The Map of Leaves

- Blurb -

Set in a world where plants talk, friendship is hard-won and adventure is around the bend of every river . . . ' Townsend has crafted an uncannily rich and tactile atmosphere, grounding the reader in the setting so successfully that I could almost feel the river mist settling in my hair. ' SARAH DRIVER ' Just finished this breathless marvel and there' s so much to love about it. Wild and imaginative storytelling, it introduces us to talking oaks, poisonous rock and a central character with a lot to prove. ' FLEUR HITCHCOCK ' A striking new voice and a thrilling, beautiful, important book, full of characters I will never forget. ' NATASHA FARRANT Orla has lived on her own since Ma died, with only her beloved garden for company. When sickness comes and nature is blamed, Orla knows she must find a cure. Armed with her mother' s book of plants and remedies, she steals away on a river boat with two other stowaways, Idris and Ariana. Soon the trio must navigate the rapids of the Inkwater to a poisonous place from which they may never return . . . The debut novel from an astonishingly talented new writer A wild rapids-ride of a story, suffused at every turn with authentic details of the natural world A gorgeous gifty book: a flapped paperback with illustration by Marie-Alice Harel