Girls of Little Hope by Dale Halvorsen and Sam Beckbessinger

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Welcome to Pagecast, the book-centred podcast series presented by Jonathan Ball Publishers. In this episode, international best-selling South African author Lauren Beukes chats with Sam Beckbessinger and Dale Halvorsen, co-authors of Girls of Little Hope.

Three girls went into the woods. Only two came back, covered in blood and with no memory of what happened. Or did they? Being fifteen is tough – tougher when you live in a boring-ass small town in 1996.

Donna, Rae and Kat keep each other sane with the fervour of teen friendships, zine-making and some amateur sleuthing into the town's most enduring mysteries: a lost gold mine, and why little Ronnie Gaskins burned his parents alive a decade ago. Their hunt will lead them to a hidden cave from which only two of them return alive.

As the police investigate, Rae and Donna will have to return to the cave where they discover a secret so shattering that no-one who encounters it will ever be the same.

SAM BECKBESSINGER is the author of the bestselling Manage Your Money Like a F*cking Grownup Grownup (over 70 000 copies sold). She’s also a cartoon scriptwriter, has published three picture books for young children, and wrote for Marvel’s Jessica Jones: Playing with Fire on Realm. Sam gets way too excited about gross body fluids and spreadsheets. She lives in London.

DALE HALVORSEN is a writer and internationally award-winning book cover designer for authors like Lauren Beukes and Nnedi Okorafo. He is the co-creator of the Vertigo original horror series Survivors’ Club together with Lauren Beukes and artist Ryan Kelly. It is currently in development as a TV series. Dale lives in Cape Town.
9 Jul 2023 English South Africa Books · Society & Culture

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