The frozen sea - Piers Torday

A spellbinding adventure from the bestselling, award-winning author of The Last Wild trilogy.

'A dazzling adventure by an award-winning storyteller' i Newspaper

'Utterly brilliant ... a nail-biting adventure of twists and turns' Book Trust

Jewel Hastings doesn't know who she is. But she is about to discover that she is one of the most remarkable people to have ever walked the earth...

On the run from school bullies, Jewel tumbles through the door of a mysterious old bookshop and falls headlong into Folio, the world of the imagination. There, she must begin a quest to rescue her missing aunt, helped only by her rude pet hamster Fizz and a malfunctioning copper robot.

From the shimmering lights of the Idea Jungle, to the desolate expanse of the Frozen Sea, their mission will bring them face-to-face with a danger both more magnificent and more deadly than they ever imagined. And what Jewel discovers will change her life, for ever...

'Masterly storytelling - both entertaining and profound' THE TIMES on THE LOST MAGICIAN

Piers Torday began his career in theatre and then television as a producer and writer. His first book for children, The Last Wild, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Award and nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal. His second book, The Dark Wild, won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. There May Be A Castle was a People's Book Award finalist and a Times Children's Book of the Year. The Lost Magician was a Book of the Year in six national newspapers and won the Teach Primary Book Award. The follow up, The Frozen Sea, was published in 2019. Piers has also completed an unfinished novel by his late father Paul (author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Death of an Owl) and adapted The Box of Delights and A Christmas Carol for the stage.

Torday pays tribute to reading, libraries and imagination in one of the most clever and ambitious children's books you'll read this year
The Bookseller, on The Lost Magician

Thrilling, epic, wise. Truly a book for our times. (With extra rainbow unicorns!)
Natasha Farrant, author of The Children of Castle Rock

Gripping, original and memorable
Francesca Simon, on The Last Wild trilogy

Piers Torday is the new master of books for children who like magic and modernity with their lust for adventure.
The Times, on There May Be a Castle

Piers Torday continues to demonstrate that he is one of the best writers for children working today
The Guardian, on There May Be a Castle

Heartbreaking, surprising, uplifting ... proves that stories matter. They really do
The Bookbag, on There May Be a Castle

Full marks ... for a story not afraid to take on some of the fundamentals of life while still managing to preserve the lightest of touches
Books For Keeps, on There May Be a Castle

An excellent, punchy adventure tale with vivid characters and an impassioned eco message
The Financial Times on The Last Wild trilogy

Wildly inventive, moving and gripping ... full of suspense without ever sacrificing warmth
The Guardian on The Last Wild trilogy

A whimsical yet thoughtful tale that brings to mind the smarts and silliness of Roald Dahl and Norton Juster
New York Post, on The Last Wild trilogy

Torday's story is alternately sombre, thrilling, and silly, filled with eccentric human and animal characters with distinctive voices
Publishers Weekly on The Last Wild trilogy

Written in vivid and urgent style ... As thrilling as James and the Giant Peach ... The Last Wild may be as critical to the new generation as Tarka the Otter
The Times on The Last Wild trilogy

A gripping, memorable adventure which celebrates the power and scope of our imagination
The School Run, on There May Be a Castle

A magical new adventure from the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction prize.
WRD About Books

The narrative is skillfully strung together and the ending deeply surprising, challenging the norms of what might be expected in a children's novel, which is all to the good.
Literary Review - Philip Womack, on There May Be a Castle

A dazzling adventure by an award-winning storyteller
i Newspaper - The Best Books for Christmas 2019