Loose Connections

Jake’s dad is away and his pregnant mum is in hospital, so his granny is looking after Jake - or so they think. But Gran has changed. She tends to be dazed or confused, fills Jake’s sandwiches with strange combinations of food, leaves the cooker on, and wanders down the road in her nightie in the middle of the night. Jake doesn’t want to worry his parents, so he tries to look after Gran himself. But help comes from a mysterious quarter, in the form of a strange, ghostly girl called Verity.

Birth, death, and the rites of passage in family life that connect them are beautifully portrayed through the eyes of a young teenage boy.

Dad’s abroad, Mum’s ill in hospital, and Gran is looking after Jake. Or so everyone thinks. But soon Jake finds himself hiding a secret from his family, and the going gets  tougher - until one day he meets a mysterious girl called Verity.
Can discovering Verity’s identity help him deal with his dilemma?

Praise for Rosemary Hayes:

“Contemporary novel-writing at its most relevant.” - Independent