Talking to the Moon

S.E. Durrant's Talking to the Moon is a gentle seaside story for 11 year olds about a girl, her grandma and an old photo with one word on the back.

What happens

Iris is nearly eleven and she's been living at her grandma Mimi's house in Brighton for five weeks. Her own bedroom at home is full of damp and black mould. Mimi's house is full of STUFF (boxes of photos, ribbons on the drawers and a cat called Thomas who hisses at everyone).

Iris would stay forever if she could. At Mimi's they eat when they feel like it, bake cakes and swim in the sea. Well, Mimi swims. Iris is sure something is lurking underneath and lasts about three minutes.

But Mimi is getting muddled. She spoons jam onto Iris's eggs. She sets off for the beach in the wrong direction. She calls Iris by her mum's name. So Iris starts a list of notes to help her, like which way to turn for the sea.

On the mantelpiece sits a black-and-white photo of a little girl on Brighton beach who looks just like Iris. On the back it says Coral. Mimi calls her the lost girl, and Iris can't stop thinking about her.

Then there's Mason from next door, who crawls through the hedge, hunts for marbles and never stops talking. Iris definitely doesn't want a new friend (her last two best friends both moved away). Nobody seems to have told Mason.

It's Iris's own account, in short sections with their own little headings, and it feels very honest. She counts seagull calls. She worries her mum will choke on her toast on the way to work. She notices everything about Mimi, the little dances in the street, the yellow sandals, the way her face "goes down a very long way" when she's sad.

It's a quiet book about a grandparent's memory starting to fade, and that's worth knowing before you start. Mimi also tells Iris early on that Coral was lost at sea as a toddler, long before Iris was born. If your reader has a grandparent going through something similar, it could be a lot to take in (or it could be exactly the book they need).

For a thoughtful reader who likes a funny, observant narrator, it's a lovely one. And who doesn't know a Mimi they'd happily move in with?

What to read next

If this one goes down well, Running On Empty is another S.E. Durrant story with a grandparent at its heart. AJ is eleven, running is his thing, and his grandad was the one who kept his family's life in order.