the Pastor - and those who did not.

When Vaughan Roberts' parents go overseas, he is dumped with his grandmother in an isolated coastal town. Vaughan longs to join the local gang of boys, but before he can, he must complete a frightening initiation - a seemingly impossible swim. Little does he know that he is a pawn in a terrifying ritual - and one he must fight to survive...

Libby Hathorn was born in New South Wales, Australia, and grew up in Sydney. She has published many works of fiction for both adults and children, including the Kate Greenaway Medal-winning picture book, Way Home. She has won many awards during her distinguished writing career and in 1992 was awarded the inaugural New South Wales Children's Award for her services to children's literature. Thunderwith was her first novel for young adults and has been translated into several languages as well as receiving awards and glowing reviews both in Australia and overseas. Thunderwith was directly inspired by Libby's family holidays in the Wallingat rainforest: 'One night there was a huge storm and when I looked out of the window, this big black dog ran across the clearing, a very proud and wonderful-looking animal. Afterwards, when I climbed back into the bunk where I had been sleeping, there seemed to be this chanting thing going on between the thunder and the rain on the roof 'Thunderwith, Thunderwith.' By morning, I had a story.'

Gripping stuff
Mizz

Hathorn's razor-sharp understanding and way with words immerses the reader totally in this haunting book
Carousel

...a deft and timely novel, chilling in its fictious reflection of our world in the last days of the twentieth century...Complex but not complicated... Rift draws you in with its seductive plot and carefully structured characters...Compelling anf provocative
Viewpoint 6

Beats your average 'adult' novel for sensuous detail, drama and a good gripping narrative
The Melbourne Age

A good racy story...The fantasy is terrifyingly possible, the narrative never loses momentum and the complexity of human relationships is never glossed over
Courier-Mail