The Color of the Sun
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Award-winning author David Almond pens the dreamlike tale of a boy rediscovering joy and beauty within and around him, even amid sorrow. One hot summer morning, only weeks after his father’s death, Davie steps out his front door into the familiar streets of the Tyneside town that has always been his home. But this seemingly ordinary day takes on an air of mystery and tragedy as the residents learn that a boy has been killed. Despite the threat of a murderer on the loose, Davie turns away from the gossip and sets off toward the sunlit hill above town, where the real and imaginary worlds begin to blur around him. As he winds his way up the hillside, Davie sees things that seem impossible but feel utterly right, that renew his wonder and instill him with hope. Full of the intense excitement of growing up, David Almond’s tale leaves both the reader and Davie astonished at the world and eager to explore it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Almond (Skellig) walks the fine line between reality and illusion in this reflective novel about a wandering boy. A few weeks after his father's death, Davie's mother urges him to go out into "the lovely world outside that door." After filling his haversack with childhood mementos and his mother's delicious bara brith, he sets out to rediscover his British town, Tyneside, which he considers a "dead-end place." But things are happening: an older boy, Jimmy Killen, is rumored to have been killed. Davie sees the body, but despite warnings of a murderer on the loose, he keeps walking, encountering figures familiar to him: a priest who is questioning his faith; Shonna Doonan and her "sweet and lovely" voice; and Zorro Craig, who is widely suspected to be Jimmy's murderer. Ghosts, too, including Davie's father, visit the boy, offering words of wisdom and a heightened awareness of the world's wonders. Through economic prose expressing Davie's memories and keen observations, the book subtly shows the protagonist's grief over losing his father and childhood innocence. Spanning only one day, it evokes the mysteriousness of life, the power of imagination, and moments when childhood and adulthood intertwine. Ages 12 up.
