Lily and the Octopus

'Intelligently written, finely observed and surprisingly moving, this is a book you'll find hard to put down' Graeme Simsion , author of The Rosie Project Companions come in all shapes and sizes. Companionship lasts forever. Lily and the Octopus is a novel about finding that special someone to share your life with. For Ted Flask, that someone is Lily, and she happens to be a dog. This novel reminds us how to love fiercely, how difficult it can be to let go and how the fight for those we love is the greatest fight of all. Reminiscent of The Life of Pi and The Art of Racing in the Rain , with spins into magic realism and beautifully evoked universal truths of love, loyalty and loss, a hilariously sardonic and not altogether reliable narrator, and one unforgettable hound who simple wisdom will break your heart and put it back together again, Lily and the Octopus captures the search for meaning in death and introduces a dazzling new voice in fiction. ' Intelligently written, finely observed and surprisingly moving , this is a book you'll find hard to put down' GRAEME SIMSION , author of The Rosie Project Companions come in all shapes and sizes. Companionship lasts forever. Ted and Lily - Enjoy long walks. Watch films together. Have been known to share a pizza. Love each other fiercely. Have been inseparable for 12 years. But there is one more twist to come in this tail ... A charming, heartfelt and unforgettable novel about life, love and long walks, perfect for fans of Marley and Me and The Art of Racing in the Rain . 'An utterly charming novel' RED 'Singular, spectacular, and touchingly tentacular' CHRIS CLEAVE 'Hilarious. Heartbreaking. Weeping buckets. You'll love it' PATRICK NESS 'Lily and the Octopus is the dog book you must read this summer ... Reading this heart-wrenching but ultimately breathtaking novel was a very profound experience ... As Lily might say, 'YOU! MUST! READ! THIS! BOOK!' WASHINGTON POST 'Will steal your heart' DAILY MAIL 'Peppered with laughter and heart-tugging moments' SUN "A new novel from V.C. Andrews, the legendary author of Flowers in the Attic--now a hit Lifetime TV movie!"-- Seventeen year old Kristin Masterwood is thrilled when her father's construction company is hired to inspect the Foxworth property for a prospective buyer. The once grand Southern mansion still sparks legends and half truths about the four innocent Dollanganger children, even all these decades later. Foxworth holds a special fascination for Kristin, who was too young when her mother died to learn much about her distant blood tie to the notorious family. Accompanying her dad to the "forbidden territory," they find a leather bound book, its yellowed pages filled with the neat script of Christopher Dollanganger himself. Her father grows increasingly uneasy about her reading it, but as she devours the teen's story page by page, his shattering account of temptation, heartache, courage, and betrayal overtakes Kristin's every thought. And soon her obsession with the doomed boy crosses a dangerous line... The horrors that we all know from 'Flowers in the Attic' have become the stuff of local legend in Charlottesville, VA. Many are the tales told of Foxworth Hall, which has lain dormant for years, ever since it burned to the ground supposedly at the hands of Corrine, the high-strung mother of four children who were said to have been incarcerated in the attic of the mansion, the youngest boy deliberately poisoned with arsenic. Kristin Masterwood is the 16-year-old daughter of a local construction magnate who is evaluating Foxworth for a potential buyer. On their visit to the estate, she finds a very peculiar diary, one belonging to the oldest boy trapped in the Foxworth attic: Christopher. Michael Masterwood is anxious about the effect the young man's diary will have on his daughter, though he equally does not want to make it more compelling to her by forbidding it altogether Teddy is unhappily single in L.A. In between sessions with his therapist and dates with men he meets online, Teddy has debates with his dachshund, Lily, who occupies his heart. Unfortunately, he is also able to communicate with the "octupus" attached to Lily's head, which is soon revealed to be a metaphor for Lily's lethal cranial tumor. As Lily's condition worsens, Teddy faces off with the "octopus", engaging it in a battle of wills that takes on epic proportions. An exceedingly authentic, keenly insightful, funny and ardent tribute to the purity of love between a pet and its human. -- adapted from Booklist and Publisher's Weekly The magic of this novel is in the read, and we don't want to spoil it by giving away too many details. We can tell you that this is a story about that special someone: the one you trust, the one you can't live without. For Ted Flask, that someone special is his aging companion Lily, who happens to be a dog. Lily and the Octopus reminds us how it feels to love fiercely, how difficult it can be to let go, and how the fight for those we love is the greatest fight of all The world over, man and his dog remain the most faithful of friends. But for Ted, the unexpected arrival of a small 'octopus' that affixes itself to his beloved daschund Lily's head threatens the bond with his one true friend and throws his life into turmoil. Reminiscent of 'The Life of Pi' and 'The Art of Racing in the Rain', 'Lily and the Octopus' captures the search for meaning in death and introduces a dazzling new voice in fiction A new novel from Virginia Andrews, the legendary author of Flowers in the Attic