‘When it’s time, you will know. You are going to help people, Gabrielle. More than that, you are going to save people. People just like you. Don’t seek them. When the time is right, they will find you. If everything proceeds as it should, order will be restored. Redemption will be yours…’
As she drifts in and out of consciousness, Gabrielle hears a vice telling her she is special, not like anyone else. She is, it tells her, on a quest to help others. When she wakes up, she is hospital, not sure how she got there or where she came from before that. With no past, and no known family, she is sent to a foster family. In her new house, though, scary things start to happen. Her room is filled with hundreds of moths, she is attacked by spiders, and lights turn themselves on an off. What – or who – is causing all this – and why are they after Gabby?
The Boy Who Wasn’t There is the first book is a new supernaturally themed series from author Michael Panckridge and Black Dog Books, The Book of Gabrielle. Whilst the story stands well alone, readers will be intrigued by the bigger mystery of who Gabrielle is, and want to keep reading the series to find out.
Suitable for upper primary and lower secondary aged readers.
The Boy Who Wasn’t There (Book of Gabrielle), by Michael Panckridge
Black Dog, 2011
ISBN 9781742031828
This book is available from good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.