Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jul 2011
240 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Some secrets are better left buried; some secrets are so frightening they might make angels weep and the devil crow.
Thought provoking as well as intensely scary, White Crow unfolds in three voices. There's Rebecca, who has come to a small, seaside village to spend the summer, and there's Ferelith, who offers to show Rebecca the secrets of the town... but at a price. Finally, there's a priest whose descent into darkness illuminates the girls' frightening story. White Crow is as beautifully written as it is horrifically gripping.
"Starred Review. Showing his customary skill with a gothic setting and morally troubled characters, Sedgwick keeps readers guessing to the very end." - Publishers Weekly
"This book is one thing very few YA novels are: genuinely scary." - Booklist
"Starred Review. Masterfully plotted to keep the suspense ratcheting ever higher. Wickedly macabre and absolutely terrifying." - Kirkus
"The three competing narrative voices do sometimes fragment the action, but this is intelligent writing dealing with everything from corrupting obsession to friendship, in a modern gothic mystery where ideas and images linger long after the final word has been read, and take flight." - The Guardian (UK)
"It's a good summer spooker, has strong characters, plenty of chills and thrills. Had the author focused a bit more on storytelling than on moralising it could have been even better." - The Bookbag (UK)
"This is a superb contemporary gothic horror story, ostensibly for teenagers but with a lot to say to adults, too. Beautifully written and irresistibly dynamic, it explores themes of heredity, of good and evil, of the possibility of redemption and of the vital necessity of love, wherever it may be found." - The Independent
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Kate Christer
Marcus Sedgwick was born and raised in East Kent in the south-east of England.
His work was shortlisted for more than 30 awards, including five nominations for the Carnegie medal, two for the Edgar Allan Poe award and four for the Guardian children's fiction prize.
He was also the most noted author in the history of the Printz award, with one win and two honour books. He won the Branford Boase award for his debut novel, Floodland, and the Booktrust Teenage prize for My Swordhand Is Singing.
Marcus was Writer in Residence at Bath Spa University for three years, and reviewed for various national newspapers and magazines, and periodically teaches creative writing at Arvon and Ty Newydd. He also judged numerous books awards, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the ...
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