Solace of the Road

Siobhan Dowd author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Penguin Random House Children's UK

Published:30th Jul '15

Should be back in stock very soon

Solace of the Road cover

The mesmerising tale of Holly, who flees her foster-home life and, taking on the persona of Solace, finds herself in a road-trip adventure.

Memories of Mum are the only thing that make Holly Hogan happy. The kind of girl who can face the world head on.

So begins a bittersweet, and sometimes hilarious journey as Solace swaggers and Holly tiptoes across England and through memory, discovering her true self, and unlocking the secrets of her past.

Memories of Mum are the only thing that make Holly Hogan happy. She hates her foster family with their too-nice ways and their false sympathy. And she hates her life, her stupid school and the way everyone is always on at her. Then she finds the wig, and everything changes. Wearing the long, flowing blonde locks she feels transformed. She's not Holly any more, she's Solace: the girl with the slinkster walk and the super-sharp talk. She's older, more confident - the kind of girl who can walk right out of her humdrum life, hitch to Ireland and find her mum. The kind of girl who can face the world head on.

So begins a bittersweet, and sometimes hilarious journey as Solace swaggers and Holly tiptoes across England and through memory, discovering her true self, and unlocking the secrets of her past. Holly's story will leave a lasting impression on all who travel with her.

Unexpectedly life affirming, wise and mature * The Times *
A memorably touching story with a suitably emotional ending * Guardian *
For readers more at home with awkward reality than sentimentality, Solace of the Road has a lot to offer. Siobhan Dowd meets every challenge with the authority of a born writer * Independent *
Real, touching, at times gritty, but laced with humour throughout it will delight teenage and adult readers alike * Irish Post *
This gritty, realistic novel which deploys Dowd's talent for humour, will appeal to the older teenage reader * Daily Telegraph *

ISBN: 9781909531147

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 17mm

Weight: 191g

272 pages