The Kite Rider: A Novel - Hardcover

McCaughrean, Geraldine

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0066238749 ISBN 13: 9780066238746

Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 2002

Synopsis

Up and up the wind drew him.
Haoyou looked about him and saw the whole
world beneath him. And it was his. He could
breathe! Today Haoyou was a kite, a
windhover riding on spread wings.

The great Miao master of the Jade Circus, offers twelve-year-old Haoyou the amazing chance to change his life -- to escape from his family's poverty and the pain of his father's recent death -- by becoming a kite rider!

Strapped onto a beautiful scarlet -- and-gold kite, Haoyou is sent into the sky to soar perilously among the clouds and entertain the awestruck crowds below. Traveling the Empire as part of the Jade Circus, Haoyou earns freedom, money, and unexpected fame -- as he skillfully performs for local villagers who believe he can bring back messages from lost loved ones whose spirits haunt the sky. Miao even plans for Haoyou to perform before the Mongol conqueror Kublai Khan himself!

But what about the duties that bind Haoyou to the ground -- his duties to his family, especially to his widowed mother? And is the Great Miao all that he seems, or could he be using Haoyou in a treacherous plot?

From incredibly versatile Carnegie Medalist Geraldine McCaughrean, author of The Stones Are Hatching, comes this dazzling story of adventure, betrayal, family, and sacrifice set in the dramatic, dangerous world of thirteenth-century China.

About this title

Review

"A marvelous, soaring story that gives you a glimpse into another world."--The Guardian (London)

A marvelous, soaring story that gives you a glimpse into another world. --The Guardian (London)"

Book Description

A truly amazing story by the multi award-winning author, Geraldine McCaughrean

Edition details

• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0066238749
• ISBN 13: 9780066238746
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272