AustLit

'Rae is ten years old. She’s tough and clever. She’s had to be: life with her mother has taught her the world is not her friend. Now something has happened, her mum is gone, and Rae is alone except for her dog, Splinter.'

'Rae can do a lot of things pretty well for a kid. She can shop and cook—a little—and take care of Splinter and keep the front yard neat enough that the neighbours won’t get curious. But she is gnawed at by shadows, anxieties that she cannot put into words.

'With Lettie, the old woman who lives next door, the words are not the problem. Lettie’s problem is a house full of objects that can’t make up for the things she has lost.

'Their friendship gives them both an escape, but how long can it last? (Publication summary)