Swimming on the Moon
Even though Anna’s parents are going through an undeniably rough patch, the stubborn twelve-year-old is utterly determined to make them stay together – there’s no way she’s letting them split up! Especially if that means there might be even the smallest possibility of having to live apart from her twin brother, Anto. He might be a boy and he might use Lego bricks to speak but he’s the best thing in Anna’s world and she’s not about to let him go without a fight. Nobody comes between her and her twin.
Clearly, then, Anna needs a plan, and a family holiday to Italy sounds like just the ticket – her parents are bound to fall in love again beside the pool! But as Anna discovers more about the reality of her family’s problems, she begins to realise that a holiday won’t come close to fixing things.
Brian Conaghan is a writer who seems to be able to endlessly reinvent himself, offering his readers new and surprising stories with every turn. Anna is a great character, believable and full of personality, and every reader will root for her. Swimming on the Moon has his trademark mix of humour, wisdom and authentic emotion, and has the feel of a modern-day classic, tackling difficult and complex subjects in an accessible and worthwhile way.
