Love, Aubrey by Suzanne La Fleur

It was fun at first, playing house. I made all my own meals. Crackers and cheese, three times a day. I watched whatever I wanted on TV, all day. It’d been a good three days: crackers and cheese for breakfast, TV; crackers and cheese for lunch, TV; crackers and cheese for dinner, TV, bed. Nothing to think about but TV and cheese. A perfect world.

Then I ran out of cheese.

A terrible thing happened to Aubrey. Now she is all alone with only her new fish Sammy for company. When her Grandmother comes to rescue her Aubrey is taken on a long trip to Vermont. She starts a new school and becomes friends with the girl next door. She is kept busy tending tomatoes and sweeping the front porch. But Aubrey is still unable to talk about her past. So she writes letters and posts them in an old oak tree. Gradually they help her to find the words she needs. On the surface Love, Aubrey appears to be an issue filled, tragic, tear jerker. It takes a while to realise what a beautiful book this is, how well it is written and what sweet, genuine characters live in these pages.

Love, Aubrey is longlisted for the Silver Inky