Synopsis:
Luke is angry about everything. His Mum’s illness, his Dad’s new relationship and now the baby. Now Luke is trapped for the summer on a remote Scottish island where time moves slowly. The island feels strange to city boy Luke – like it is stuck in the past.
Then he meets Meg, a girl who lives in a tiny boathouse with her grandfather. Meg’s Grandfather is stuck in the past too – he is increasingly forgetting things about himself and spending more time trapped in his own memories. He warns Luke about the Otter’s Moon and the dangers it brings.
Meg won’t explain what the Otter’s Moon means – instead she enlists Luke into helping with some very real Otters who need help to survive.
Review:
Escape to a windswept island for an adventure to warm the heart.
This story is predominantly about character. Luke’s Mum has depression, and he hasn’t adjusted to the changes in his family. Meg cares for her grandfather and is afraid to tell anybody about his declining mind incase she is separated from him. It is about the healing powers of wildlife and about how learning to care for others can make us more open to caring for ourselves. It is also the story of an otter family and their quest for survival.
Every description in the story felt both necessary and beautiful. There is a musicality to Susanna Bailey’s writing that makes every word feel as if it has been placed with consideration to the others – and to the whole. I especially enjoyed Bailey’s descriptions of the island with its beaches and secret bays and burns. They contain the joys of outdoor adventure in the best tradition of children’s fiction, but also the realities of nature. There’s no glossing over the fact that the world can be a harsh place.
There is a true heart at the centre of this story. The characters made real in such a way that it is difficult not to empathise with them, and there is a love too for the wider world. Meg’s passion for nature is matched by the author’s knowledgeable explanations – even the most hardened ‘city kid’ will long to go rock pooling or to stare at the night’s sky after reading about Luke and Meg’s adventures.
A lyrical and beautifully-written story about friendship, wildlife, and rediscovering parts of ourselves that feel lost.
- Otters’ Moon is available now from Egmont Books. RRP. £6.99.
