SuitabookCompeting influences
Dominic is drawn both to Holly’s imaginative, artistic vision and to Vincent’s bullying, brutal and reckless presence.
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Book details
David Almond - Author
Richard Halverson - Author
Expect a literary, imaginative coming-of-age premise focused on choices, relationships and competing ways of living. The central tension is between Holly’s artistic freedom and Vincent’s dangerous influence, rather than a straightforward account of growing up.
A gentle visionary coming of age in the shadow of the shipyards of northern England, Dominic Hall is torn between extremes. On the one hand, he craves the freedom he feels when he steals away with the eccentric girl artist next door, Holly Stroud -- his first and abiding love -- to balance above the earth on a makeshift tightrope. With Holly, Dom dreams of a life different in every way from his shipbuilder dad's, a life fashioned of words and images and story. On the other hand, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to the brutal charms of Vincent McAlinden, a complex bully who awakens something wild and reckless and killing in Dom.
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Sign in for personalised guidanceExpect a literary, imaginative coming-of-age premise focused on choices, relationships and competing ways of living. The central tension is between Holly’s artistic freedom and Vincent’s dangerous influence, rather than a straightforward account of growing up.
Dominic is drawn both to Holly’s imaginative, artistic vision and to Vincent’s bullying, brutal and reckless presence.
Dominic and Holly dream of a life shaped by words, images and story, distinct from Dominic’s father’s shipbuilding life.
A parent may wish to check how directly these elements are depicted before reading.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: the current material supports only a cautious reading; another book-specific source is still needed.
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