Boy on the Edge

Fridrik Erlings

Feb 2014 · Candlewick Press

About this ebook

Can a boy on the edge find his way back? From award-winning Icelandic author Fridrik Erlings comes a novel as cruel as it is tender. Henry has a clubfoot and he is the target of relentless bullying. One day, in a violent fit of anger, Henry lashes out at the only family he has — his mother. Sent to live with other troubled boys at the Home of Lesser Brethren, an isolated farm perched in the craggy lava fields along the unforgiving Icelandic coast, Henry finds a precarious contentment among the cows. But it is the people, including the manic preacher who runs the home, who fuel Henry’s frustration and sometimes rage as he yearns for a life and a home. Author Fridrik Erlings offers a young adult novel that explores cruelty and desperation, tenderness and remorse, but most importantly, kindness and friendship.

About the author

Fridrik Erlings is a novelist, screenwriter, graphic designer, and musician. He is the author of the Icelandic classic Benjamin Dove as well as Fish in the Sky. Boy on the Edge, he says, is a story "about an individual with a rich inner life but with severe limitations about expressing his feelings." Fridrik Erlings lives in Iceland.