She could have been famous. Instead she chose motherhood.
Six-year-old Belinda Brabbage has amassed a wealth of wisdom. She knows all the best hiding places, how to zap monsters with her pig-shaped torch and why never to accept lifts from strangers – even ones who offer Fizzy Fish. But Belinda’s mummy isn’t like the other mothers who gather at the school gates. She’s different somehow. Mummy doesn’t like to be plagued with questions. but when she isn’t concentrating, she drops nuggets of information. Belinda collects them all, certain a pattern will emerge. It’s only a matter of time.
Time is Alison’s enemy. This hand-to-mouth existence was only supposed to be temporary. But there’s one clock she can’t re-set. Belinda is growing up. Soon she’ll recognise the ballerina in the photograph album. She’ll understand who her mother was, who she could have been – and what she does to pay their rent.
With options quickly running out, Alison consults a blind clairvoyant, whose visions appear to herald change. Then a chance meeting with an affluent couple affords a glimpse of the life Alison so desperately wants for her daughter. But can she trust their offer of friendship or is it simply too good to be true?
If you enjoy thought-provoking fiction about characters forced into impossible choices, this captivating and unconventional story of an unusual mother and daughter is for you.
Don’t let this brilliant book pass you by!
Amazon review
An extraordinary level of emotion brought on by some superb storytelling.
the cult den
A damn good read, and dare I say, important.
Carol Cooper, author of The Girls of Alexandria
