Twenty Questions for Gloria
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- 10,99 €
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- 10,99 €
Publisher Description
Two go missing. One comes back.
Gloria is tired of her ordinary life. She barely recognizes the free-spirited girl she used to be in the unadventurous teenager she has become. So when a mysterious boy bent on breaking the rules strolls into her classroom, Gloria is ready to fall under his spell. Uman is funny, confident and smart. He does whatever he likes and doesn't care what anyone thinks of him. The only people for him are the mad ones, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn. He is everything Gloria wishes to be. He can whisk her away from the life she loathes and show her a more daring, more exciting one, in which the only limits are the boundaries of her own boldness. But Uman in not all he seems and by the time she learns the truth about him, she is a long way from home and everyone wants to know, Where's Gloria?
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In some ways Twenty Questions for Gloria reads like a Gone Girl for YA readers: the story of a girl’s disappearance—and her surprising return—that raises more questions than it answers. Martyn Bedford masterfully dials up the suspense as Gloria Ellis, a 15-year-old who vanished for 15 days, narrates her dramatic story to Detective Inspector Katharine Ryan. We absolutely loved this novel, which combines the insight of a coming-of-age story with the thrill of a fugitive road-trip movie, throwing in elements of young love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With an eye for adolescent introspection, Bedford (Never Ending) sets this story in present-day England, where 15-year-old Gloria has just returned to her parents after having run away for two weeks with new student Uman Padeem. How their unauthorized adventure came about is revealed in flashbacks and through direct questioning about their escapade by a detective inspector. For Gloria, Uman's impulsivity, passion, and fearlessness embodied everything she felt was missing from her normal, public school life. And so one day, the two simply walked away from it all. The story initially focuses on Uman's possible whereabouts after Gloria's return, yet Bedford's narrative is less a mystery and more a portrayal of an adolescent grappling with existential dilemmas. The transition from the events of Gloria's disappearance to the present day builds suspense and raises questions about whether adulthood requires settling into conformity. Uman's character is underdeveloped, but readers will empathize with Gloria's desire for escape while hoping that she can find a middle ground that allows for adventure without recklessness. Ages 14 up.
