Giant - Nicola Skinner, HarperCollins Publishers

'Readers will be laughing and crying all at once. This book is an astonishing, unique feat of the imagination' i News From critically acclaimed author Nicola Skinner, her most brilliant book yet - a darkly comic story about staying true to yourself and the people you love, even if it means tearing everything down . .. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Minnie's island. Nothing, that is, apart from the earthquakes, which pull buildings and schools and houses down on a regular basis.Luckily, the island's inhabitants have found a way to fix their crumbling walls: giants. Giants look after human children, like eleven-year-old Minnie. When Minnie turns twelve, she'll kiss her giant, turning her into a stone statue forever.The stone will be used to repair buildings. And there's nothing wrong with that either . .&amp,nbsp,. or so Minnie thinks. But when a dreadful earthquake strikes, Minnie realises she's not quite ready to say goodbye to her giant - not forever - not yet.So Minnie goes on the run, betraying her parents and everyone she knows. The secrets she uncovers on her journey threaten to pull everything down: and so begins a desperate race against time in which she will confront the truth about her island, her giant . .&amp,nbsp,. and ultimately herself.