International Education Services Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year, in honour of John Treacy

Shortlist 2025

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By Caroline O'Donoghue

Margo is on a train to a new boarding school when she slips into another dimension, passing from the height of Irish summer into the chill of an alien winter, from a 24-hour day to one that begins and ends in just six hours. From a stranger on the train – a travelling salesman by the name of Moon – she learns that New Davia is part of a world scarred by uprisings, travel bans and world sealings. Power is determined by time – who has it, who doesn’t, and who has the freedom to travel between time zones.

Can Margo find a way to get back home – or will she choose to stay in a world where her teenagehood is slipping away faster than ever, but where she may have found the only person with whom she would spend eternity?

About Caroline O'Donoghue...

Caroline O’Donoghue is a novelist, podcaster and screenwriter. The Rachel Incident (shortlisted for a TikTok Book Award) and All Our Hidden Gifts, her YA fantasy series, are both New York Times bestsellers. The Rachel Incident is now being adapted for television by Channel 4. Her hit podcast Sentimental Garbage charts internationally and has acquired over 11 million downloads worldwide. She was born in Cork, Ireland and currently lives in London.

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