SWAN

The Girl Who Grew

You must sign in to see if this title is available for request. Sign In or Register Now
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 28 Aug 2024 | Archive Date 22 Nov 2024
Nimbus Publishing | Nimbus Publishing Limited

Talking about this book? Use #SWAN #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

A brilliant and tender middle grade novel-in-verse from the award-winning author of You Are Not What We Expected, reimagining the childhood of Nova Scotia Giantess Anna Swan.

Before she became the "The Giantess from Nova Scotia" and travelled the globe with notorious showman P. T. Barnum, Anna Swan was a young girl growing up near the rural town of Tatamagouche, desperately trying to fit into a world for which she was literally too big. In her debut middle grade novel-in-verse, award-winning author Sidura Ludwig imagines a pivotal period in Anna's childhood, as she struggled to find acceptance in a community that saw her as other.

When twelve-year-old, seven-foot-tall Anna's family moves to her grandmother's farm in Central New Annan, she is forced to attend a new school, abandon the bedroom she once shared with her beloved sister, Maggie, and face bullies young and old. She worries she'll never stop growing, and dreams of dainty boots that fit and church pews that don't topple under her weight. Of a world that sees her as she sees herself: a gentle girl who loves to read books beneath the trees.

When Anna discovers a solution that will help her stop growing and get her family out of debt, she agrees to exhibit herself as a curiosity in the big city of Halifax. But her giant heart will be tested as she tries to balance her devotion to her family with her desire for normalcy.

A story of faith, family, and learning to love the body you're in, SWAN is a modern classic, an impeccably researched and brilliantly imagined story of a woman who has captivated the world for over two centuries. Features an author's note about the real Anna Swan chronicling Anna's later life, and the little that is known about why she grew so tall (almost 8 feet as an adult), as well as a brief history of the region where Anna grew up.

A brilliant and tender middle grade novel-in-verse from the award-winning author of You Are Not What We Expected, reimagining the childhood of Nova Scotia Giantess Anna Swan.

Before she became the...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781774713211
PRICE CA$19.95 (CAD)
PAGES 304

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)
Download (PDF)

Average rating from 3 members


Featured Reviews

I always love finding a Novel-in-Verse. They're quick to read and give stories a more whimsical feel to them, however I do find that I struggle to connect to characters in these books - something about the voice.. there's a disconnect.
Most people, as far as I'm aware. don't speak in verse, or think in verse and so I do struggle to see them as "real" and as this is based on an actual person who existed, I wanted that connection more, personally, but it did not detract from the book overall.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: