A photo of the book The Stickleback Catchers by Lisette Auton on a wooden background with fake shrubbery, black feathers and golden star sequins

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The Stickleback Catchers by Lisette Auton

Lights Up

Discover this theatrical, magical adventure about putting the ghosts of the past to rest, from the disability activist and award-winning author of The Secret of Haven Point. Perfect for fans of Elle McNicoll and Sophie Anderson. 
 
Just like her favourite person in the whole world – her grandad – Hettie’s favourite place in the whole world – the Arts Centre – has gone. And Hettie can’t quite work out how she’s supposed to feel anything like how she did before.Many years before, Jack is feeling lonely too. But his life changes when he’s taken in by a theatre troupe and learns the secrets of the mysterious people behind the acts. 
And many years before that, Araine is also struggling, with a life that doesn’t look anything like she thought it would. A meagre existence where it seems like rich people, with their evenings out at the theatre, don’t have a thing to worry about. 
When you’re feeling alone it can be hard to see the light. 
But even though they live YEARS apart, Hettie, Jack and Araine are connected in ways they never imagined. 
 
 A magical story full of ghosts, theatre, friendship and family - and featuring disabled heroes.

Lisette Auton is a northern disabled writer, activist, poet, novelist, spoken-word artist, actor, film and theatre-maker, and creative practitioner. She's an award-winning poet who has performed at Northern Stage, ARC, the Southbank Centre and the Sage, in pubs, in a crypt, at festivals, indoors, outdoors, on a bridge and in a launderette.

Just like her favourite person in the whole world – her grandad – Hettie’s favourite place in the whole world – the Arts Centre – has gone. And Hettie can’t quite work out how she’s supposed to feel anything like how she did before. 
 
Many years before, Jack is feeling lonely too. But his life changes when he’s taken in by a theatre troupe and learns the secrets of the mysterious people behind the acts. 
 
And many years before that, Araine is also struggling. Her life isn't what she thought it would be, a meagre existence where rich people, with their evenings out at the theatre, don’t have a thing to worry about. 
 
When you’re feeling alone it can be hard to see the light. But though they live years apart, Hettie, Jack and Araine are connected in ways they never imagined. 
 
A magical story full of ghosts, theatre, love, friendship and family from disabled writer, activist, spoken word artist and theatre maker Lisette Auton.

The Stickleback Catchers

'A magic realist fight to save a beloved grandmother from dementia . . . dialect, disability, neurodivergence and gender-nonconformity were all woven incidentally into this open-hearted book - Guardian Best Children's Books of 2023 
 
 
Mimi adores her wild, fun, full-of-life gran. Then Gran starts forgetting things. Suddenly there are cracks appearing all around their home - and a mysterious black crow - both of which only Mimi seems able to see. 
 
Mimi is determined to solve the mystery. Luckily she has new friends to help: Titch and Nusrat. Together, they're the Stickleback Catchers: solvers of puzzles and seekers of adventure. 
 
Down by the river, where the gang meet and the silvery sticklebacks swim, they discover a mysterious stone, speckled with stars. But this is no ordinary stone: it's the doorway to another world, a world of talking crows and secrets, magical constellations and memories - and maybe, just maybe, Mimi's chance to bring back Gran forever...

Touching, original and compelling, this is a nostalgic novel about old-fashioned childhoods, but it is also very much of our time.

A moving, fantastical adventure story of coming to terms with challenge and change.

The Stickleback Catchers is a magical tale sure to cast a spell over young readers.

Auton's brave kid voices ring true to age and region; the representation of differently abled people here is deeply matter-of-fact.

A magic realist fight to save a beloved grandmother from dementia . . . dialect, disability, neurodivergence and gender-nonconformity were all woven incidentally into this open-hearted book.

Mimi adores her wild, fun, full-of-life gran. Then Gran starts forgetting things. Suddenly there are cracks appearing all around their home - and a mysterious black crow - both of which only Mimi seems able to see. 
 
Mimi is determined to solve the mystery. Luckily she has new friends to help: Titch and Nusrat. Together, they're the Stickleback Catchers: solvers of puzzles and seekers of adventure. 
 
Down by the river, where the gang meet and the silvery sticklebacks swim, they discover a mysterious stone, speckled with stars. But this is no ordinary stone: it's the doorway to another world, a world of talking crows and secrets, magical constellations and memories - and maybe, just maybe, Mimi's chance to bring back Gran forever...

The Secret of Haven Point

"A charming tale of found families and mermaids, with my favourite kind of hero at its heart" 
 - Elle McNicoll, award-winning author of A Kind of Spark 
 
A stunning literary adventure from an incredible debut talent, perfect for fans of Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Cerrie Burnell and Katherine Rundell. 
 
I was Haven Point's first Wreckling, but I certainly wasn't the last. There are forty-two of us now, not including the mermaids. When you're a Wreckling, you mainly spend your days squabbling, eating and planning adventures. Oh, and Wrecklings also carry out wreckings, which is how we got our name . . . 
 
Washed up as a baby beside a remote lighthouse and raised by a mermaid, Alpha Lux was the first foundling at Haven Point. Now the lighthouse is a ramshackle home for any disabled person who needs somewhere to belong. Looting from passing ships to make a living, they call themselves the Wrecklings, and for the children of Haven Point life is spent adventuring on the wild shore (and getting into trouble with the grown-ups). 
 
But when Alpha spots a strange light up on the headland, she realizes that her beloved family are in danger of being discovered by Outsiders. 
 
With their home under threat, the Wrecklings must decide what kind of future they want . . . and what they're willing to do to get it.

Some bonds are built to last forever . . . 
 
When Alpha was a baby, she washed up by the lighthouse at Haven Point, a remote beach alive with wild magic. Alpha was the first foundling - and now the lighthouse at Haven Point has become a ramshackle home for any disabled child or adult who has ever felt excluded from society. 
 
They call themselves the Wrecklings, looting from passing ships with the help of the mermaids who live in their waters, and whispering superstitions to the wind and the waves. Alpha and her gang spend their days adventuring on the shore - and getting into trouble with the grown-ups. 
 
Then one day, everything changes. When Alpha spots a strange light up on the headland and realizes that her beloved family are in danger of being discovered by Outsiders, it sets in motion a chain of events that will change Haven Point forever. 
 
With their home under threat, the Wrecklings must decide what kind of future they want . . . and what they're willing to do to get it.

Lisette Auton

In the future, the most underestimated person on the planet may be the only one who can save it. 
 
The year is 3897, and life on Earth is a neon dream, all flashing lights and buzzy noise – and no one remembers that behind the illuminated shell above them there's a night sky filled with stars. 
 
As she turns 11, neurodivergent, freckled Astrifer Nova is nothing like her sporty, high-achieving twin brother, Blaze. And on the day of her Work Path Allocation ceremony which determines the course of her life, she is crushed when she gets assigned to something as boring as the sock factory. 
 
But all is not as it seems, and as she uncovers layers of hidden truths all around her, Astrifer discovers that the world is bigger than she ever imagined – and that it’s up to her and a motley crew of new friends (including one from very far away) to challenge the status quo. Turns out, their differences may be exactly what the planet needs…

Lisette Auton

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The Stickleback Catchers by Lisette Auton

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