Land Of Decoration

Blissfully inventive, brilliantly written, with a huge heart, and a tense, pulsing plot: The Land of Decoration introduces an extraordinary young heroine who will change the way you see the world.

Ten-year-old Judith McPherson is a misfit. Her world is regimented by her father's faith: every night they eat Bitter Greens, read the Bible and Ponder Good Thoughts. Judith's mother was fun and liked to make things, but she has gone: Judith consoles herself with The Land of Decoration, an intricate model of The Promised Land which she has built in her bedroom, made from things nobody else wanted and scraps she has inherited from Mother's craft basket.

Judith's troubles are mounting. At home she doubts her father's love. At school, Neil Lewis's bullying has reached a feverish, dangerous pitch and, in town, a strike threatens the factory where Father works. One Sunday night, terrified of what Neil might do to her at school on Monday, Judith conjures a snow storm in The Land of Decoration made of shaving foam, cotton wool, and cellophane. The next morning the ground outside her window is a crisp, dazzling white. Judith can perform miracles. In fact, she might just be God's chosen instrument.

But with power comes huge consequences, and Judith must face them head on to keep her family safe. With its intensely taut storytelling and gorgeous prose, The Land of Decoration is a harrowing and heartbreaking story of good and evil, belonging and isolation, belief and doubt, and it introduces a blazing new heroine to contemporary literature.