About this item
A Financial Times Book of the YearShortlisted for The Week Junior Book Prize in 2023 An award-winning climate fiction novel that explores unlikely friendships as a group of children with disabilities find themselves at the heart of an eco-mystery.On a remote Scottish island, 14-year-old Max's life is changed forever when he loses his hearing in a boating accident. Now, he has to navigate a new silent world alone - even his parents don't understand that wearing a hearing aid doesn't mean he can actually hear them, and he's placed in a special educational needs class surrounded by kids he once picked on.When people start acting strangely and Max's hearing aid picks up odd sounds from a new wind farm off the coast, he suspects a sinister scientist is using wind turbines to experiment on the islanders.
About the Author
Victoria Williamson grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, and has worked as an educator in a number of different countries, including as an English teacher in China, a secondary science teacher in Cameroon, and a teacher trainer in Malawi. As well as degrees in Physics and Mandarin Chinese, she has completed a Masters degree in Special Needs in Education. In the UK she works as a primary school special needs teacher, working with children with a range of additional support needs including Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, physical disabilities and behavioural problems.She is currently working as a full time writer of Middle Grade and YA contemporary fiction, science fiction and fantasy, with a focus on creating diverse characters reflecting the many cultural backgrounds and special needs of the children she has worked with, and building inclusive worlds where all children can see a reflection of themselves in heroic roles.Victoria's experiences teaching young children in a school with many families seeking asylum inspired her debut novel, The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, an uplifting tale of redemption and unlikely friendship between Glaswegian bully Caylin and Syrian refugee Reema. Twenty percent of her author royalties for The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle are donated to the Scottish Refugee Council.You can find out more about Victoria's books, school visits and upcoming events on her website: www.strangelymagical.com
