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Becoming Grace
- Author
- Hilary McKay
- Narrator
- Amy Cameron
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 10 April 2025
- Run Time
- 1 hour 18 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
What to expect
Award-winning Hilary McKay brings the childhood of Victorian heroine Grace Darling to life in this heartfelt reimagining of her life up to and including the Forfarshire shipwreck.
Grace Darling nearly drowned when she was eight years old, leaving her with a fear of boats and the sea. But it’s a fear she has to overcome as the daughter of a lighthouse keeper, living on the Longstone Rock with her parents, four brothers, three sisters and her beloved dog, Happy.
Losses at sea bring shadows to an otherwise idyllic childhood, but everything Grace learns growing up on the coast is put to the test in 1838, when The Forfarshire is wrecked on the Harcar Rock, and she has to row out through the storm to the rescue.
Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.
Critics Review
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"Hilary McKay has a unique gift for bringing to life whole families – whole worlds – in a matter of moments with her crystal-clear prose and her artist's eye for detail. This little book shines like sea treasure – a true story, beautifully told and glittering with life." — Lucy Strange
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"I stepped into Grace's world and hung on every word of her story – an enormously warm and vivid account of a real heroine, by one of our greatest writers for children." — Lissa Evans
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"Bringing the Victorian world of lighthouses, steamships and shipwrecks to life, award-winning Hilary McKay reimagines the real life of lighthouse keeper’s daughter Grace Darling up to and including the Forfarshire shipwreck in 1838. With an accessible and often bare text at times, the layout is ideal and the illustrations really bring the dramatic story to life." – Irish Independent
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"When you open a fiction book you want to escape to other places, other times. Becoming Grace’s coastal Victorian world holds many gems to spark interest; lighthouses, steamships, shipwrecks, rescue crews and fishing villages all tempt further reading … This book is charming, engaging, thought-provoking and beautifully written. It is the type of quality literature that all children deserve to engage with." — Children's Books Ireland
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"This short, accessible read is a love-letter to female bravery … She truly is an historical figure worthy of discussion and celebration … Grace's character shines throughout as a concerned but proactive voice in the family … A gentle read, full of atmosphere and action." — Books for Keeps
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"An epic tale of endurance and bravery … Master storyteller McKay adds her special touch of heart and soul to this moving real-life story which has captured the imagination of both children and adults over almost two centuries … Full of drama, rich descriptive detail and Robinson’s emotive artwork, this is another winner from a dynamic writing and illustration duo." – Lancashire Post
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Details
- Author
- Hilary McKay
- Narrator
- Amy Cameron
- Duration
- 1 hour 18 minutes
- Release Date
- 10 April 2025
- ISBN
- 9780008747763
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Children’s / Teenage: General interest, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Historical fiction, Children’s / Teenage fiction: True stories told as fiction, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Action and adventure stories
Synopsis
Award-winning Hilary McKay brings the childhood of Victorian heroine Grace Darling to life in this heartfelt reimagining of her life up to and including the Forfarshire shipwreck. Grace Darling nearly drowned when she was eight years old, leaving her with a fear of boats and the sea. But it’s a fear she has to overcome as the daughter of a lighthouse keeper, living on the Longstone Rock with her parents, four brothers, three sisters and her beloved dog, Happy. Losses at sea bring shadows to an otherwise idyllic childhood, but everything Grace learns growing up on the coast is put to the test in 1838, when The Forfarshire is wrecked on the Harcar Rock, and she has to row out through the storm to the rescue. Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.
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