You know, when this little study belonged to my father, he liked to leave the screens open at night. He would sit here, in the dark and the quiet, and watch the stars wink to light in the deep well of blue above the mountains. I thought it a rather strange habit, at the time. But now I find I enjoy doing the same thing.
The stars change, but they remain the same. As do we all.
That is my story, child. Have you any more questions?
No?
Good.
If you – or someone you know – have been affected by any of the issues in this book, the following organizations offer support for people of all genders.
Childline
www.childline.org.uk
Call for free from the UK on 0800 1111.
Samaritans
www.samaritans.org
Call for free from the UK and ROI on 116 123.
Email: jo@samaritans.org
Mermaids: a helpline aimed at supporting transgender young people
www.mermaidsuk.org.uk
Call for free from the UK on 0808 801 0400. (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Friday.)
Email: info@mermaidsuk.org.uk
Switchboard: a LGBT+ helpline
Call at your standard network rate from the UK on 0300 330 0630.
(10 a.m. to 10 p.m., every day.)
Email: chris@switchboard.lgbt
If you live outside the UK, there are many international organizations that can help you.
ZOË MARRIOTT is the author of many critically acclaimed and beloved books, including The Swan Kingdom, which was longlisted for the Branford Boase award and was an USBBY Outstanding International Book. Shadows on the Moon won the prestigious Sasakawa Prize and was an American Junior Library Guild Selection. Zoë lives in North East Lincolnshire and is currently the Royal Literary Fellow at York St John University. Visit Zoë’s blog at thezoe-trope.blogspot.co.uk or her website at ZoeMarriott.com. Follow her on Twitter (@ZMarriott).
Winner of the Sasakawa Prize.
Suzume is a shadow weaver. Her illusions allow her to be anyone she wants – a fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past. But who is she really? A heartbroken girl of noble birth? A drudge scraping by in a great house’s kitchens? Or Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands? Whatever her true identity, she is determined to capture the heart of a prince – and use his power to destroy those who murdered her family. Nothing will stop her. Not even love.
A companion title to Zoë Marriott’s critically acclaimed Shadows on the Moon.
Everyone in Hana’s remote village on the mountain knows that straying too far into the woods is a death sentence. When Hana’s father goes missing, she is the only one who dares try to save him. Taking up her hunting gear, she goes in search of the beast, determined to kill it – or be killed herself. But the forest contains more secrets, more magic and more darkness than Hana could ever have imagined, and the beast is not at all what she expects…
Praise for Zoë Marriott:
“Zoë Marriott’s writing is fabulous.”
Children’s Books Ireland
“Zoë Marriott has a high level of literary intelligence and is terrific at rebooting fairy tales with wonderful descriptions of the natural world… [She is] a rising star of fantasy fiction.”
The Times
“Richly imagined yet sharply topical.
You’ll fall in love with Zhi.”
L. A. Weatherly, author of the Angel trilogy
Lauren James, author of
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe
Books by the same author
Barefoot on the Wind
Daughter of the Flames
FrostFire
Shadows on the Moon
The Swan Kingdom
The Name of the Blade series
The Night Itself
Darkness Hidden
Frail Human Heart
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents
are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used
fictitiously. All statements, activities, stunts, descriptions, information
and material of any other kind contained herein are included for
entertainment purposes only and should not be relied on for
First published 2019 by Walker Books Ltd
87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ
Text © 2019 Zoë Marriott
Cover illustration © 2019 Kate Forrester
The right of Zoë Marriott to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:
a catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-4063-8991-3 (e-Pub)
www.walker.co.uk