Tangled Secrets

Anne-Marie Conway's Tangled Secrets is a moving family mystery for 10 year olds about a girl who's gone quiet since losing her nan.

What happens

Maddie used to be the chatty one. Six months after Nan died, she can barely get words out in class. Her grades are slipping (all except art). She still sleeps with a purple ribbon under her pillow, even though she's nearly thirteen.

Then a woman rings asking for Dad. She says her name is Sharon and she sounds upset. Dad says he doesn't know anyone called Sharon.

The next afternoon, Maddie's on her favourite bench in the cemetery. A woman in a blue silk scarf lays pink tulips on Nan's grave (Nan's favourites) and leaves a note that says sorry. Who is she? And why does she need forgiving?

Worth knowing before you hand it over

The book opens with Nan collapsing on the pavement while she and Maddie walk to the shops. Maddie is with her and her fingers won't press the right numbers. It's short, but it's vivid, and Maddie still has nightmares about it. If your reader has lost a grandparent recently, especially suddenly, this might be very raw.

For a child who's a bit further along, it could be a real comfort. It's honest about how grief can make you worry about everyone else. Maddie reads up on strokes and decides her dad could drop dead at any moment. She also can't find a way to tell her best friend that she doesn't care about school stuff any more.

It's not all heavy, though. Her little brother Charlie is desperate to get into the football team (he was born three months early and he's still small for his age). Mum keeps discovering new superfoods. Dad tells terrible jokes.

Then there's school. Mrs Palmer puts Maddie in a "nurture group" with a counsellor called Vivian (who owns a very naughty Pekinese). Maddie is mortified. And Kieran Black, who calls her Maddie Mouse and does a drum roll when she has to read aloud, seems to have made winding her up his life's mission.

Reading it is like being right inside Maddie's head, with all the questions going round and round. You'll really want her to get her words back.

What to read next

If they like a quiet girl piecing together a family secret, Butterfly Summer by the same author is a lovely next step. Becky has just moved to the countryside, and her mum has never really explained why she left there in the first place.