Lynne Benton

The Glass-Spinner Lynne Benton

William watched as Adrian took out the tiny glass tube and blew gently through it. A thin glass strand emerged from the tube and wove itself into a translucent window, standing alone on the grass. "Is that the doorway?" William asked. "If we go through there, we'll be in a different world?" Adrian nodded. "Yes," he said. "Now it's up to you." When Dad's increasing anger gets so bad that Mum leaves, 12-year-old William is devastated. Then, against his will, Dad whisks him away for a "holiday". There Dad's anger gets worse, and weird things start to happen. William is fascinated by an unusual paperweight, and has strange dreams about going into the world he can see inside it. When he discovers that the other world really exists, the entrance is nearby, and that someone there is threatening those he cares about, he knows he must enter. Can he find the courage to stand up to the terrible Mangor? If he does, will that solve Dad's problems, as well as those of his friends? And then will Mum come back?