2024
Isla and Lac’s
mum goes missing. ‘Aunty Lou’ – not really their aunty but a friend of their mother who looks after them from time to time –
cannot look after them this time as she has
to go to hospital for an operation. Mum had
not realised this.
Isla, who is
partially deaf, and wears an aid, is bullied at school and now has to act as parent
to Lac, short for Lachlan, her younger brother. A look at her mum’s browsing history indicates
to Isla that mum has gone to the Hebrides.
So, she Lac,
her hamster Weasley and Lac’s Luke Skywalker toy set off. They manage but don’t
shine at camping and fending for themselves. Jo Somerset really has got rid of the
adults and left the children to have the adventure on their own. Unlike in the Enid Blyton books this isn’t fun
and it isn’t even too comfortable.
The police
and social workers are now looking for them.
There are
some charming coincidences, just like in all the good works by Dickens, Molière
and Shakespeare. The children inadvertently end up at their Granny’s home. The
co-pilot in the helicopter that is looking for them is their father. Granny
recognises the ring Isla has brought with her.
It’s all a slightly
uncomfortable read. Was Mum negligent to
go off and leave them like that? Why had Dad abandoned them?
It comes right
in the end but still leaves questions.
The book is 209
pages long. It uses a blocked text and
an adult serif with difficult ‘a’s and
‘g’s. Each chapter heading has a black and white picture
of something to do with the chapter.
In the acknowledgments
Somerset refers to her work with Greenback Primary school.
There is
also a note for children about where they might get help if they are facing
problems like Isla’s.
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