A psychological novel from bestselling author Wendy Robertson
The Story
We're all experts in childhood. After all weren't we all once children? But ... Twelve year old Dee - is a misfit in her family. Her parents see her stubborn willfulness as a source of chaos in the household. It's the last straw when she decides not to speak. As her life begins to unravel Dee tells us her own story - how she begins to rescue herself from her own life. But she's not alone on her journey. Travelling with her is a woman who throws pots and a dog called Rufus. Then there are Dee's drawing books and characters she's met in stories she has read...
First Three Readers' Comments
1. Avril Joy, Novelist and Short Story Writer
'From the first page we have no choice but to take this fragile but resilient child into our hearts. We see the world through Dee's eyes, notice everything as she does, struggling with her 'to work out what all this means,' from the beasts and cages that haunt her dreams to the uncomfortable, often destructive, politics of family life.
The world of the novel is as richly textured as the 'markings,' Dee makes in her precious books. It is a world in which the powerlessness of childhood is laid bare. It's triumph is to show us just how the spirit of the child survives.
What makes this novel so touching is the way Wendy Robertson fast tracks us straight into Dee's world'
2. Clive Johnson, Editor and Author
'Most striking here is the careful handling of the mystery of Dee's state of mind and the growing undercurrent of menace.' Clive Johnson
3 Sharon Griffiths, Author and Journalist
'It's easy to label a child, much harder to see the real picture. In a tense and moving story, Wendy Robertson challenges us to find a new way of looking.'
The Story
We're all experts in childhood. After all weren't we all once children? But ... Twelve year old Dee - is a misfit in her family. Her parents see her stubborn willfulness as a source of chaos in the household. It's the last straw when she decides not to speak. As her life begins to unravel Dee tells us her own story - how she begins to rescue herself from her own life. But she's not alone on her journey. Travelling with her is a woman who throws pots and a dog called Rufus. Then there are Dee's drawing books and characters she's met in stories she has read...
First Three Readers' Comments
1. Avril Joy, Novelist and Short Story Writer
'From the first page we have no choice but to take this fragile but resilient child into our hearts. We see the world through Dee's eyes, notice everything as she does, struggling with her 'to work out what all this means,' from the beasts and cages that haunt her dreams to the uncomfortable, often destructive, politics of family life.
The world of the novel is as richly textured as the 'markings,' Dee makes in her precious books. It is a world in which the powerlessness of childhood is laid bare. It's triumph is to show us just how the spirit of the child survives.
What makes this novel so touching is the way Wendy Robertson fast tracks us straight into Dee's world'
2. Clive Johnson, Editor and Author
'Most striking here is the careful handling of the mystery of Dee's state of mind and the growing undercurrent of menace.' Clive Johnson
3 Sharon Griffiths, Author and Journalist
'It's easy to label a child, much harder to see the real picture. In a tense and moving story, Wendy Robertson challenges us to find a new way of looking.'
Used availability for Wendy Robertson's The Bad Child