Literary agent for children's books
LAURA CECIL
ITHAKA by Adèle Geras
Age range: young adult
Selected by New York Public Library as one of its 'Books for Teen Age 2007'
On the island of Ithaka, Odysseus’ wife Penelope waits for his return from the Trojan War. Everyone believes he is dead and the island is overrun with neighbouring rulers who want to marry her instead. With only women, old men and boys on the island to protect her, Penelope and her household become increasingly vulnerable.
Seen through the eyes of a young servant girl Klymene, Ithaka brings Homer’s world alive for contemporary readers with vivid characters and a story of love, betrayal and murder.
“An absorbing, sweeping novel that grabs readers from the touching opening page onwards - there's no half-heartedness in Geras' gutsy exploration of the nature of fidelity and love.”
BOOKSELLER
"It's original, inventive and positive: a perfect, lasting gift ... superb"
TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
"A riff on the subject of desire, rediscovering in Homer's ancient story the full, enduring force of its passion and violence. Young adults will be thrilled"
Nicolette Jones SUNDAY TIMES
"But while the setting is classical, the teenage reader can live and breathe the emotions and passions that lift off the page in this intricately woven novel"
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
Rights : Laura Cecil
Publishers:
UK : David Fickling Books
US : Harcourt Brace
Serbia : Laguna