Laura Jarratt

Author

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Books

Agent: Ariella Feiner
Assistant: Amber Garvey

Books

Laura Jarratt is a Carnegie Medal and Waterstone's Children's Book Prize nominated author. She lives in rural Cheshire with her husband and their two children. She is a Headteacher at a special needs school and has written four YA books to date. MOTHER is her debut adult novel and was sold at auction to Trapeze.
 
Awards

SKIN DEEP was shortlisted in the Teen category for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize.

SKIN DEEP was shortlisted in the Young Adult Romantic Novel category for the Romantic Novel of the Year Awards.

BY ANY OTHER NAME was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal.

BY ANY OTHER NAME was named as a Book of the Year by Lovereading4kids.co.uk.

BY ANY OTHER NAME was longlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize.

 

DISAPPEARED (UK - Orion) / WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE (US - Sourcebooks)

Let it burn. Let everything burn.

One day Cerys walks out of her comfortable life, never to return. Standing on a hillside at night with no phone and no possessions, watching her car set alight, she believes this is the end. And then Lily walks into her life.

Lily is desperate for a new start for herself and her child. More than that, she knows she has to disappear in order to keep them both safe.

The two women strike a fierce bond, and are both running from things that soon threaten to catch up with them. Can these two women keep each other safe... Can they trust each other ? Or are the pasts they've escaped too much for either of them to bear?

Praise for Laura Jarratt

‘I loved it and I can’t stop raving about it.’ Guardian on Skin Deep

‘Jarratt’s lyrical descriptions of Wales complement the propulsive plot, which culminates in an explosive confrontation. Heartfelt, thrilling, and emotionally complex, this is the author’s best work yet.’ Publishers Weekly on Without Saying Goodbye

'Jarratt's ambitious novel tackles contemporary issues of sexism, internet bullying and political radicalisation using Raffi's speechless perspective to eloquently articulate the vital importance of belonging.' Daily Mail

'It's a story... that carries a real twist.' Manchester Evening News 

'A stunning, heart-stopping novel.' lovereading4kids.co.uk

'It's just as captivating as Jarratt's debut. . . with a climax that literally left me struggling to breathe I was so tense. Despite having read several excellent contemporary novels so far this year, this is the best of them all.' ***** thebookbag.co.uk 

'The fantastic writing kept me hooked from the very first page.' ***** Guardian, Children's book blog 

Fiction

Publication DetailsNotes
2021

Trapeze

Two Girls. One Chance.

When Lizzie's car crashes with her two daughters inside, she faces a terrible choice. And when she recovers from her injuries, she has to deal with the impact of that tragedy as well as the police investigation into it.

As Lizzie and her family struggle to come to terms with the events of that night, things take an even darker turn. Just what did happen on that remote country road? Who is responsible? And can the family get through this together...Or will the truth finally tear them apart?

Egmont

Rafi hasn't spoken for eight years. It's up to her to tell her brother's story now that he can't speak either ...

Rafi idolises her seventeen-year-old brother, who is popular, generous and a borderline genius. Ever protective, Silas always includes her when he's with his friends, so Rafi gets to hear all sorts of things that younger sisters wouldn't normally be a part of. Like the time Silas hacks a gaming site to help out his friend Josie, who has been trashed by her ex.

With Josie, Rafi finds herself with a proper friend for the first time in her life. As they grow closer, she realises that she wants to find a way back into the world – she wants to learn to speak again. But Silas has found a new interest too – and it’s taking him away from everything that was once important to him. Can Rafi find the words to save her brother?

Egmont

Nobody can know the truth - her life depends on it.

"I picked up the book and thumbed through the pages. Names in alphabetical order, names with meanings, names I knew, names I'd never heard of. How to pick? Nothing that would stand out, nothing that would link me to the past - those were the instructions. The past. As if everything that had gone before this moment was buried already."

Holly is fifteen years old, but she's only been "Holly" for a matter of months.

Because of something that happened, she and her family have had to enter witness protection and have all assumed new identities. All, that is, except her sister Katie, who is autistic.

Starting at a new school mid-term is hard enough at the best of times, and Holly has no clue who she is any more. Lonely and angry, she reaches out to friends - new and old. But one wrong move will put all their lives in danger...

Egmont

“Ugly people don’t have feelings. They’re not like everyone else. They don’t notice if you stare at them in the street and then turn your face away. And if they did notice, it wouldn’t hurt them. They’re not like real people.

Or that’s what I used to think.

When I was younger.

Before I learned.”

One night, one stupid mistake, and nothing will ever be the same again.

When Jenna reluctantly gets into a car with her friends, she has no idea how the events of that night will change her forever. After the car crash that leaves her best friend dead and Jenna so badly burned that she is permanently scarred, she struggles to rebuild her life. Every stare in the street, every mutter as she passes, every time she looks in the mirror, makes her want to retreat further from the world. Until she meets Ryan.

Ryan’s a traveller. When he and his mother moor their narrow boat on the outskirts of a village, she tells him this time it will be different. He doesn’t believe her; he never does and he’s always been right so far. He can’t imagine why this place shouldn’t be just like all the rest. Until he meets Jenna.

But as Jenna and Ryan grow closer, the effects of that January night continue to reverberate through the community. And one day a body is found. . .

2015

Egmont

Hannah adores her older sister, Jenny – they are the best of friends, but different in every other way. Jenny dreams of leaving the States and flying to the UK to visit the places where their English mother grew up. But Jenny’s dream turns to a nightmare when she vanishes without a trace.

Hannah and her father arrive in England to a big police investigation. As Hannah gets to know some of Jenny’s friends and acquaintances, she realises that families can hide the biggest secrets of all . . .