The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy - second hand

An ancient prophecy threatens the foundation of the church...and those who dare to die for what they believe.

The year is 1339, the height of the Inquisition. A secret half a millennium old is on the brink of being exposed. Centuries before, the Church compiled the letters written by St. Paul with other texts to form the foundation of the Christian canon. But what the world doesn't know is that Paul wrote another letter-a letter speaking of men and women who, though begotten of men, possess mysterious spiritual gifts. Now, the time has come for the Gifted to gather. The beautiful healer; the wise priest; the slave with the gift of prophecy; the knight with faith enough to leave the Church-as their talents grow more powerful, so do those who wish to destroy them. Now, they must race against time to find the rest of the Gifted ones, and to decipher the prophecy that foretold of their coming. For only by combining their powers will they vanquish those determined to destroy them, and uncover the secret of the letter that will determine the fate of the Church...and the world.

Kate Barnes is fourteen years old when she first experiences the strange gifts she has inherited from her grandmother's side of the family. She has a vivid waking dream, a memory of an earlier life centuries before in the small Somerset village of Oakey Vale when she was murdered by an angry mob who believed her to be a witch. Her grandmother decides the time is right to reveal to Kate some family secrets, including the ancient cave which houses the family tomb. However, just as Kate is learning to develop her second sight, her education with her grandmother is interrupted when her father insists she return to London. He is determined that Kate forget her grandmother's teachings and get a job in order to help support their growing family. But nothing will keep Kate from her to take her grandmother's place as local wise woman and guardian of the mysterious cave . . .

A mesmerizing literary debut novel of doubt, faith, and perseverance in the aftermath of a family tragedy—for fans of Me Before You, Little Bee, and Tell the Wolves I’m Home.
 
The Bradleys see the world as a place where miracles are possible, and where nothing is more important than family. This is their story.
 
It is the story of Ian Bradley—husband, father, math teacher, and Mormon bishop—and his unshakeable belief that everything will turn out all right if he can only endure to the end, like the pioneers did. It is the story of his wife, Claire, her lonely wait for a sign from God, and her desperate need for life to pause while she comes to terms with tragedy.
 
And it is the story of their children: sixteen-year-old Zippy, experiencing the throes of first love; cynical fourteen-year-old Al, who would rather play soccer than read the Book of Mormon; and seven-year-old Jacob, whose faith is bigger than a mustard seed—probably bigger than a toffee candy, he thinks—and which he’s planning to use to mend his broken family with a miracle.
 
Intensely moving, unexpectedly funny, and deeply observed, A Song for Issy Bradley explores the outer reaches of doubt and faith, and of a family trying to figure out how to carry on when the innermost workings of their world have broken apart.