Original and Fresh: Read an Extract from The Lightning Catcher by Clare Weze

Original and Fresh: Read an Extract from The Lightning Catcher by Clare Weze

1

Moth Man

17th July

I’m not sure how you’re meant to start journals, but here goes: We moved to Folding Ford in April and now it’s July, and maybe it’s because we’re new here, but to me it’s completely obvious that this village is cracked. Today the weirdness got major, which is why I’m going to start writing it all down. If something happens to me, everyone will know the facts, because of this journal.

Here’s what happened today:

Only little kids believe in giants, but that’s exactly what pounded down the hill, right at me. I was standing on the bridge at the edge of the village. It was dusk and I should have been home already.

He closed in fast, crazy white hair flying out, long string of a body, big coat swinging with every step, like a cloak. And, OK, so up close I could see he wasn’t a giant, but he was a ginormously tall man with a creepy face from a nightmare… and butterflies flapping around his shoulders.

The road was empty, the houses quiet and still.

Tried not to stare, but he was too tall, the butterflies were just too strange, and his snarly mouth and angry, darting eyes made him look ready to spring at anyone for any reason. I pretended something had got stuck in the front tyre of my bike, but my eyes were glued.

He scanned my face, a split-second glare that sent chills pulsing down my spine, chills that didn’t stop, not even when he marched past me and away. And those weren’t butterflies. They were brown, thick-bodied moths. And each one was tied to the man’s wrists by a tiny thread.

He was taking them for a walk.

The giant with the moths is just the latest in a whole load of very strange things. Just in case anyone finds this notebook when I’m dead, here’s a list of all the weird stuff that’s happened since we moved here:

Continue reading the extract here…

Reviews

Discussions, Activities, Resources and more: Teaching Notes from The Lightning Catcher by Clare Weze

Review | Extract

31 May 2021

Discussions, Activities, Resources and more: Teaching Notes from The Lightning Catcher by Clare Weze

A Spark of Adventure: Read our Review of The Lightning Catcher by Clare Weze

Review | Our Review

25 May 2021

A Spark of Adventure: Read our Review of The Lightning Catcher by Clare Weze

Publisher details

The Lightning Catcher
Author
Clare Weze
Publisher
Bloomsbury
Genre
Children’s Fiction
Released
18 May, 2021
ISBN
9781526622174

Synopsis

Alfie has noticed a few things since his family moved to Folding Ford. He really misses life in the city. He and his sister don't exactly fit in here. But the most interesting one is that the weather is BONKERS. One frost-covered branch on one tree in the middle of Summer? A tiny whirlwind in a bucket in the garden? Only in Folding Ford. Armed with his bike, a notepad and his new best mate Sam, Alfie is going to investigate. His best clue is Nathaniel Clemm … the only thing in town weirder than the weather. When Alfie 'investigates' Mr Clemm's garden, only SLIGHTLY illegally, he finds a strange box that freezes his trainers and makes his teeth tingle. And when he opens it, only SLIGHTLY deliberately, SOMETHING gets out. Something fast, fizzing and sparking with electricity and very, very much alive. But the creature from the box brings trouble of its own, and as barometers and tempers go haywire in Folding Ford, Alfie finds himself at the centre of a perfect storm. Skellig meets Stranger Things in this funny, heartfelt adventure story perfect for fans of Ross Welford, Christopher Edge and Frank Cottrell Boyce.
Clare Weze
About the author

Clare Weze

Clare Weze was raised in the UK and has British and Nigerian heritage. She writes for adults and children and has always written around her day job, starting out as a hairdresser, then moving onto a science degree, postgraduate studies and work in the fields of biomedical and environmental research. The Lightning Catcher is her debut novel for children.

Books by Clare Weze

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