When Mark Stamp accidentally shoots a hole in his dad’s shed window, he is terrified. If he has broken anything, he’ll get a beating. But when he looks through the window, Mark sees something much more horrific than he could have ever imagined. Soon Mark and his sisters - fourteen year old Ruby and the baby - are on the run. With Ruby at the wheel of their family’s camper van, the trio try to flee their violent, dysfunctional family and their drunken father, who chases them in an effort to stop them sharing what they’ve found.

The Night Has a Thousand Eyes is a gripping young adult read which is part thriller, part literary masterpiece. At the same time as the reader is taken on a hair-rising journey of escape, s/he is also taken on a journey of self discovery as Mark and Ruby each discover their inner strengths. The first person narrative allows the reader to get deep inside Mark’s inner workings, yet there is also an opportunity to get to know Ruby, as her brother gains insights into what drives her.

While the storyline could lead to a very dark piece, this is, ultimately, a novel of hope.

The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, by Mandy Sayer
Harper Collins, 2007

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