By J P Rose (author)
"Swarming with Jamaican folklore spirits, this tender, gripping chiller sees a boy find light after grappling with the darkness of grief"
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November 2022 Book of the Month | Longlisted for the Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize 2023 | Shortlisted for The Branford Boase Award 2023
Grief, ghosts, family roots, and new-found friends, JP Rose’s The Haunting of Tyrese Walker is at once an adventure-packed thriller and a moving story that sees a boy navigate darkness to live in light. With a rich and palpable evocation of Jamaican landscapes, communities, culture and folklore, this chilling mystery has tremendous heart.
Struggling with the loss of his dad, Tyrese and his mum are spending summer with family in Jamaica. The last time Tyrese came to see his wonderful Grammy was just before his fourth birthday, and rural Jamaica feels a universe away from his Manchester home. After driving up “steep winding roads where the clouds wrapped around the mountains like a thick white ribbon,” Tyrese felt “as if he’d entered a secret land above the earth” — his sense of awe, and alienation from everywhere, and everyone, are superbly evoked.
On his first evening, Tyrese heads out to walk off his frustrations and stumbles upon a gravestone engraved with the image of a snake eating its own tail. And then Grammy asks him to finish scattering rice over her porch to “keep the good duppies in and the bad ones out”, explaining that duppies are spirits of the dead, and by the time they’ve collected each grain of rice, the “sun will be rising and dem will lose most of their power.” Thinking this is “totally crazy”, he discards the rice.
From that moment, matters escalate fast. Tyrese meets a stranger on a beach who tells him the Shadow Man is coming for him. Three pricks of blood appear on his finger. There’s no denying, in the words of his cousin Marvin, that “bad things a gwaan.”
Fabulously paced, the story snakes towards a chilling conclusion during a raging storm in the mountains, with all manner of terrifying beings testing Tyrese’s grip on reality, among them the witch-like, bloodsucking soucouyant, and the shapeshifting, hoofed La Diablesse. And all this is underpinned by Grammy’s wisdom that “darkness can’t drive out darkness, only light can do dat.” This is the perfect book for readers who relish scary adventures, epic settings, and characters who have you rooting for them every step of the mountainous way.
After a shocking event leaves Tyrese struggling with grief, he's taken to visit family in Jamaica. From the first night, strange things start happening: impossible visions, blackouts, swarms of insects, and the discovery of a grave hidden deep in the forest.
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Tyrese can't explain what's going on and he's scared that he's losing his grip on reality. Then Tyrese is warned he's being hunted by the mysterious Shadow Man. Under threat, Tyrese and his friends set out on a terrifying journey across the island to try and uncover the Shadow Man's sinister history. Who can Tyrese trust when his own mind is falling apart and there's nowhere left to hide?
'It's evocative, I can almost smell rural Jamaica, and it has the stand-out terrifying moments that sent chills through my bones' - Alex Wheatle
'A dark horror which terrified me to my very core' - Yvette Fielding
'Properly chilling and deeply tender, Rose draws on family and folklore to craft a world you will not want to leave' - Deirdre Sullivan
'The heat of Jamaica infused with the chill of its darkest folklore' - Phil Hickes, author of The Haunting of Aveline Jones
'Imaginative and moving' - Polly Ho-Yen
J.P. Rose writes for both adults and children, and has been shortlisted for several awards, including the Branford Boase Award for her debut children's novel The Haunting of Tyrese Walker (Andersen Press), with her second children's novel Birdie (Andersen Press) publishing to great critical acclaim.
In addition to spending her days surrounded by words, J. P. surrounds herself with her rescue dogs, cats and her magnificent horses. As a child she fell in love with ponies, was an avid rider and dreamed of having her own horse. Now, as an adult, she’s lucky enough to have three magical unicorns of her very own, Apache, Boo and Monarch.
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The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Haunting of Tyrese Walker and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-14 years old
The Haunting of Tyrese Walker features in the following genres: Adventure Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Books of the Month, Recommendations, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Horror & Ghost Stories, PSHE: Bereavement and Grief, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Star Books, Featured Books for 11+ readers
Paperback. £8.09, down from the £8.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Haunting of Tyrese Walker was written by J P Rose and published by Andersen Press Ltd
The Haunting of Tyrese Walker has 293 pages
£8.09, reduced from £8.99. In Stock.
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