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Shelter: `One of the year´s hottest debuts´
Sarah Franklin
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Description for Shelter: `One of the year´s hottest debuts´
Hardback. Num Pages: 400 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). .
'Beautiful' Adele Parks 'Life affirming and compelling!' Clare Mackintosh 'Tender and illuminating' Carys Bray 'Its characters pulse with life and energy . . . vividly rendered' Daily Mail Perfect for fans of Early One Morning by Virginia Baily and the novels of Maggie O'Farrell. Early spring 1944. Connie Granger has escaped her bombed-out city home, finding refuge in the Women's Timber Corps. For her, this remote community must now serve a secret purpose. Seppe, an Italian prisoner of war, is haunted by ... Read morehis memories. In the forest camp, he finds a strange kind of freedom. Their meeting signals new beginnings. But as they are drawn together, the world outside their forest haven is being torn apart. Old certainties are crumbling, and both must now make a life-defining choice. What price will they pay for freedom? What will they fight to protect? What readers are saying about Shelter: 'Tender, moving . . . with its unforgettable heroine' Irish Times 'Powerful and moving. Connie and Seppe are amazing characters. So well nuanced. I loved her feisty courage. And such heartbreak! This compelling debut shows how outsiders in a time of war seek to rebuild their lives again' Essie Fox, author of The Last Days of Leda Grey 'I LOVED it. Seppe is one of the most refreshing portrayals of masculinity I have ever read' Shelley Harris, author of Jubilee 'A lovely hymn to the woods and the men and women who worked there during the Second World War' Lissa Evans, author of Their Finest Hour 'The deeply profound effects of war quietly resonate through Sarah Franklin's gentle but delightful debut. Filled with characters armed with little more than their steadfast resolve and plucky humour, Shelter casts a light on the often forgotten work of the Women's Timber Corps and presents it with charm and delicately refreshing warmth' Jason Hewitt, author of Devastation Road 'A brilliant book. Everyone should read it' Alex Reeve, author of House on Half Moon Street 'Such a treat . . . a super sense of place' Rachael Beale, London Review Bookshop 'Beautifully written . . . Authentic and honest' Roger Deek, 'Reading the Forest' 'An impressive debut' WhatCathyReadNext 'Fresh, moving and redemptive' Literary Sofa 'One of the year's hottest debuts' NetGalley, Book of the Month 'Evocative, beautifully complex characters you grow to adore and a grittiness that grounds you within its message of loss, hope and what home really means' Goodreads 5* review 'The book is really fantastic. It's Sarah Franklin's debut novel but I really hope she's working on her second one right now' NetGalley Reviewer 'A tender, empathetic novel' NetGalley Reviewer 'Spirited, determined and reckless, the Second World War brings Connie the opportunity to seek what she's looking for, but the price for that opportunity is a high one . . . an impressive debut' NetGalley Reviewer Show Less
Product Details
Publisher
Zaffre Publishing
Place of Publication
London, United Kingdom
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 5 to 9 working days
About Sarah Franklin
Sarah Franklin grew up in rural Gloucestershire and has lived in Austria, Germany, the USA and Ireland. She lectures in publishing at Oxford Brookes University and has written for the Guardian, Psychologies magazine, The Pool, the Sunday Express and the Seattle Times. Sarah is the founder and host of Short Stories Aloud, and a judge for the Costa Short Story ... Read moreAward. She lives between Oxford and London with her family. @SarahEFranklin #GiveMeShelter Show Less
Reviews for Shelter: `One of the year´s hottest debuts´
Its characters pulse with life and energy - Connie's contrary longings and Seppe's difficult journey to inner peace are vividly rendered, as is the evocation of the forest and its healing qualities
Daily Mail
This beautifully crafted tale of survival and solace reveals that you can find a home in the most unusual places
Sunday Express ... Read more
The wartime lives of both Italian POWs and the lumberjills have received surprisingly little cultural attention over the years; in Franklin's tender, moving debut novel, with its unforgettable heroine, those experiences get the loving attention they deserve.
The Irish Times
A mesmerising wartime story about identity
The Irish Examiner
An accomplished debut from Sarah Franklin, Shelter is the perfect read for those who enjoy historical fiction with humour, warmth and a real sense of place
Daily Record
A beautifully written, gentle, hopeful book
Lucy Atkins, author of The Night Visitor
Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this is a life-affirming and compelling debut
Clare Mackintosh
Compulsive Readers
I really enjoyed the novel. You caught the period and the place beautifully and Connie and Seppe's story is very moving. Hats off
Fanny Blake I found this a fascinating and assured debut
Woman and Home
These two displaced people find solace with the rhythms of nature and with each other until the secret that Connie has been hiding threatens to tear them apart. A wonderful, affecting debut novel about the redemptive power of nature
Red Magazine
Shelter is an atmospheric debut and a fascinating glimpse into a forgotten aspect of WWII by Sarah Franklin
Good Housekeeping
Oh, this ticks all my historical-fiction boxes and more: beautifully atmospheric, detailed scene setting and characters that not only immerse you fully in their era but lead you to a greater understanding of it. (I wouldn't be surprised if it's snapped up for adaptation, Atonement-style).
