The Ransom of Dond

She'd known from the day she learned to walk what destiny awaited her. Wonderfully atmospheric, this is the haunting story of Darra - who, as the thirteenth child to be born to her mother, is destined to be sacrificed to Dond, the dark god of the underworld. On the day she turns thirteen she'll be rowed out to sea, where she will leap overboard with a rock tied to her ankle. She can't think of a worse birthday present. As ever, Siobhan Dowd's compelling prose swells emotion from the first page.