It's hard to pretend that everything is normal when your whole life has been turned upside down 'She's gone!' The letter said she needed time to be herself again. But what does that mean? Greg and Lucy, at fourteen and twelve, act cool and responsible when their mother leaves. Six-year-old Grace is just bewildered. Conor, a troubled ten-year-old, takes drastic action to show how he feels. And behind it all there is hope, and the beginnings of a plan to bring their mother back.

 

 

This book has been graded for interest at 10 years.

There are 176 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 2013 by O'Brien Press Ltd .

Marita Conlon-McKenna is one of Ireland's bestselling novelists, writing both for children and adults. Her children's book UNDER THE HAWTHORN TREE has sold more than 500, 000 copies. Marita lives in the Stilorgan area of Dublin with her husband and four children.