Iris’s grandmother, Mimi, is all at sea. She’s started wearing her clothes inside out, serving jam on scrambled eggs and talking to the moon.  As Mimi’s life becomes more muddled up and a mystery from the past surfaces. Iris and her friend Mason must search for answers: Who was Coral? What happened to her?

Talking to the Moon by S.E.Durrant is a gorgeous story of family and friendship. With a delightful cast of eccentric characters, this warm-hearted tale handles the difficult subject of dementia and the everyday chaos of family life with a perfect balance of humour and great care. Two year old siblings, a stressed out Mum and a hard working Dad are enough for anyone to deal with! Staying with Mimi provides the ideal escape for Iris and the quirky lifestyle painted contrasts brilliantly with her family home. Iris is immediately likeable, her love for Mimi admirable and her desire to protect Mimi with lists to remind her of all manner of daily tasks utterly moving. The engaging thread of mystery running throughout keeps you guessing and whilst the reality Iris is facing is clear, there is always hope and always love.  A really lovely read.

S.E Durrant has written other great middle-grade reads including the brilliant Little Bits of Sky; you can read my review here. Find out more at www.nosycrow.com.

With thanks to Nosy Crow for sending me this book to review.