Giant

‘Readers will be laughing and crying all at once. This book is an astonishing, unique feat of the imagination’
i News

From critically acclaimed author Nicola Skinner, her most brilliant book yet – a darkly comic story about staying true to yourself and the people you love, even if it means tearing everything down . . .

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Minnie’s island. Nothing, that is, apart from the earthquakes, which pull buildings and schools and houses down on a regular basis.

Luckily, the island’s inhabitants have found a way to fix their crumbling walls: giants. Giants look after human children, like eleven-year-old Minnie. When Minnie turns twelve, she’ll kiss her giant, turning her into a stone statue forever. The stone will be used to repair buildings. And there’s nothing wrong with that either . . . or so Minnie thinks.

But when a dreadful earthquake strikes, Minnie realises she’s not quite ready to say goodbye to her giant – not forever – not yet. So Minnie goes on the run, betraying her parents and everyone she knows. The secrets she uncovers on her journey threaten to pull everything down: and so begins a desperate race against time in which she will confront the truth about her island, her giant . . . and ultimately herself.

Reviews

Praise for STARBOARD:

‘A uniquely brilliant story about setting your own course; clever, funny and moving’ Anna James, author of Pages & Co.

‘Spectacular. A wild, hilarious, surreal adventure of self-discovery’ Guardian

‘An impressive feat, achieved with prose that often feels newly minted’ Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week

‘A fabulously entertaining, hugely inventive novel of epic adventure, friendship and bravery’ Editor’s Choice, Bookseller

‘A gloriously imaginative adventure’ Daily Mail

Praise for BLOOM:

‘A hilarious, beautiful book… a blooming marvellous read’ Onjali Q. Rauf, author of The Boy at the Back of the Class
‘A riotous, original and timely reminder that sometimes rules are made to be broken.’ Guardian Books of the Year
‘A cracking debut… fresh and fun’ Times Children’s Book of the Week
‘Delightful… Humorous, original…’ Amanda Craig, New Statesman
‘A gorgeous debut… assured, funny, compelling’ Guardian
‘Original, surprising and wonderfully surreal’ The Bookseller

Praise for STORM:

‘Hugely inventive’ Independent
‘Funny, moving and surprising, told with real wisdom and heart’ The Bookseller
‘Surprising and endearing’ Daily Mail

About the author

As a freelance journalist and copywriter, Nicola Skinner has written for the Guardian, The Pool and many national magazines. Her first novel for children, Bloom, was published in 2019 to much critical acclaim. Storm is her second novel.
Nicola lives in Bristol with her family.