MR NOBODY by Natalie Gordon, £6.99 ISBN 978-1-500464882
DENT mum Natalie Gordon’s debut novel - which was longlisted in The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition 2014 - captures childish fears at their funniest as nine-year-old Katie is forced to share a room with her moody big sister because her grandmother is moving in.
Told from both Katie’s and her gran’s point of view, the reasons for the old lady’s odd behaviour appears at first to be simple old age, but the involvement of her imaginary, mischievous friend - the eponymous Mr Nobody - is soon revealed.
Both gran and granddaughter find out they fill the same position in the household hierarchy as Gran gets shouted at by Dad for nearly setting the house on fire.
This unlikely relationship provides many comical moments but the book is ultimately a moving portrait of youth coping with the challenges of living with someone with Alzheimer’s.
Jack Hartley
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