You Can't Kiss It Better

A very human story - heart-warming and thought-provoking. Diana Hendry is masterly in her handling of character

Diana Hendry was born in the Wirral and grew up by the sea. She has published more than forty books for children and teenagers. She won a Whitbread Award for Harvey Angell and a Scottish Arts Council Book Award for Harvey Angell Beats Time. One of her picture books, The Very Noisy Night, was adapted into a show by Blunderbus Theatre Company. Diana has also written four poetry collections for adults and children. She regularly tutors a group of teenagers at the Arvon Foundation's centre in Moniack Mhor. She lives in Edinburgh.

When the story opens, Megan who is a foster mother, has two children in her charge: Anna a 12 year old who is, 'rather given to magical thinking' and Raymond who is 10 and never speaks to anyone. Both children have sad broken backgrounds; Anna (in her fourth foster home) fantasises that her debt-ridden, alcoholic mother is a famous actress and Raymond's totally unreliable mother rarely comes to see him. Sam, a frightened rabbit of a child, rejected by his family because of lameness and pebble specs is the next to join the foster family and then Brent arrives dramatically in the middle of the night - a tearaway teenager totally beyond the control of his unimaginative, intellectual father. All four of Megan's foster children have difficulties to overcome in the house high above the river, where each one of them becomes involved in some way with the mysterious river woman. It is impossible not to be totally drawn into the pattern of Brent, Anna, Raymond and Sam's lives in this imaginative and compassionate novel.

The Seeing

The eerie, gripping tale of three children who set out to expose the evil lurking in their quiet seaside town, with devastating consequences.

This novel is a powerful return, after a 10-year gap, for Whitbread-winning Hendry . . . With a surprising denouement, this is an intriguing, atmospheric and memorable tale

A dark and memorable novel . . . This wise and unsettling tale will captivate discerning readers of any age. The book builds to a dark, destructive ending, but what you remember are the memorable, finely drawn and vivid characters - and the fractured time in which they are growing up

This thoughtful, rather lyrical story resonates with topical and timeless references

The pacing is perfect, with highly dramatic moments broken up by some gorgeous prose . . . One of the most dramatic and shocking endings I've ever read in a novel . . . definitely my favourite read of 2012 so far

A very moving story . . . there is a tragic event at the heart of this book which, despite being signposted in the prologue, is still shocking when revealed to the reader

A short, tight novel about a dangerous friendship that spirals out of control. Hendry grabs hold of the reader in the first few pages and does not let go . . . The Seeing is a powerful novel packed with suspense and atmosphere . . . A stand-out, thrilling read

Poet Diana Hendry's memorable novel of children in a postwar seaside resort who are out to track down 'Left-Over Nazis', a game with devastating results

Diana Hendry was born in Wirral and grew up by the sea. She has published more than forty books for children and teenagers. She won a Whitbread Award for Harvey Angell and a Scottish Arts Council Book Award for Harvey Angell Beats Time. One of her picture books, The Very Noisy Night, was adapted into a show by Blunderbus Theatre Company. Diana has also written four poetry collections for adults and children. She regularly tutors a group of teenagers at the Arvon Foundation's centre in Moniack Mhor. She lives in Edinburgh.

The second world war is over in the quiet town of Norton. When wild, dangerous, break-all-the-rules Natalie arrives, thirteen-year-old Lizzie is drawn irresistibly to the new girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Desperate for Natalie’s friendship and respect, Lizzie soon discovers a side of the town – and of herself – that she had never imagined. 
 
As the girls grow closer, Natalie and her strange, eerie brother, Philip, reveal a shocking secret. For Philip has a second sight, and all around them he sees evil - ‘left-over Nazis’ lying in wait until the time is right for revenge. Natalie and Philip believe it’s up to them to root these people out of Norton. 
 
Lizzie is swept up in what starts as a thrilling game - but the consequences of Philip’s ‘gift’ quickly spiral into disaster. 
 
A chilling, powerful tale from Whitbread Award-winner Diana Hendry.

Harvey Angell

When a mysterious, magical new lodger, Harvey Angell, arrives at gloomy 131 Ballantyre Road, he changes the lives of all its residents for ever - particularly Henry.

An original mixture of mystery thriller, ghost story and fantasy

A lovely book - funny, imaginative and both clever and comforting

There's a mysterious, magical new lodger at gloomy 131 Ballantyre Road: Harvey Angell, whose bright beaming, thousand-watt smile can somehow cheer the most miserable people - even cross, penny-pinching Aunt Agatha! From the moment Harvey walks through the front door, Henry knows there's something very strange and special about his new friend. But where does he disappear to late at night? And why does he have an unusual clock, that tells the time in centuries and years, rather than hours and minutes? Henry's determined to find out Harvey Angell's marvellous secret . . .

Harvey Angell And The Ghost Child

The marvellously magical Harvey Angell is back - this time to help Henry solve a ghostly mystery.

Since the arrival of Harvey Angell at 131 Ballantyre Road, life is a little bit brighter for orphan Henry - even mean old Aunt Agatha isn't quite so miserable these days. Still, when she agrees to take everyone on holiday, Henry can't believe his luck. For the first time ever, he's about to see the sea. 
 
Sibbald House isn't quite what he'd pictured - a dusty, tumbledown, creaking old cottage in a freezing, windswept Scottish fishing village. On the first night, Henry can't sleep a wink for the spooky moaning noises coming from somewhere within the house - and on discovering a hidden room with a ghostly secret, he knows he has to solve the mystery that the house - and the village - has been hiding for years. 
 
It's time to enlist the help of the extraordinary Harvey Angell . . .

The Greengrocer's Apostrophe

A collection of three comic tales from BBC Radio 4, ‘The Greengrocer’s Apostrophe’, inspired by those hand-written signs offering ‘Apple's and Banana's’ which can be found in every town in Britain. Originally broadcast in the ‘Afternoon Reading’ slots from 28-30 September 2010.  ‘Penny's from Heaven’ by Anneliese Mackintosh: James Anthony Pearson reads a quirky story about the apostrophe that ends a relationship. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.  ‘Alice, Hanging in There’ by Ronald Frame: When Alice's high-flying career stalls, she finds a novel way to occupy her time. Armed only with a balaclava and a pot of paint, she starts to vent her anger on sloppy punctuation. Read by Tracy Wiles. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.  ‘The Sweet Possessive´ by Diana Hendry: Distracted by an apostrophe obsession, a woman fails to notice that her lover is not all that he seems. Read by Monica Gibb. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.

Diana Hendry

Harvey Angell is one of the most engaging characters to emerge from children's fiction for a long time

When Henry finds a strange baby hidden among the flowers in Aunt Agatha's garden, it looks like another adventure is in store - especially when little Sweetheart sprouts antennae! But when a host of ghostly women begin to haunt 131 Ballantyre Road, all desperate to catch a glimpse of the baby, Henry and his new friend Rosie know this is a job for the magical, marvellous Harvey Angell. 
 
Henry's extraordinary friend quickly realizes that Sweetheart isn't from this world - she's from the future, and she needs to get back home before it's too late. That means a breathtakingly dangerous trip through time for Harvey Angell . . .

Harvey Angell Beats Time

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Diana Hendry

Praise for Harvey Angell Beats Time

Harvey Angell is one of the most engaging characters to emerge from children's fiction for a long time

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