Little Island signs sequel to Meg Grehan’s The Deepest Breath

Little Island Books has signed The Brightest Star, the sequel to the verse novel The Deepest Breath, by Meg Grehan. 

Matthew Parkinson-Bennett, publisher and c.e.o, acquired world rights in all languages directly from the author for publication in May 2025. 

The Brightest Star follows the three protagonists from The Deepest Breath: Stevie, Chloe and Andrew. The three best friends are starting secondary school and struggling to find where they belong. The novel is billed as a “gentle and reassuring exploration of friendship, identity, community and self-understanding”. 

The Deepest Breath was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020 and won the Judges’ Special Prize at the KPMG, Children’s Books Ireland Book of the Year Awards 2020.

Parkinson-Bennett said: “Watching The Deepest Breath finding its readers has been one of the privileges of my career. Meg has a beautiful gift for exploring anxiety, self-doubt and isolation in a gentle, kind and reassuring way. I look forward to seeing The Brightest Star step out from the shadow of its sister book and shine its own light into the world.”

Grehan added: “I love these characters and have carried them with me since writing their first story, so I truly adored getting to see what they’ve been up to. I will forever be grateful to everyone who connected with The Deepest Breath; they changed my life and made me a better, braver writer. I hope readers are excited to see Stevie again, I know she’s excited to see them!”