Catching Teller Crow

Description

WINNER: 2019 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, Young Adult Nothing's been the same for Beth Teller since she died. Her dad, a detective, is the only one who can see and hear her - and he's drowning in grief. But now they have a mystery to solve together. Who is Isobel Catching, and what's her connection to the fire that killed a man? What happened to the people who haven't been seen since the fire? As Beth unravels the mystery, she finds a shocking story lurking beneath the surface of a small town, and a friendship that lasts beyond one life and into another. Told in two unforgettable voices, this gripping novel interweaves themes of grief, colonial history, violence, love and family. See what other authors are saying about Catching Teller Crow: 'Goes straight to the heart of Australia's darkest history.' MARGO LANAGAN 'A magnificent and life-giving novel.' JUSTINE LARBALESTIER 'A richly informed novel by a deadly duo.' ELLEN VAN NEERVEN Highly acclaimed: longlisted in the CBCA Awards, shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards, ABIAs, Norma K Hemming Award, QLD Literary Awards and UKLA Awards, winner of the VIC Premier's Literary Awards, Aurealis Awards

Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina are a brother-sister team of Aboriginal writers who come from the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. They've worked together on a number of short novels and picture books. Catching Teller Crow is their first joint young adult novel. They believe in the power of storytelling to create a more just world.

'Distinctly Australian...A highly anticipated novel, Catching Teller Crow can be compared to Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones and E Lockhart's We Were Liars. This book will have a broad readership.' Karen Wyld, Books + Publishing, 5 STARS 'Combining taut, intricate thriller with ancient Indigenous tales and the darker side of Australian history, this is a deeply poignant and original novel.' The Guardian, UK 'An #ownvoices story that empowers its female heroines, giving them pride in their lineage and power in remembering.' STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews, US 'Superbly crafted.' The White Ravens list, International Youth Library Foundation, Germany 'This enthralling tale swirls between life and death and the real and what is beyond as it explores innocence betrayed and those who are stuck... If you are into stories about crime, the paranormal or death, grief and recovery, then Catching Teller Crow is for you.' Kids' Book Review 'Catching Teller Crow is a beautifully rendered novel that explores some of the most difficult aspects of Australia's history through the eyes of three compelling and resilient Aboriginal women. It deftly navigates themes of grief, loss and violence, with an ultimately hopeful testament to the bonds of family and the power of storytelling.' Judges' Report, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2019 'Catching Teller Crow is a tour de force.' Good Reading '[A] fascinating, gripping, innovative work told in two alternating voices, one in prose, one in free verse, melding a crime thriller with a triumphant and uplifting ghost story...The novel is also, in many ways, a celebration of story, of the power of words...' Magpies 'A fusion of ghost story and crime thriller, it also combines poetry and fiction to striking and exciting effect...Dorothy Porter's crime verse novel The Monkey's Mask is an interesting point of comparison...' The Saturday Paper 'Catching Teller Crow is an up-to-the-minute tale that goes straight to the heart of Australia's darkest history. Through poetry and story, with great sensitivity, the Kwaymullinas pick up and deal with subjects most authors in this country find too hot to touch. Terrible crimes lie at the centre here; viewed through the eyes of young women of unquenchable spirit, they can be approached, examined, and ultimately solved. This novel will turn gazes in the right direction, and make the caw of every crow more resonant.' MARGO LANAGAN 'A ghost story as well as a psychological thriller, Catching Teller Crow seamlessly weaves together the poetic and the everyday. A magnificent and life-giving novel.' JUSTINE LARBALESTIER 'A touching and original story about a dad who is learning how to grieve and a girl learning how to be dead. Together they work to solve the crimes denting holes in a small town. A richly informed novel by a deadly duo.' ELLEN VAN NEERVEN