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More great reads: the best books for 9 year olds

The Mystery of the Missing Mum

"A warm-hearted, moving family saga with a difference, as a boy faces up to the reasons for his mum’s disappearance"

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LoveReading4Kids Says

LoveReading4Kids Says

September 2022 Debut of the Month

Jake’s mum has disappeared and he can’t work out why no-one else is as worried as he is. Determined to find her in time for Christmas, only nine days away, Jake draws up a list of all the places she might be: Dad’s house, prison, Tesco, Oxford Street, the Bahamas, hospital, methodically working his way through them until only one option remains.

As Jake narrates, readers will pick up his pain, confusion, and anxiety, and gradually realise that there are things he’s not telling us, or even admitting to himself. The one thing we are always certain of however, is Jake’s love for his mum, which makes his narrative, funny as it often is, even more moving. All ends cheerfully, with Jake confident, secure in his abilities and the strength of his family, and looking forward to the year ahead.

A sensitive and warm-hearted examination of one boy’s experience of a parent’s mental illness this has much to say to all readers.

One to recommend to readers of The Rollercoaster Boy by Lisa Thomson or Jacqueline Wilson’s The Illustrated Mum.

Andrea Reece
Reviewed by Andrea Reece
Andrea Reece has spent almost her entire working life in children’s books, first as publisher, latterly as consultant, project manager and critic.
More reviews by Andrea Reece
Debuts of the Month

About The Mystery of the Missing Mum

One day, Jake wakes up to a different world: his mum seems to have vanished into thin air! Whilst his grandma's snoring in the kitchen and his older sister Rose is spending hours getting ready for school, it's down to Jake to start the search for his mum by making a list of places she might be: Tesco? The EU? Hospital? The Bahamas?

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