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Gently used with minimal wear on the corners and cover. A few pages may contain light highlighting or writing, but the text remains fully legible. Dust jacket may be missing, and supplemental materials like CDs or codes may not be included. Could have library markings. Ships promptly! Gently used with minimal wear on the corners and cover. A few pages may contain light highlighting or writing, but the text remains fully legible. Dust jacket may be missing, and supplemental materials like CDs or codes may not be included. Could have library markings. Ships promptly! See less
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Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms Paperback – March 1, 2016

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 172 ratings

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Even a life on the untamed plains of Africa can’t prepare Wilhelmina for the wilds of an English boarding school in this “gripping, magical, and heartwarming tale of resilience, friendship, and hope” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

Wilhelmina Silver’s world is golden. Living half-wild on an African farm with her horse, her monkey, and her best friend, every day is beautiful. But when her home is sold and Will is sent away to boarding school in England, the world becomes impossibly difficult. Lions and hyenas are nothing compared to packs of vicious schoolgirls. Where can a girl run to in London? And will she have the courage to survive?

From the author of
Rooftoppers, which Booklist called “a glorious adventure,” comes an utterly beautiful story that’s “a treasure of a book” (VOYA).
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From the Publisher

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms is the work of a writer with an utterly distinctive voice and a wild imagination. I admire her novels very much, and I hope they find the success they deserve. I’m certainly looking forward to her next." -- Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials series

*"With debut novel Rooftoppers (2013), Rundell showed her capacity to write an entertaining story featuring a courageous female protagonist; this second novel surpasses by virtue of its striking, soaring prose." ―
Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*"A gripping, magical, and heartwarming tale of resilience, friendship, and hope." ―
Publishers Weekly, starred review

*"Rundell’s language soars in this portrait of a fierce and largehearted girl." ―
Booklist, starred review

"
Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms is a treasure of a book." ― VOYA

"Instead of making Zimbabwe some mysterious “other” place, she imbues it with color, love and vibrancy...Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms offers readers a sympathetic and enticing portrait of a part of the world they might not have heard of before reading this book, but will certainly be intrigued by ever after." ―
BookPage

"Katherine Rundell once again demonstrates her ability to weave a story with a strong, determined female character...This one's for readers who appreciate the classic elements of storytelling with a twist." ―
Shelf Awareness

"Rundell’s vivid and compelling prose brings both worlds to life on a visceral level and propels her characters forward. Readers will be engaged by Will’s voice (and her colorful linguistic twists), ache for her through her sorrow and loss, and celebrate her newly sparked confidence and resolve. Warning: there will be cartwheels!" ―
School Library Journal, starred review

"Rundell writes with a beautiful voice...both gripping and profound." ―
BCCB

"Rundell’s finely drawn etchings of the people in Will’s sphere and rich descriptions of African colonial farm life sprawl across the page in sensual largesse." ―
Horn Book Magazine

About the Author

Katherine Rundell is the author of Rooftoppers, Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms (a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner), The Wolf Wilder, The Explorer, The Good Thieves, and The Zebra’s Great Escape. She grew up in Zimbabwe, Brussels, and London, and is currently a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. She begins each day with a cartwheel and believes that reading is almost exactly the same as cartwheeling: it turns the world upside down and leaves you breathless. In her spare time, she enjoys walking on tightropes and trespassing on the rooftops of Oxford colleges.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1442490624
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (March 1, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781442490628
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1442490628
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 720L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.13 x 0.7 x 7.63 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 172 ratings

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Katherine Rundell
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Katherine Rundell is a bestselling writer and a Fellow of St Catherine's College, Oxford. Her books have sold millions of copies, been translated into 40 languages and have won, among others, the Baillie Gifford Prize for non-fiction, the Boston Globe Horn Book Award, the Waterstones Book of the Year, the Costa Children's Book Award, the Andersen Prize in Italy and Le Prix Sorcières in France. She lives mostly in London and a little in Oxford, where she works on research into the Renaissance poet John Donne and occasionally goes climbing on rooftops late at night.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
172 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoyed the book's adventure and interesting characters. They found it a fun, clean read suitable for children ages 10 and up, as well as adults. The book was described as a gentle fantasy that was enjoyed by three generations.

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3 customers mention "Adventure"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the adventure in the book. They find the plot interesting and fun, with interesting characters. The book is described as a gentle fantasy.

"Ms. Rundell's previous book, Rooftoppers, was a magical, gentle fantasy. This is also wonderful, but very different...." Read more

"...It's a clean, interesting, and fun read!" Read more

"...The adventures of running away and how Will struggled to survive, but in the end, she always found a way...." Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. It's a clean, interesting, and fun read that is suitable for children aged 10 and up, as well as adults. The book has been enjoyed by three generations.

