There he was, below the bridge, half-naked, eyes blazing. He had a pair of burning torches. He ran them back and forth across his skin. He sipped from a bottle, breathed across a torch, and fire and fumes leapt from his lips. The air was filled with the scent of paraffin. He breathed again, a great high spreading flag of fire. He glared. He roared like an animal.

That summer, life had seemed perfect for Bobby Burns. But now it's autumn and the winds of change are blowing hard. Bobby's dad is mysteriously ill. His new school is a cold and cruel place. And worse: nuclear war may be about to start. But Bobby has a wonder-working friend called Ailsa Spink. And he's found the fire-eater, a devil called McNulty. What can they do together on Bobby's beach? Is it possible to work miracles? Will they be able to transform the world?

A stunning novel from the author of the modern children's classic Skellig - winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. David Almond is also winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen award.

Prizes

Short-listed for Carnegie Medal 2003 (UK)

An affecting meditation on pain, cruelty, class, belonging and the redeeming power of love. * The Sunday Times *
A beautiful and brilliant novel. There really is nobody quite like Almond. * The Times *
This is beautifully written and polished to a lapidary gloss. * The Guardian *
A wonderful novel. * The Times *
An astonishing, beautiful tale. Almond at his best. * The Daily Telegraph *
A tale so marvellously told it seems a shame to label it as only for children. * The Daily Telegraph *
Stays with you long after the book is closed. * The Guardian *
Almond makes familiar issues fresh; his characters are finely drawn and his depiction of place perfectly realised. * The Guardian *
Lyrical and atmospheric. * The Bookseller *
A near-perfect piece of fiction. * Time Out *
Luminous prose...every character is perfectly served by this fearless writer. * The Guardian *
Subtle and energetic...a powerful and evocative study of loss. * The Times *
[A] strange and haunting story. * The Observer *
Once in a while a book comes along that takes over your head and your heart. [This is] such a book. * The Bookseller *
Almond's best book yet...masterful in every aspect. * Financial Times *
Gripping doesn't do it justice - it sweeps you up and wraps itself around you. * The Sunday Express *
An uplifting, beautifully written story. * Independent on Sunday *
A beautifully written, warm-hearted book. Almond's poetic, though gritty, prose avoids the pitfalls of sentimentality. * The Observer *
Almond's books are always moving, uplifting tributes to the human spirit. * The Scotsman *

David Almond is the author of Skellig, My Name is Mina, Island, Bone Music and many other novels, stories, picture books, opera librettos, songs and plays. His work is translated into 40 languages, and is widely adapted for stage and screen. His major awards include the Carnegie Medal, two Whitbread Awards, the Eleanor Farjeon Award, the Michael L Printz Award (USA), Le Prix Sorcières (France), the Nonino International Prize, the James Kruss Prize and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. He has also won the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the world's most prestigious prize for children's authors. In 2021, David was awarded an OBE for services to literature. David speaks at festivals and conferences around the world. He is Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. He is widely regarded as one of the most exciting, inspirational and innovative children's authors writing today. He has one amazing daughter. He lives in Newcastle, the city in which he was born. www.davidalmond.com