Searching for the Remarkable in Things

This powerful and engaging novel explores slavery from both the nineteenth century African slave trade and modern slavery. But Lucy has focused her modern sections on a family discovering how they have historically benefited from the slave trade: a very current topic in the UK and America. Clover, thirteen. is grieving the death of her mother and struggling to relate to a father she hasn't seen since she was six. Father and daughter end up in Cornwall but as Clover reads letters hidden away in her mother's secret box, the family's connection to the slave trade in the 1850s is revealed. Meanwhile on lonely walks over the cliffs, Clover meets a strange girl. Catarina, older than Clover, who looks neglected and scared. But Clover cannot imagine the secrets that Caterina won't share with her.  As the layers of stories unravel through letters and documents, Clover and Catarina share a search for the Remarkable in Things, a way of keeping hope alive in times of despair and hardship. This is a book of great bravery against the odds and how even the most tortured slaves kept their sense of self in remarkable ways. As Clover begins to come to terms with her grief. the stories from the past entwine with Caterina's story, helping Clover to find a way to look forward to the future.

-- Miriam Halahmy, Author

'A remarkable and important story of freedom, enslavement and the unravelling of secrets, featuring a patchwork of characters skilfully stitched together. It speaks of things lost and rediscovered, spanning both continents and centuries - I read it in one sitting.'

-- Barbara Henderson, Author, Young Quills Award Wi