The Grimmelings

(Paperback)

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Description

Thirteen-year-old Ella knows that words are powerful.

So she should have known better than to utter a wish and a curse on the same day, even in jest.

When the boy she has cursed goes missing, in the same sudden, unexplained way as her father several years earlier, Ella discovers that her family is living in the shadow of a vengeful kelpie, a black horse-like creature.

With the help of her beloved pony Magpie, can Ella break the curse of the kelpie and save not just her family but the whole community

Rachael King's writing is immersive and vibrant, and rich in lore and an appreciation of the natural world that fans of Katherine Rundell, Kelly Barnhill and Kiran Millwood Hargrave will love.

Reviews

'The Grimmelings is a compelling, lovingly-crafted novel about magic, liminal spaces (of several kinds), language and folkloric fusion. Rachael King's characters live and breathe. Her dialogue glitters quietly. She discovers new perspectives in inherited narratives to create a world that is familiar yet unexpected, tense and eerie with flashes of beauty.' David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, The Bone Clocks




'Rachael King's The Grimmelings is one of those very rare books that feels like it has always existed, as if the world has been holding space for this story. With wonderfully assured writing, this is Susan Cooper for the next generation. King writes with the utmost respect for her readers, for the story and for language itself. The Grimmelings is a beautifully written story of old magic, uncontainable, unpredictable, wild and true - I could not put it down. And although the phrase is thrown around a lot, this genuinely is a future classic. I cannot wait to recommend it far and wide. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this remarkable story.' Zana Fraillon, The Bone Sparrow, The Raven's Song



'The Grimmelings is a riveting adventure set on a horse trekking farm in the lakeside wilds of the south island of New Zealand, where lonely 13 year old Ella, the granddaughter of a rumoured witch, finds herself the target of an ancient and vengeful waterhorse. Ella's courage, grief and grit make her a worthy protagonist the reader cannot help but sympathise with and root for as she fights to save her family from the saddle of her feisty pony, Magpie. Exquisitely crafted and thrumming with old magic, The Grimmelings wraps the reader like an heirloom quilt, stitched with glittering folklore, mysterious family secrets and the love of horses.' Rachael Craw, Spark trilogy

'An eerie and beautiful contemporary fantasy full of very real characters-humans, horses and a monster-all grounded in warm and abrasive family life, and the daily surprises and hard grind of making a living from working with horses.' Elizabeth Knox, The Absolute Book, Dreamhunter


'I was gripped until the very end and it left me in tears - which is always the sign of cracking good book. The writing just sings; it's evocative and atmospheric with the moodiness of Wuthering Heights. And the horse action is epically good! I completely loved this book! Totally genius.' Stacy Gregg, The Princess and the Foal


'If I had this book when I was 12, my child-self's reading heart would have been changed in the same way as it was by Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising series and Elaine Mitchell's The Silver Brumby series. Like those books, this novel expands the imagination. Today's young people are here gifted with an exceptional way of seeing story, words, and the world. The Grimmelings is set to become an all-time favourite for adults and children alike and, for me, now one of my favourite stories.' Tania Roxborogh, Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea


'The best book I've read this year. Rachael has delivered a story that transcends time and place, playing with old words and mythical creatures in a stunningly original way. I loved it.' Bren MacDibble, How to Bee, The Raven's Song

Author Bio

Rachael King is a writer, reviewer, former literary festival director and ex-bass player from Aotearoa New Zealand. She is the author of two novels for children: Red Rocks, which won the Esther Glen Medal in 2013, and The Grimmelings, which is due for publication in 2024. Her novels for adults, The Sound of Butterflies and Magpie Hall, were together published in nine different languages. Red Rocks is currently in development for television by Libertine Pictures (Mystic) and Sky TV.

Rachael was the programme director of the WORD Christchurch Festival for eight years until the end of 2021; in her time, it was transformed it into an internationally renowned event, partnering with some of the biggest festivals in the world. Her invitation to WORD in 2019 allowed exiled Kurdish writer Behrouz Boochani, author of No Friend but the Mountains, to visit New Zealand, where he successfully applied for asylum after six years in Australia's notorious Manus Island detention prison. Rachael received a Waitangi Day Honour Award from the New Zealand Society of Authors for her role in securing his freedom.

In 2023 Rachael was named Best Reviewer at the Voyager New Zealand Media Awards. She lives in tautahi Chrischurch.