Life: An Exploded Diagram (31 page)

“This stirring adventure . . . defies expectations. . . . Both lyrical and gripping.”
— Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)
“Readers scrambling for soccer stories will be begging for this captivating tale.”

— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

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“The surface mystery will intrigue readers, but it’s the deeper questions about religious belief, salvation, and how best to confront the past’s shocking inhumanity that will linger.”
— Booklist

“Stunning, original, and compelling.”

— Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)

www.candlewick.com

When a black South American soccer star falls for the sensual Desmerelda, a stunning white pop singer and daughter of a wealthy politician, their sudden and controversial marriage propels the pair to center stage, where they burn in the media spotlight. But celebrity attracts enemies; some very close to home.

“A bold exploration . . . of power, fame, love, and trust, all seen through the deceptive lens of modern celebrity culture.”—
Booklist

M
AL
P
EET
grew up in a small town in Norfolk, England, where the only worthwhile pastimes were reading books and playing soccer. These are still his main interests. He is the author of
Tamar,
which won the Carnegie Medal, and of three novels featuring Paul Faustino.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

Copyright © 2011 by Mal Peet
Cover illustration copyright © 2011 by Pat Kinsella
Interior photographs: copyright © 2011 by Edwin Dalton Smith/The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images (Part One opener);
© Corbis (Part Two opener); © Dorling Kindersley/Getty Images (Part Three opener)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

First U.S. electronic edition 2011

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Peet, Mal.
Life : an exploded diagram / Mal Peet. — 1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Summary: In 1960s Norfolk, England, seventeen-year-old Clem Ackroyd lives with his mother and grandmother in a tiny cottage, but his life is transformed when he falls in love with the daughter of a wealthy farmer in this tale that flashes back through the stories of three generations.
ISBN 978-0-7636-5227-2 (hardcover)
[1. Family life — England — Fiction. 2. War — Fiction. 3. Social classes — Fiction. 4. Coming of age — Fiction. 5. Norfolk (England) — History — 20th century — Fiction. 6. Great Britain — History — Elizabeth II, 1952– — Fiction.] I. Title. PZ7.P3564Lif2011
[Fic] — dc222010042742

ISBN 978-0-7636-5631-7 (electronic)
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