The Finding Place: A Novel

Found as a baby outside a school in China, Kelly Stroud is adopted and raised by North American parents. One day, her dad leaves the house to buy milk, and doesn't come back. Struggling anew with what it means to be loved and then left behind, Kelly embarks with her mother on a journey back to China in search of her cultural roots.

The Finding Place is an adventure story which moves from urban North America to the magical landscape of Yangshuo, China. It is also the tale of a young girl's coming-of-age, written in the voice of an international adoptee whose unique perspective throws fresh light on the meaning of family: the people who raise us, and the parents who bring us into the world.

On the Fall 2016 edition of the CCBC's Best Books for Kids and Teens

Born in Lincolnshire, England, Julie Hartley is a writer, storyteller, creative writing teacher and writing retreat host currently based in Toronto, Canada. She has an MFA in Creative Writing and she is the author of a middle grade novel, The Finding Place, published by Red Deer Press; a poetry collection, Deboning a Dragon, published by Mansfield Press, and a book on how to teach Shakespeare, published by Theatrefolk. Julie teaches creative writing to children, teens and adults in schools and universities, and at her own studio in Toronto. She is the instructor for annual creative writing retreats in Costa Rica, Mexico and England. Her next book - a historical novel set on the south coast of England in 1940, is forthcoming with Bookouture in September 2024.