The Burying Beetle

By (author) Ann Kelly

When you are eleven you are going to be struck by a sorrow so big it will be like a lightning bolt. There will be grief like a sharp rock in your throat. [Ann Kelley, The Burying Beetle] Meet Gussie. Twelve years old and settling into her new ramshackle home on a cliff top above St Ives, she has an irrepressible zest for life. She also has a life-threatening heart condition. But it’s not in her nature to give up. Perhaps because she knows her time might be short, she values every passing moment, experiencing each day with humour and extraordinary courage. Spirited and imaginative, Gussie has a passionate interest in everything around her and her vivid stream of thoughts and observations will draw you into a renewed sense of wonder. Gussie’s story of inspiration and hope is both heartwarming and heartrending. Once you’ve met her, you’ll not forget her. And you’ll never take life for granted again.

Reviews of The Burying Beetle

Selected by Publishing News as Title of the Month for May 2005 "This is an atmospheric and beguiling book, written with a precision which guards it from sentimentality." HELEN DUNMORE "Acutely observed, tender, funny and very moving." MICHAEL FOREMAN "Gussie fairly fizzles with vitality, radiating fun and enjoyment into everything that comes her way. Her life may be predestined to be short but not short on wonder, glee, the love of things as they really are … I hope Gussie's story sells a trillion, zillion copies. It deserves to." MICHAEL BAYLEY "I started reading it this morning before breakfast and ignored hunger pangs to finish it in great sadness. It's quite beautifully done." SUE BAKER, PUBLISHING NEWS