I look down at the map on my phone. We’re getting close. My heart twitches.
“It’s just up here. Take that turn.”
“No, I have to go around. It’s blocked by police, see?”
I crane my head for a better look. I can see flashing lights up ahead. A crowd of silhouettes block the view. Something bad must have happened. Metre taxi wars maybe. I experience a flicker of fear.
“Fine, but don’t charge me more, okay?”
He laughs. “How can I say no to such a sweet girl?”
I smile, but it slips quickly. Everyone thinks I’m so sweet. Fin, Louis. Maybe if I start acting like it I’ll start believing it myself.
I just hope it’s not too late.
I take a deep breath.
I’m coming, Fin.
Acknowledgements
THE IDEA FOR this story first came to me in 2013. I had a scene in my head of a girl with blue hair barrelling down Buitenkant Street on her skateboard on her way to her job at a book shop. She wore these ragged cut-off gloves that she used as hand puppets to entertain the kids at the store. At the time, I saw this as a teen superhero novel.
In that story, Kayla and Fin were long-lost siblings who discovered each other’s identity at the same time as their newfound superpowers.
I remember describing the plot to writer Sarah Lotz, who said they should absolutely not be siblings, but something else. I got about twenty thousand words in when the love story between these two outcasts started taking over the plot. I abandoned the superhero angle entirely and made Kayla a comic-book fan instead. I’m so excited to finally share this crazy love story.
I’d like to thank my agent, Tom Witcomb, whose editorial advice was invaluable to the story; my publisher, Simone Hough, for believing in this book from the beginning; and my editor, Nicola Rijsdijk, for making this into something we can all be proud of.
A special thank you to Simon Ratcliffe for the crash course on wind instruments and the Armenian duduk.
To my father, who many years ago, decided to play “Country Death Song” in the car on the one night he’d decided to take his imaginative little daughter to dinner. I’m sorry I threw up all over your wheels.
To my mom, for eating sandwiches with me on the train to town and taking me to feed the squirrels.
To Petri, for believing in me and showing me that giddy, goofball, intoxicating love is still possible at thirty-five. This book would have been a lot more cynical if we hadn’t met.
To everyone who read a rough draft of this book and liked it, friends who showered me with encouragement, and Twitter friends who expressed their excitement when I announced it – Karina, Verushka, Cat, Rudi, Mary, Jared, Anne, Helen, Helené, Hevette, Carolyn, Tammy, Frankie, Jennifer, Mervyn, Emma, KJ, Kelly and anyone I’ve left out (this is starting to feel like an Oscars speech), thank you. Every kind word helped.
Summary
On stage, Fin is Thor. Angry and invincible. Yet for all his potential, people always leave him. Kayla is the only girl he’s ever met who’s worth loving. The only one he’s ever wanted to be worth something for.
Kayla knows she’s weird and unlovable. But she wants to believe there is no reason to be sad anymore.
In each other Fin and Kayla find the only place they’ve ever belonged. Until the ghosts from the past emerge to break them apart.
About the author
Sally Partridge is a novelist from Cape Town who has won the M. E. R. Prize for Best Youth Novel for three of her novels. She has been honoured by IBBY International for her young adult fiction. In 2011, she was named one of Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans, awarded annually to notable South Africans under the age of 35.
Partridge gets into her young characters’ heads and makes them three dimensional.
City Press
S. A. Partridge is the rabbit you follow down the hole, the boy under the stairs, the race car driving frog, a hidden garden and the sliver of light behind the cupboard.
It’s a Book Thing
In her latest novel, Partridge delivers her signature brand of hard-hitting young adult fiction.
Cape Times
Partridge is a master at exploring the nuances of emotionally awkward teens, through fast-paced dialogue and detailed (but not overwrought) description.
Sunday Times
With this book, S. A. Partridge cements her position as one of South Africa’s most brilliant writers of this generation.
Itch
She has a keen insight into the psyche of teens and especially has a knack for creating damaged and broken characters.
Women24
Other publications by Sally Partridge, still in print
Dark Poppy’s Demise
Other titles by Sally Partridge available in E-book format
Fuse
Sharp edges
Dark Poppy’s Demise
First edition in 2018 by Human & Rousseau,
an imprint of NB Publishers,
a division of Media24 Boeke (Pty) Ltd,
40 Heerengracht, Cape Town 8001
www.humanrousseau.com
Copyright © 2018 NB-Uitgewers
All rights reserved.
No part of this electronic book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying and recording, or by any other information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.
Cover design by Astrid Blumer and Teresa Williams
Cover illustration by Astrid Blumer
E-book design by Purple Pocket Solutions
Available in print:
First edition in 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7981-7682-8
Epub edition:
First edition in 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7981-7683-5 (epub)
Mobi edition:
First edition in 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7981-7684-2 (mobi)
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