Rights sold to : Croatia (Skolska Knjiga) and Taiwan (Rye Field)
Two girls are sitting on the guardrail of a bridge. A train hurtles past. One jumps, the other does not. The one who jumped was Alice. She was rich and pretty, and lived in a residential area. The other girl’s name is Mina. Since her mother died she has been living with her aunt and uncle in a high rise council flat.
The two girls had sworn to commit suicide together. By breaking the pact, Mina loses every reason to live. Why did she not jump? What kept her here? Why did Alice want to end it all? What sort of downward spiral lead them to suicide?
Now a runaway, Mina wants to understand what has happened since Alice came into her life. Why did they form such a strong friendship? Who was Alice really?
This search for answers forces Mina to examine the truth, the terrible truth, one whose clutches she must escape to earn her freedom.
Valérie Tong Cuong has had six other novels published: Big (1997, Nil), Gabriel (1999, Nil), Où je suis (2001, Grasset), Ferdinand et les iconoclastes (2003, Grasset), Noir dehors (2006, Grasset), and Providence (2008, Stock). She is a writer, and a singer in the group Quark (four albums released).
C'est Alice qui a sauté. Elle est riche, jolie, et habite un quartier résidentiel. L’autre s’appelle Mina. Depuis la mort de sa mère, elle vit chez son oncle et sa tante dans le quartier des HLM. Les deux amies s’étaient juré de se suicider ensemble. En rompant le pacte, Mina perd toute raison d’exister.
Pourquoi n’a-t-elle pas sauté ? Qu’est-ce qui l’a retenue à la vie ? Pourquoi Alice voulait-elle en finir ? Quelle spirale les conduisait ainsi au suicide ? Devenue fugitive, Mina cherche à comprendre ce qui s’est passé depuis qu’Alice est entrée dans sa vie. Pourquoi ont-elles noué une amitié si forte ? Qui était vraiment Alice ? Cette enquête va pousser Mina à regarder la vérité en face, une terrible vérité, dont il lui faudra s’affranchir pour gagner sa liberté.