Thornhill

Product Information

Told in alternating, interwoven plotlines—Mary’s through intimate diary entries and Ella’s in bold, striking art—Pam Smy’s Thornhill is a haunting exploration of human connection, filled with suspense. Desde hace un tiempo vive angustiada por la persecución y acoso que una de las otras niñas que viven en Thornhill la somete. Conoceremos su historia a través de su diario y por otro lado y en otra línea temporal (2017) conocemos a Ella, una chica que se acaba de mudar enfrente de este misterioso orfanato.

La historia está dividida en dos líneas temporales, por un lado el presente que se nos narra mediante las ilustraciones en tonos de gris, donde conoceremos a Ella, que se muda junto a su padre a una casa que colinda con Thornhill. Y el pasado en forma de diario y que transcurre en el año 1982, narrado por Mary Baines sobre lo ocurrido en ese antiguo orfanato para chicas llamado Thornhill. Pam lives in Cambridge with her husband, author-illustrator Dave Shelton, and her child,Mila. Most early mornings you’ll see her walking her dog, Barney, along All Souls’ Lane into thegraveyard, past Frances Cornford’s poem, the hidden pillbox and around the field beyond all ofwhich inspired the setting and story for The Hideaway.Hay ciertos libros que tienen la capacidad de recoger tus absurdos prejuicios hacia ellos, pisotearlos, darles un par de vueltas, y devolverte tus ideas preconcebidas envueltas en un papel de regalo. Esos libros que no lees porque das por hecho que no estaban escritos para ti, que son simples entretenimientos para chavales sin elevadas ambiciones y que, en definitiva, juzgas sin concederle una mínima oportunidad.

i just don’t understood the story overall. there seemed to be something “off” throughout, to characters and their motivations. kathleen seems to be genuinely concerned about mary, but then she’s all - hooray, a cruise 4 me!, sending a doctor as a consolation prize but surely knowing that mary isn’t suddenly going to break her vow of silence for some strange man. and jane and pete merrily going on their way, leaving troubled and straight-up vicious little girls all alone? etc etc. Como he dicho, la edición es maravillosa pero lo veo más enfocado a un público juvenil. Tiene pocos personajes y la historia es muy fácil de seguir.

In 1982 a girl called Mary is living in Thornhill, a troubled and largely un-governed orphanage; it is her diary we are reading, and uncomfortable reading it is. It tells us a story of intense psychological bullying, the sort inflicted by irrepairably damaged children that goes unnoticed by adults. Anyone who has had experience of bullying at school knows full-well that children can be cruel, adults can be both stupid and disbelieving, and that damaged people actively and furtively seek out possibilities to damage other people. Through her diary we watch the tragic story of Mary progress. She seeks peace by creating beautiful creatures; with infinite care and attention she makes little dolls, finely-crafted little figures, often characters from her favourite books. To the rest of the world she utters not a word, Mary is a selective mute.

Enjoyable graphic - all done in pen and ink. Tells two stories at once. One in pictures alone and one in words. Both stories are about young girls and loneliness. One about bullying and one about catching the past. Thornhill was not scary to me as an adult but it probably would be to the kids in age demographic it was written for. Ella sneaks into the grounds of Thornhill and finds herself being watched in the distance by a young girl. But every time she tries to get closer, she disappears. She soon finds some dolls and puppets that she assumes must belong to whomever is haunting these grounds. She takes one of the puppets home and does some repairs on it to leave for the apparition on the grounds. Her first novel,Thornhill was a critical and commercial success, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's BookPrize, the UKLA Book Awards, and the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 and winning the 2018British Book Design & Production Award for Graphic Novels. She has delivered many talks andillustration workshops, including school events and major literary festivals.Parallel plotlines, one told in text and one in art, inform each other as a young girl unravels the mystery of a ghost next door. Tiene un final bastante sorprendente y de esos que erizan los vellos de todo el cuerpo mientras te das cuenta de todo lo que ha sucedido casi sin darte cuenta. Pienso que es un libro que me hubiera gustado más en mi adolescencia básicamente por el vocabulario y estilo narrativo (está encarado a un público joven) pero no me han impedido disfrutarlo. Esta novela combina de manera armoniosa las ilustraciones (presente) y el diario de Mary (pasado), y realmente es un recurso que me ha gustado mucho y me ha resultado muy original. Cada vez veo de forma más natural el hecho de mezclar ilustraciones en la lectura y eso poco a poco me va entusiasmando. so, yeah - the story is rough, the artwork is uneven, but it's definitely not a waste of time. i just thought this was going to be one of those I LOVE YOU books, and it didn't work out that way.