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The Clay Girl

By: Heather Tucker
Narrated by: Morgan Hallett
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Publisher's summary

Vincent Appleton smiles at his daughters, raises a gun, and blows off his head. For the Appleton sisters, life had unraveled many times before. This time it explodes.

Eight-year-old Hariet, known to all as Ari, is dispatched to Cape Breton and her Aunt Mary, who is purported to eat little girls. With Ari on the journey is her steadfast companion, Jasper, an imaginary seahorse. But when they arrive in Pleasant Cove, they instead find refuge with Mary and her partner Nia.

As the tumultuous '60s ramp up in Toronto, Ari is torn from her aunts and forced back to her twisted mother and fractured sisters. Her new stepfather Len and his family offer hope, but as Ari grows to adore them, she's severed violently from them too, when her mother moves in with the brutal Dick Irwin.

Through the sexual revolution and drug culture of the 1960s, Ari struggles with her father's legacy and her mother's addictions - testing limits with substances that numb and men who show her kindness. She spins through a chaotic decade of loss and love, the devilish and divine, with wit, tenacity, and the astonishing balance unique to seahorses.

The Clay Girl is a beautiful tour de force that traces the story of a child, sculpted by kindness, cruelty, and the extraordinary power of imagination, and her families - the one she's born in to, and the one she creates.

©2016 Heather Tucker (P)2016 Recorded Books
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What listeners say about The Clay Girl

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Heartache and Joy

I stopped listening to a book I was sloughing through for the Clay Girl and am so glad I did. Poetry and heartache and hope. Wish more broken lives were like this fiction.

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You will love Ari Appleton

If you could sum up The Clay Girl in three words, what would they be?

The three words that come to mind are heartwarming, heartbreakng, inspiring.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ari Appleton is my favorite character. She reminds me of Anne of Green Gables in the way she uses her imagination to escape some horrible circumstances.

Which character – as performed by Morgan Hallett – was your favorite?

Morgan is the perfect voice for Ari Appleton. She has lots of colour in her voice, and she brings Turcker's beautiful word pictures vividly to life.

Who was the most memorable character of The Clay Girl and why?

Ari was the most memorable character, but the other characters are vividly etched in my mind. Mary, Nia, Iggy, Len...all people I would love to have in my life.

Any additional comments?

The story is heartbreaking, but full of hope, and the writing is exquisite. Do yourself a favour and treat yourself to The Clay Girl.

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Fantastic book. Well read and wonderful story. Couldn't stop listening.

Truly wonderfully written wonderfully told story about an amazing look into humanity at its best and its worst. I loved every minute. I got barely get out of my car after my commute to stop listening.

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