Cygnet

A remarkable, moving and original coming-of-age story about a girl resisting the savagery of adulthood while stranded on an eroding island inhabited by an isolated, unwelcoming elderly community. 'Not since Holden Caulfield have I been so captivated by afirst-person voice as the one Season Butler creates in Cygnet' Blake MorrisonThe Kid doesn't know where her parents are. They left with a promise tocome back months ago, and now she is stranded on Swan Island.Swan isn't just any island; it is home to an eccentric old-age separatistcommunity who have shunned life on the mainland for a haven which is rapidlysinking into the ocean. The Kid's arrival threatens to burst the idyllic bubblethat the residents have so carefully constructed - an unwelcome reminder of thelife they left behind, and one they want rid of.'Terribly moving. A clear-sighted, poignant rumination onloneliness, love, the melancholy of age and of youth' China Mieville'A vivid, poetic debut' Daily Mail WINNER OF THE WRITERS' GUILD FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2020ELLE ONES TO WATCH 2019'Not since Holden Caulfield have I been so captivated by a first-person voice as the one Season Butler creates in Cygnet' Blake Morrison'A bright new voice in literature' Bernardine Evaristo'Terribly moving' China Miéville'A beautiful book, a meander through the fluid anxiety of youth' Uzodinma Iweala'[A] potent debut . . . A strange, promising beginning' Observer The Kid doesn't know where her parents are. They left with a promise to come back months ago, and now their seventeen-year-old daughter is stranded on Swan Island. Swan isn't just any island; it's home to an eccentric old age separatist community who have shunned life on the mainland for a haven which is rapidly sinking into the ocean. The Kid's arrival threatens to burst the idyllic bubble that the elderly residents have so carefully constructed - an unwelcome reminder of the life they left behind, and one they want rid of.Cygnet is the story of a young woman battling against the thrashing waves of loneliness and depression, and how she learns to find hope, laughter and her own voice in a world that's crumbling around her.