The Wrong Hands [Hardcover]

Nigel Richardson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2006

Fourteen-year-old Graham Sinclair was born with huge, strange hands. He was also born with a secret. The only time he ever told someone his secret, it got him into big trouble. So he won’t be telling anyone ever again—or so he thinks. In this suspenseful and magical debut novel, Graham finds his life suddenly, thrillingly complicated—and his secret harder and harder to conceal.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–British teen Graham Sinclair, 14, was born with large, strange hands that have folds between the fingers like the inside of a closed umbrella. He endures the accompanying shame and ridicule because he has an amazing secret: he can make his hands grow even more and then use them to fly. The one time he attempts to share this fact with someone, she thinks he's trying to molest her, and he pays dearly: he becomes a registered sex offender, and his already unstable mother descends further into mental illness. Needing a break, his parents send him to London to work for his manipulative Uncle George. The boy is less conspicuous there, until a plane crashes right in front of him, and he's hailed as a hero for rescuing a baby. Then he gets a cryptic e-mail from a woman who witnessed the rescue, which involved his flying. She demands an explanation. Can he trust this stranger with the truth? There's a lot of British slang but no glossary. This novel, with its elements of magical realism, is more introspective than action packed, and has an ambiguous ending. But, for those who like David Almond's novels or Kevin Brooks's works, particularly Kissing the Rain (Scholastic, 2004), it will be worth the read.–Sharon Rawlins, NJ Library for the Blind and Handicapped, Trenton
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. Graham, 14, is taunted at school because of his huge, strange hands, but even when he is called a pervert and freak, his mom insists that the names are better than having the truth comes out. Then Graham becomes a hero by rescuing a baby from a burning London building. The question is, how did he do it? And why is gorgeous Jennifer, who witnessed the rescue, e-mailing him and calling him on his cell phone? The mix of contemporary technology with magical realism makes for a thrilling mystery, with surprises that continue throughout the story. There's sometimes too much going on, but just when you think you have missed something, there's an explanation, which inevitably leads to more mystery. Luckily, everything culminates in a triumphant climax. Older fans of David Almond's Skellig (1999) will want this clever debut novel. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (August 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375834591
• ISBN-13: 978-0375834592
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,887,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, March 8, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wrong Hands (Mass Market Paperback)

THE WRONG HANDS is a thought provoking novel written by Nigel Richardson. Mr. Richardson introduces the reader to fourteen-year-old Graham Sinclair. Like most people, Graham has a secret. His secret involves his hands.

Graham was born with large hands. It wasn't until he was seven that Graham realized how special his hands were. On a family vacation, as he accidentally starts to slide down the side of a cliff, he puts his hands out, and suddenly he's floating in the air. Graham can fly!!

His mother tells him to never tell anyone his secret, not even his father. When Graham was twelve, he made the mistake of telling a classmate. His secret was too much for her to handle, so she creates a lie that follows Graham ever after. His new nickname is now Perv, and the community thinks he's the stalker that's been reported in the woods.

Once summer vacation comes around, his parents send him to London to spend time with his Uncle George. On a fateful day, Graham witnesses a plane crash in the city. In the rubble of a hit building, he hears a crying baby. Without thinking about it, he flies up to the baby to rescue him. Little does he know that a lady has seen everything he has done. At that point, Graham's life gets even more complicated. Pursued by a persistent lady journalist, everything that Graham says and does gets twisted and distorted.

Mr. Richardson lets the reader glimpse Graham's thoughts and the tragic spiraling of misunderstanding that follows him wherever he goes. In London, Graham finally feels like he's normal, even with his deformed hands. But even in London, he can't escape what happens when society attacks those that are different from the norm. Mr. Richardson makes the reader decide which side of the fence they are on with Graham. THE WRONG HANDS is a reminder that what we see in the news isn't always the truth.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

5.0 out of 5 stars Flying off the edge of your seat, May 21, 2007

By 

Beth Tuohy "teen lit fan" (Toledo, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wrong Hands (Hardcover)

It's not easy being different especially when you're fourteen. Graham has a special gift that seems like a curse. Packed off to London to spend the summer with his uncle, Graham finds himself seemingly more accepted than in his small Yorkshire town. When he rescues a baby in a freak airplane accident, Graham once more becomes the object of attention. Initially, he is applauded for his actions but soon others try to manipulate his gifts to their own advantage. Although it takes him quite awhile to catch on to those with selfish motives, Graham is always his own person. This story speeds along to a gripping conclusion. The audio version is excellent.

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent mystery evolves., December 10, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wrong Hands (Hardcover)

Niguel Richardson's THE WRONG HANDS tells of a teen with big hands and a big secret. It's setting is modern England and Graham keeps his talents hidden until an emailer seems to have learned it. An excellent mystery evolves.