When Shadows Fall

Kai, Orla and Zak grew up together, their days spent on the patch of wilderness in between their homes. Music, laughter and friendship bind them together and they have big plans for their futures – until Kai’s family suffers a huge loss.

Struggling to cope with his own grief, while watching his family fall apart, Kai is drawn into a new and more dangerous territory. Excluded from school and retreating from his loved ones, it seems as though his path is set, his story foretold. Orla, Zak and new classmate Om are determined to help Kai find his way back. But are they too late?

2023, The Carnegie Medal for Writing Outstanding book written in English for children and young people, Short-listed