Cardturner

A novel in which a 17-year-old boy, a rich blind uncle, an attractive girl and a mother who is looking forward to an inheritance create a heady and exciting cocktail of opportunity. When Alton's ageing, blind uncle asks him to attend bridge games with him, he agrees. After all, it's better than a crappy summer job in the local shopping mall, and Alton's mother thinks it might secure their way to a good inheritance sometime in the future. But, like all apparently casual choices in any of Louis Sachar's wonderful books, this choice soon turns out to be a lot more complex than Alton could ever have imagined. As his relationship with his uncle develops, and he meets the very attractive Toni, deeply buried secrets are uncovered and a romance that spans decades is finally brought to conclusion. Alton's mother is in for a surprise! Review: 'Louis Sachar is one of the few masters of American fiction' Independent on Sunday 'This is Sachar, owner of the most distinctive, clever, funny, philosophical voice in children's fiction ... a whale symbol on the page warns of forthcoming bridge analysis, which the readers can skip if they want. But they probably won't. Because this is Sachar' The Telegraph 'In Alton Richards, Sachar has created a credible and funny teenage lead ... The human drama is gripping' Financial Times 'The genius of Sachar's prose is that it's so plain and unshowy you don't notice the daredevil artistry of his storytelling until it's too late. You don't know you've been cut in half until you try to walk away ... As Uncle Lester might say, nicely played, Louis' Frank Cottrell Boyce, Guardian