
In Darkness
Nick Lake(Author)
Bloomsbury Childrens Books (Publisher)
Published on 5. January 2012
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-1-4088-1994-4 (ISBN)
Description
In darkness, I count my blessings like Manman taught me.One: I am alive.
Two: there is no two.
In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, a boy is trapped beneath the rubble of a ruined hospital, thirsty, terrified and alone.
Shorty is a child of the slums, a teenage boy who has seen enough violence to last a lifetime, and who has been inexorably drawn into the world of the gangsters who rule Site Soley; men who dole out money with one hand and death with the other.
But Shorty has a secret: a flame of revenge that blazes inside him and a burning wish to find the twin sister he lost seven years ago. And he is marked. Marked in a way that links him to Toussaint l'Ouverture, the Haitian rebel who led the slave revolt and faced down Napoleon to force the French out of Haiti two hundred years ago.
As he grows weaker, Shorty relives the journey that took him to the hospital, with a bullet wound in his arm. In his visions and memories he hopes to find the strength to survive - perhaps then Shorty and Toussaint can find a way to be free . . .
Two: there is no two.
In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, a boy is trapped beneath the rubble of a ruined hospital, thirsty, terrified and alone.
Shorty is a child of the slums, a teenage boy who has seen enough violence to last a lifetime, and who has been inexorably drawn into the world of the gangsters who rule Site Soley; men who dole out money with one hand and death with the other.
But Shorty has a secret: a flame of revenge that blazes inside him and a burning wish to find the twin sister he lost seven years ago. And he is marked. Marked in a way that links him to Toussaint l'Ouverture, the Haitian rebel who led the slave revolt and faced down Napoleon to force the French out of Haiti two hundred years ago.
As he grows weaker, Shorty relives the journey that took him to the hospital, with a bullet wound in his arm. In his visions and memories he hopes to find the strength to survive - perhaps then Shorty and Toussaint can find a way to be free . . .
Reviews / Votes
A vivid and unforgettable voice . . . incredibly moving * The Times * Unputdownable * Daily Mail * Gripping . . . beautifully subtle * New York Times * Both violent and subtle, unexpectedly reminding me of The Wire. Characters, settings, and the half-believed Haitian vodou religion are handled with patience and complexity . . . A serious, nuanced, challenging novel. Trust me, there are plenty of young readers who hunger for exactly that * Patrick Ness, Guardian * Remarkable . . . Lake's elegant, restrained prose and distinct characters will reward adults and older teenagers able to brave a story with strong language, harrowing scenes of brutality and an almost painful stab of joy at the end * Wall Street Journal *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Children/juvenile
Interest Age: From 12 years
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 135 mm
Weight
467 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4088-1994-4 (9781408819944)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Nick Lake
In Darkness
E-Book
12/2012
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Childrens Books
€7.49
Available for download

Person
Nick Lake is the Editorial Director for fiction for HarperCollins Children's Books and is the author of The Secret Ministry of Frost and Blood Ninja. In Darkness, set in Haiti, is Nick's first book for adults and older teen readers. He first discovered Haitian culture as part of his Master's Degree in Linguistics and has since been fascinated by it. Nick lives near Oxford.