A roller-coaster of a book full of tears and laughter as the lives of two unhappy children – Zack and Alice – become entangled in ways that allow both of them to be set free from the secrets and mysteries of the past. Alice has always been blissfully happy in her life. Knowing she is adopted has never been a problem. But when her parents announce she is about to have a sister – their own baby – Alice takes on a mutinous silence and heads for the forbidden beach. When Zack’s father is killed in an air crash everything else in his world comes crashing down too. Zack is furious to be moved away from all he knows to a tiny cottage by the sea. Raging against his mother he too heads for the forbidden beach. Alice and Zach help each other to re-balance before unleashing a drama that forces their parents to tell them the truth about the past.
Ever since she was adopted by her parents, Culver Manor, with its hidden rooms and overgrown garden has been the one place Alice feels safe, the one place she can call home. Everything's perfect. Until it isn't. When she finds out her Mum is going to have a baby, Alice's world turns upside down. Will they love their real baby more than her? Why isn't she enough for them anymore? Alice doesn't know what to say, so she doesn't speak at all. She stays silent that day and the day after that, until six months have passed without her saying one single word. Zack has everything he could want. His dad's a film stuntman, he lives in the best house on the best street and is Mr Popular at school. Everything's perfect. Until it isn't. Zack's dad is killed on set and he and his mum are forced to sell their house and move to a tiny cottage by the sea. Ripped from the life he once knew, Zack is angry at the world and looking for trouble. Then he meets Alice, the girl who doesn't speak, and together they begin to realise that sometimes it's when life seems less than perfect that the most magical things can happen.
“Realistic and extremely poignant at times - a gorgeous contemporary tale ” Serendipity Reviews
Author
About Suzi Moore
SUZI MOORE was brought up in Manchester but now lives in Somerset with her husband. She is well-tuned in to what children like to read, having worked as both a nanny and a teaching assistant. In her spare time, she is partial to a few cakes and biscuits.
