Declan loves Seaneen, but his ambition to work at a top showjumping yard is stronger than anything he's ever felt before. So when Declan is offered his dream job in Germany, he should be thrilled.
Declan loves Seaneen, but his ambition to work at a top showjumping yard is stronger than anything he's ever felt before. So when Declan is offered his dream job in Germany, he should be thrilled. There's nothing for him at home but dark history he'd rather forget. But he's terrified: leaving Seaneen's harder than he expected; troubled hood Cian won't leave him alone, and when he finds a traumatized horse in a derelict barn, he knows he has to help her. No matter how scared he is.
Gounded is a gripping story of courage, fear, despair and joy by the award-winning author of Taking Flight.
Sheena Wilkinson
Since the publication of the multi-award-winning Taking Flight in 2010, Sheena has been established as one of Ireland's most acclaimed writers for young people. She writes contemporary realistic fiction for young adults and children. Her first novel Taking Flight won the CBI Honour Award for Fiction as well as the Children's Choice Award. It also won a White Raven award from the International Youth Library and a place on the IBBY Honour List. Its sequel, Grounded also won the CBI Children's Choice award as well as the overall Book of the Year. In 2013, she was the first CBI Bringing to Book Writer in Residence at the Church of Ireland College of Education in Rathmines. She is a professional mentor for NUI Galway, and tutors for the Arvon Foundation. Sheena lives in County Down, and travels extensively in Ireland and beyond, talking about writing.
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"Declan's staccato first-person voice vividly conveys his confusion, desires, failures, and decency, sentence length and syntax skillfully modulating according to his mood. Wilkinson portrays complicated situations with nuanced truth and spare elegance. […] A talented writer and a fantastic story."
—Kirkus Starred Review
"It's a gritty, gripping tale of a horse and a boy living in an environment where both animals and children are often ill-treated. Declan's voice rings true as a teenager who wants to do the right thing, even when everything in him is longing to escape. His struggle with trying to accept adult responsibilities and reach beyond himself to help others is sensitively portrayed. Wilkinson has built a compelling and complex character whose story will keep readers completely engaged."
— The National Reading Campaign
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One of the Best Children's Books of the Year by Bank Street College of Education
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