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Synopsis

Torn Pages by Sally Grindley

There's something about a storm in the middle of the night that gathers a family close. It's as if nothing else exists outside that huddle of love in a blacked-out room which, try as it might, the storm cannot overwhelm. The storm that Liddy faces is the storm of AIDS, that is attacking their small African community.

It has taken away from her for ever her mother and father. With her brother, Joe, Liddy must try to bring up Kesi, their little sister. There is never enough to eat, they cannot afford to go to school, and even their grandmother goes out her way to make life difficult for them.

But their mother's voice of love is still there to guide them, in the handwritten diary which she left for them.

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Reviews

'Optimistic and heartening. Without compromising the painful seriousness of her theme, Sally Grindley has written a humane and enjoyable story'
The School Librarian
'Grindley's vivid portrayal of Lydia's hardships and the bonds that keep her family together offers a thought-provoking experience to older readers who want to open their eyes to a wider world'
The Observer
'An issues novel without moralising or didacticism'
The Financial Times
'The story flows beautifully, the first-person narrative ensuring the reader's emotional involvement with Lydia, who reveals herself as a fully rounded character, responsible and vulnerable, steadfast and childish, but whose ability to look beyond reality eventually wins through ... Excerpts from the memory book punctuate the narrative, a confirmation of the power of words in determining and shaping reality. Though tragic, the story is about strength of character and the will to succeed rather than ravaged lives'
Books for Keeps

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About The Author

Sally was our Guest Editor for December 2010. Click here to see her book selections.

Sally began writing in 1984 while she was working for a children's book club. Since 1995 she has been writing full time and has recently won the Smarties Prize. She now has some fifty titles in print. 'Shhh' won the Children's Book Award in 1992 and was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize. 'Wake Up Dad' won the 1989 Best Books for Babies Award and 'There's a Monster In Our House Who Eats Books' was Highly Commended in the 1997 Right Start/Petit Filous award, shortlisted in the 1998 Sheffield Children's Book Award and selected by the Young Book Trust in 1998 as one of the '100 best books'.

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