Not My Fault

Cath Howe's Not My Fault is a moving school-trip story for 10 year olds about two sisters who've barely spoken since one terrible afternoon at the park.

What happens

Rose and Maya are only eleven months apart, and they're in the same class. Rose is the neat, sensible one who wins gymnastics trophies. Maya is loud, cross and in trouble most of the time.

It all goes back to a playground roundabout. Rose gave it one extra push, Maya fell, and her leg was badly hurt. Now her ankle is held together with metal and she isn't allowed to run. Rose is sure it's all her fault. Maya just hates her.

Then the whole class sets off on a school trip to Wales. Mum quietly asks Rose to keep an eye on her sister. Maya, meanwhile, has already been moved away from her friends on the coach by a new and very strict teacher (and she's furious).

The chapters swap between the two girls, and that's what makes it so good. You hear Rose thinking she must be a horrible person. Then you hear Maya thinking Rose is perfect and gets everything she wants. Neither of them has a clue what the other one's feeling!

Anyone with a brother or sister will recognise bits of it. A holiday moved for one child's competition. Parents too busy on their phones. A boiled egg flying across the kitchen at breakfast. It's funny in places, but mostly it's about big feelings nobody's saying out loud.

The accident on the very first page is vivid (Maya's scream and her twisted leg stay with Rose), and there's a lot of family tension from then on. If your reader's had a hospital stay, or has a brother or sister who's been ill, it might feel close to home. For most readers it's a really satisfying one to get stuck into.

What to read next

If they'd like more Cath Howe, try Ella on the Outside. Ella is the new girl at a big school, writing letters to her dad and trying to work out who might be her friend.