The Pool, Book at Bedtime
Forest heritage is built on stories not monuments, and this story of love, identity and finding happiness will appeal to a local audience and contribute to our idea of ourselves and our past
Reading the Forest
The understanding of foresters ways, their sheep, mines and dialect and the geography of the forest are perfectly captured in this well researched book...
The Forester
A tender and moving debut, which examines the way one can live through love, loss and duty...something wonderful
OX Magazine
First I thought it was a WW2 story, then I thought it was a romance, then I thought it was a story about the power of motherhood and then I thought it was a book specifically designed to toy with my delicate emotions. Sarah Franklin's Shelter is all this and more...This book was a delightful and moving story of the struggles of losing one's identity and having to find it in unfamiliar places with unlikely individuals. It speaks of permanence (and a lack of it) in a way that makes this girl away from home feel a little teary
Chain Interaction
What a fascinating read - a slow read that like the trees in the forest, draws you into the shadows and envelopes you right into the heart of the story. It's a very unique angle on the 2ww and the insights into what the war effort could really mean
The Book Trail
I always admire an author who is brave enough not to spell out the conclusion of a book but to let the reader imagine it for themselves. I thought this was an impressive debut
What Cathy Read Next
Packed full of beautiful, touching characters in a story that's as refreshing as it is romantic. Connie and Seppe are the leads here - and Franklin brings them to life in vivid colour. They both have hugely compelling backstories...despite the 60 odd years that has passed since the book was set, and the wildly different circumstances that readers today will be in, these characters are so vivid that they feel like people you could bump into in the street (or, more fittingly, the forest)...The command of plot is commendable - it keeps the reader gripped throughout, and goes in directions that aren't expected. Indeed several moments in the later third of the book had my heart in my mouth - but thankfully they were resolved with skill, care, and love. Love is at the heart of this story - romantic love, familial love, love for one's country and love for one's self. It's a passionate, heartwarming and emotional tale that I hugely enjoyed
The Bookbag
Shelter is an incredible book to read. I loved Seppe's character.
Steph's Book Blog
Sarah Franklin has without a doubt become one of my new favourite authors. I immediately came to love her writing style as she collated pieces of flashbacks into a mosaic which truly represented the bittersweet journey the two main characters found themselves on before reaching the forest. I adored seeing their two individual experiences come together...this book warmed my heart and also made me consider the potential fatalities of war that stretch far beyond the battlefield
The Beauty of Reading
The great strength of this novel is in the detail. Beautifully written, the landscape is the star of Franklin's book, stealing the limelight from any human character. I was immersed in the Forest of Dean from the moment Connie arrives, and the historical setting is also spot on....So much research must have been carried out and yet it is drawn so lightly on the page
Tales from Olympia
Shelter is one of those rare books that manages to combine the sad and the heartwarming into one big, feel-good story...Funny, touching and tragic, this book is a must-read - if it's not on your to-do list, it should be!
The Roaring Bookworm
Wonderful tale
Cleopatra Loves Books
Shelter is a well written and enjoyable read, which explores a side of the war I had not considered before. It is at times poignant and heartbreaking, but it is also a story filled with love and a hope for a better tomorrow
The Owl on the Bookshelf
Shelter is whole
hearted, accomplished and moving. An impressive debut
South China Morning Post
I'd really recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical or is just a real fan of stories set in WW2, as I am. It's a fairly easy read but it has some serious issues and parts to it which provoke the reader to think a little bit, something which I really enjoyed
Snazzy Books
There's a sweetness and a joy about Shelter that is very hard to resist. Shelter is about people seeking, and finding, a place to belong...it is a unique addition to the glut of WWII books
Elle Thinks
Shelter has a great premise; Connie ends up as a 'lumberjill' in the New Forest in 1944 after she flees London and her past. Structurally, the novel is extremely effective, and it's genuinely touching . . . Connie is a compelling character . . . she comes alive in the very first pages of the novel. Overall, Shelter is strong on concept and characterisation . . .
Laura Tisdall, reading roundup Autumn 2017
It is a book that I loved. Shelter by Sarah Franklin is set in 1944 in the Forest of Dean which is where I lived before leaving home to make my way in the big wide world. The author shapes her story around the Lumberjills posted to the Forest to aid the war along with the Italian Prisoners of War who worked alongside them. The story was realistic and heart-warming and despite a difficult relationship with the area as a teenager, Shelter, made me appreciate some of its better qualities.
Cleopatra Loves Books
Beautifully written and full of compassion, Shelter is a story of resilience, love and the need to belong
Jill's Book Cafe
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