Twenty-Four Hours

Twenty-Four Hours

by Margaret Mahy (Author)

Synopsis

Compelling drama in which 17-year-old Ellis comes to terms with the meaning of death...Ellis is an ordinary 17-year-old; someone who's planning to finish school and go to university like any other teenager. The difference is that four months ago, his best friend Simon killed himself. Still -- that was four months ago. Ellis has now 'got over it'. Except, of course, he hasn't. Returning to his home town, he gets drawn into a situation in which the 'old' Ellis would never have become embrangled. He gatecrashes a party and persuaded to 'rescue' two sisters -- Ursa and Leo, driving them back to the Land of Smiles -- the ex-motel where they live. From that moment on, nothing is the same again. The story is narrated hour-by-hour, as Ellis packs a life-time of experiences into the next twenty-four hours. Giving in to high spirits and booze, Ellis wakes next morning in a strange bed, with a stonking hangover and a shaven head! He learns that a child has been kidnapped, and is persuaded to help in her rescue...This is a bizarre, surreal and powerful novel in which the reader is taken on the same roller-coaster ride as Ellis.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 192
Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks
Published: 04 Sep 2000

ISBN 10: 0001857479
ISBN 13: 9780001857476
Children’s book age: 12+ Years
Book Overview: Received an Honour Award in the 2001 NZ Post Children's Book Awards Senior Fiction category.

Media Reviews
'Mahy's cleverly structured and fast-moving book is split into time bands as the clock ticks forward and Ellis must find a way to escape. There is a strong dose of reality in the fantasy as Ellis lives a lifetime in 24 hours and learns to leave behind the past to face up to the dangerous world of adulthood.' Guardian
Author Bio
Margaret Mahy was born in New Zealand and has loved telling stories all her life. She has published well over a hundred titles and won several major prizes and awards, including The Order of New Zealand, for her internationally-acclaimed contribution to children's literature. She has twice won the prestigious Carnegie Medal, (The Haunting, 1982, and The Changeover, 1984). Margaret lives in the South Island of New Zealand, in a house which she partially built herself, overlooking Governor's Bay.