There's an empty notebook lying on the table in the moonlight It's been there for an age I keep on saying that I'll write a journal So I'll start right here right now I open the book & write the very first words My name is Mina & I love the night Then what shall I write? I can't just write that this happened then this happened then this happened to boring infinitum I'll let my journal grow just like the mind does just like a tree or a beast does just like life does Why should a book tell a tale in a dull straight line? And so Mina writes & writes in her notebook & here is her journal Mina's life in Mina's own words her stories & dreams experiences & thoughts her scribblings & nonsense poems & songs Her vivid account of her vivid life In this stunning book David Almond revisits Mina before she has met Michael before she has met Skellig Shortlisted for the 2012 Carnegie Medal