The Turnaway Girls by Hayley Chewins – Blog Tour and Giveaway!

I’m so excited to introduce to you guys The Turnaway Girls, the debut novel by Hayley Chewins, released October 9, 2018 by Candlewick Press!

 

Read on to find out more about this book, my thoughts, and learn how to enter to win a free copy of The Turnaway Girls!

About The Turnaway Girls

“Delphernia Undersea wants to sing. But everyone on Blightsend knows music belongs to the Masters — and girls with singing throats are swallowed by the sea.

On the strange, stormy island of Blightsend, twelve-year-old Delphernia Undersea has spent her whole life in the cloister of turnaway girls, hidden from sea and sky by a dome of stone and the laws of the island. Outside, the Masters play their music. Inside, the turnaway girls silently make that music into gold. Making shimmer, Mother Nine calls it. But Delphernia can’t make shimmer. She would rather sing than stay silent. When a Master who doesn’t act like a Master comes to the skydoor, it’s a chance for Delphernia to leave the cloister. Outside the stone dome, the sea breathes like a wild beast, the sky watches with stars like eyes, and even the gardens have claws. Outside, secrets fall silent in halls without sound. And outside, Delphernia is caught — between the island’s sinister Custodian and its mysterious Childer-Queen. Between a poem-speaking prince and a girl who feels like freedom. And in a debut that glimmers with hope and beauty, freedom — to sing, to change, to live — is precisely what’s at stake.” – Goodreads

Buy on Amazon / B&N

About Hayley Chewins

Hayley Chewins grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, in a house so full of books that she learnt to read by accident. The second eldest of four daughters, she sang incessantly as a child. So incessantly, in fact, that she was sent to lessons twice a week in the interests of household peace. Hayley studied classical voice for a year before switching to a degree in English Literature and Italian. She lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, in a house full of art and music and color, with her husband and a very small poodle. She believes in two things above all else: the magic of love, and the heroism of sisters. Her debut novel, THE TURNAWAY GIRLS, will release from Candlewick and Walker Books in autumn 2018.

My Thoughts

The Turnaway Girls is a truly charming debut novel from Hayley Chewins, all about finding your voice and standing up for yourself and being your true self, even when the world tells you no. The prose is absolutely beautiful, Hayley has such a beautiful way with words, making this book a delight to read all the way through. I can’t wait to see her future work.

Delphernia is a lovely main character, strong and fierce and unwilling to be pushed aside. She has a beautiful talent that she doesn’t allow her world to silence, instead finding her own way in the world with the help of a cast of equally as unique and fascinating characters.

I read this book completely in one sitting, I didn’t want to put it down. I enjoyed wondering where Delphernia’s story was going to take her, and was completely enthralled all the way through. I loved the music, the characters, the folklore feel of the story – overall it was super enjoyable and I can’t recommend it enough!

The Giveaway

I’m teaming up with the publisher, Candlewick Press, to give away a copy of The Turnaway Girls to one of you! If you’d like to enter, please enter on this Instagram post! I will be drawing a winner on October 17, 2018 and the book will be sent directly from the publisher.