Following the success of The Shell House, Linda Newbery again demonstrates her brilliance at weaving thought-provoking subjects into a wholly satisfying and sensitively drawn novel.Hilly's German grandmother, HeidiGran, comes to live with her family after she gets Alzheimer's disease; but as her mind becomes more muddled, secrets from her memories of life during the Second World War start to emerge. Why does HeidiGran keep talking about a girl called Rachel? And why does she make racist remarks about Hilly's friend, Reuben? As Hilly struggles to cope with revelations about her family's past, she encounters racism and prejudice for herself when a friend becomes the victim of a mindless attack. She also falls in love for the first time. This is a wonderfully evocative novel exploring the recurring prejudices that affect every generation.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book features in the following series: Definitions Series, Red Fox Books .

This book has been graded for interest at 12-17 years.

There are 384 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2010 by Penguin Random House Children's UK .

LINDA NEWBERY is the author of a number of titles for young readers.