A poignant, powerful and emotive story of a small family's love, loss and resourcefulness in the face of adversity. Acclaimed and prizewinning author Sally Grindley cleverly portrays the story of AIDS as seen through the eyes of a young girl, who when her mother and father both die must look after her brother and little sister.
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.
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 nationwide children's book club. She has been a full-time author since 1995 and has had over 140 books published. She won the prestigious Smarties Gold Prize in 2005 for her novel ‘Spilled Water’, and 'Shhh' won the Children's Book Award in 1992 and was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize. She has also won and been shortlisted for a number of other awards. Sally is lauded for her ability to write across a wide range of subjects and for a wide range of ages – from street kids to giants and from toddlers to pre-teens.