"...A great book to share with children of 10 and up, and for adult readers as well." Read more

"...It's a clean, interesting, and fun read!" Read more

"This book was enjoyed by three generations. The first to read it was my nine year-old granddaughter...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2014
    Ms. Rundell's previous book, Rooftoppers, was a magical, gentle fantasy. This is also wonderful, but very different.
    I won't go into the plot as the summary does that well. If you want to know how a courageous, vulnerable, powerless, girl reacts when she's throw into an entirely new and foreign (literally) life with no preparation or choice, Will can show you how she tries to cope, does amazing feats of bravery, and finally has to accept the kindness of strangers and eventual hard wall of reality. She is an amazing girl and the plot is full of adventure and interesting characters. Mainly, it's the force of her bravery in the face of the unfairness of life that will fill the reader with admiration and have us rooting for her all the way. The evocation of her idyllic life on a farm in Botswana is beautifully portrayed as well, so we know exactly what she is losing. A great book to share with children of 10 and up, and for adult readers as well.
    10 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2016
    The sale went smoothly, and it's a great book. One of my grandchildren recommended it after she read it for Battle of the Books. It's a clean, interesting, and fun read!
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2016
    This book was enjoyed by three generations. The first to read it was my nine year-old granddaughter. Well written story of a little girls life in Zimbabwe, beingup rooted, and sent to boarding school in England..
    We will be looking for more books by this author.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2016
    I bought this book to read for my summer reading list. At first, I was really bored because the first part was all about happy shiny fun times running around in Africa, and it didn't really have any exciting peaks, but I kept on reading. It had to have gotten the Boston Globe Horn Book Award for something! Finally, six chapters in, It started to get interesting with the story of Will( the main character)'s mom. Then it went on to an amazing tale of her getting sent to a sophisticated and completely different life in England that tortured her so much that she ran away, having to avoid everyone who was looking for her. She also had to go to the lengths of eating from garbage cans for food, and singing on the streets for money.
    Overall, this book was really worth reading because of all the adventure, but I don't think the author did a good job of writing an interesting beginning.
    Some of the main things I like about the book are
    1) The main character, Will, breaks the stereotypes about girls being weaker about boys
    2) The adventures of running away and how Will struggled to survive, but in the end, she always found a way.
    3) The uniqueness. I'm not sure if there was any other book like this or not, for I haven't even read a fifth of all the books in the world, but the whole " getting separated from your family and all that you know and going to school in a totally different place where you don't fit in" thing, kind of reminded me of the book, The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I thought it would be very similar to that story, but when I read further, I realized it was not.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2016
    Love this book and I am 39. My daughters favorite book so I read it. Great!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2018
    My favorite of Rundell's books. A book for wild, fierce, independent girls.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2016
    This is one of my absolute favorite books of all time. I love how Katherine Rundell writes.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2017
    This is my third book by Katherine Rundell, and it just goes to prove that I absolutely adore her writing. Every book that I've read by her is just ... enchanting. I particularly loved the main character in this book - Wilhelmina Silver, commonly known as Will and affectionately known as Wildcat. She was fierce, vulnerable, lovable, loyal, strong, and beautiful.

    The story in and of itself was interesting - a girl raised in the African bush sent to a British boarding school after losing both her mother and father - and the execution wasn't lacking ... but, BUT. I wanted so much more than I was given; Will is sent to the boarding school and, predictably, all hell breaks loose in her world, but so many threads are left completely unresolved at the end. I wouldn't say that I necessarily wanted less of anything to be given more of an ending, but I will say that by the end I would have gladly read 100 more pages of this book if it could have meant more closure to Will's story.

    If you've never read Katherine Rundell before, I absolutely recommend starting with Rooftoppers, which is one of my absolute favorite MG novels, or Wolf Wilder - both are strong and beautiful novels from Rundell. Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms isn't bad, per se, but in the shadow of Rooftoppers, it left much to be desired.
    4 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • G&J
    5.0 out of 5 stars Rundell is joyous
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 30, 2020
    Love reading all Katherine Rundells books, the wildness, the freedom, full of beautiful words, adventure, strength, emotion, childhood - to be young.
  • Gordon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful - but not new.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2014
    This is a wonderful book, beautifully and sensitively written. I strongly recommend it. However UK readers may need to be aware that this is a US publication and is the SAME book as was published here as a paperback in 2011 under the title 'The Girl Savage'. If you haven't read it yet though and/or want a beautiful hardback copy then most certainly buy.
  • Lucy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Superb!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2019
    A wonderful story, beautifully written and full of pace and heart.
  • Angela B.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Delivered on time
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2018
    Nice sturdy book. Good as described
  • kazza
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2021
    Good value