How Not To Disappear

Time Travelling with a Hamster

The Great Hamster Massacre

Mistflower - The Loneliest Mouse

The Mouse Rap

Mouse Guard : Fall 1152

Second Chance Summer

Optimists Die First

Grappling with grief is hard enough without repeat visits from the deceased. Pearl deals with death, life, and family in this haunting, humorous, and poignant debut.

The world can tip at any moment… a fact that fifteen-year-old Pearl is all too aware of when her mum dies after giving birth to her baby sister, Rose.

Rose, who looks exactly like a baby rat, all pink, wrinkled, and writhing. This little Rat has destroyed everything, even ruined the wonderful relationship that Pearl had with her stepfather, the Rat’s biological father.

Mum, though… Mum’s dead but she can’t seem to leave. She keeps visiting Pearl. Smoking, cursing, guiding.

Told across the year following her mother’s death, Pearl’s story is full of bittersweet humour and heartbreaking honesty about how you deal with grief that cuts you to the bone, as she tries not only to come to terms with losing her mother, but also the fact that her sister — The Rat — is a constant reminder of why her mum is no longer around.

Discover Your Child's Next Read

How Not To Disappear

Clare Furniss, 2015

Time Travelling with a Hamster

Ross Welford, 2015

The Great Hamster Massacre

Katie Davies, Hannah Shaw, 2009

Mistflower - The Loneliest Mouse

Krystina Kellingley, 2013

The Mouse Rap

Walter Dean Myers, 1990

Mouse Guard : Fall 1152

David Petersen, 2007

Second Chance Summer

Morgan Matson, Sarah Kapit, 2023

Optimists Die First

Susin Nielsen, 2017