Owen has always done well, even without trying that hard. He gets As in school, he's an avid photographer, and he knows he can count on his family's support. But then he makes a mistake. A big one. And now he faces the fear of disappointing his entire family.
A last-minute trip to Iceland, just Owen and his granddad, seems like the perfect way out. For Owen's granddad, the trip is about paying tribute to a friend with Icelandic roots. But Owen has a more urgent reason for going - he must get back the notebook his granddad accidentally sent to the Iceland archive. He can't let anyone read the things he wrote in it!
But the plan to recover Owen's notebook starts to spiral out of control. Why does his grandad seem to confused and forgetful? And can Owen really hide the truth of what he has done?
This is a gentle novel of love, loss, and self-fulfilment, all
intertwining in Owen’s life. The present-tense, third-person narrative
primarily focuses on Owen’s point of view, permitting a believable and
nuanced exploration of his emerging self-awareness. Owen, Neville, and
Owen’s dead but much-missed grandmother Aileen are fully realized
characters. Even the (real) poet Stephansson emerges from the pages of
this quiet tale. A tender and affecting coming-of age story. (Fiction.
10-14) ~ Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2017
An unusual and moving novel. ~ School Library Journal, October, 2017
