
Elsewhere
Shelby Matheson(Author)
Wombat Books (Publisher)
Published on 4. June 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-1-76111-214-0 (ISBN)
Description
At the outbreak of
World War I, eleven-year-old Elsie Clarke is shipped off to Wales to attend Miss
Coleridge's Academy for Gifted Youths. What at first appears to be an
institution for talented academics soon reveals that 'Gifted' means something
else entirely, and only the mysterious Madam Tryll holds the answers.
Only she can open
the Gateway to The Place Where Lost Children Go - a sentient forest called
Elsewhere with the power to enhance the talents, desires, and fears of unique
souls. And then there's Elsie, the newest Guardian, with the power to open the
Gateways into Elsewhere, borrow Gifts in emergencies, and enhance other Gifts
with her touch so that her Gifted friends can grow stronger. But Elsie's powers
are unpredictable and her new role as mentor comes with a lot of
responsibility.
Meanwhile, the war
rages on, and the headmistress believes the students are the solution. She intends
to push them to their academic limit, training them in the art of war,
stripping them of their childhood. The Gifted must use their newfound talents
to bring down her awful regime and win a battle of their own. But with the war
growing ever closer to home, Elsie can't help but feel like Elsewhere has been
recruiting them too, training them for something bigger than just school.
World War I, eleven-year-old Elsie Clarke is shipped off to Wales to attend Miss
Coleridge's Academy for Gifted Youths. What at first appears to be an
institution for talented academics soon reveals that 'Gifted' means something
else entirely, and only the mysterious Madam Tryll holds the answers.
Only she can open
the Gateway to The Place Where Lost Children Go - a sentient forest called
Elsewhere with the power to enhance the talents, desires, and fears of unique
souls. And then there's Elsie, the newest Guardian, with the power to open the
Gateways into Elsewhere, borrow Gifts in emergencies, and enhance other Gifts
with her touch so that her Gifted friends can grow stronger. But Elsie's powers
are unpredictable and her new role as mentor comes with a lot of
responsibility.
Meanwhile, the war
rages on, and the headmistress believes the students are the solution. She intends
to push them to their academic limit, training them in the art of war,
stripping them of their childhood. The Gifted must use their newfound talents
to bring down her awful regime and win a battle of their own. But with the war
growing ever closer to home, Elsie can't help but feel like Elsewhere has been
recruiting them too, training them for something bigger than just school.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Australia
Target group
Children/juvenile
Reading Age: From 10 to 14 years, Interest Age: From 10 to 14 years
Product notice
Saddle-stitched
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 135 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
384 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-76111-214-0 (9781761112140)
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
Person
Shelby Matheson is
a born-and-raised Australian, currently residing in the quiet, beachside
town of Hervey
Bay, Queensland. She has a Bachelor in journalism and creative writing, and
a graduate diploma
in editing and publishing from USQ. She has been writing full-length
novels since she
was fourteen and has always known that being an author is the only career
for her. In her
spare time, she enjoys video games, drawing, crochet, collecting books (and
even reading
them), but her greatest passion will always be writing and escaping to the
worlds in her
head. Her debut novel,
Elsewhere, was inspired by the sense of wonder and awe of classic
children's novels
such as Narnia, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, and
more. Elsewhere
pays tribute to these classics through Easter eggs and similar tropes. The
series stays true
to the timeline and facts of World War I, exploring the horrors of the time
through the eyes
of a child, creating a symbolic parallel between the pains of adolescence and
the extreme
changes that the world went through during the war.
a born-and-raised Australian, currently residing in the quiet, beachside
town of Hervey
Bay, Queensland. She has a Bachelor in journalism and creative writing, and
a graduate diploma
in editing and publishing from USQ. She has been writing full-length
novels since she
was fourteen and has always known that being an author is the only career
for her. In her
spare time, she enjoys video games, drawing, crochet, collecting books (and
even reading
them), but her greatest passion will always be writing and escaping to the
worlds in her
head. Her debut novel,
Elsewhere, was inspired by the sense of wonder and awe of classic
children's novels
such as Narnia, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, and
more. Elsewhere
pays tribute to these classics through Easter eggs and similar tropes. The
series stays true
to the timeline and facts of World War I, exploring the horrors of the time
through the eyes
of a child, creating a symbolic parallel between the pains of adolescence and
the extreme
changes that the world went through during the war.