To the moon and back by Dianne Bates

Big Sky, 2017. ISBN 9781925520293
(Age: 11+) What does a young eight year old girl do when her world is falling apart? This is exactly what happened to Claire when her mum announced that she is leaving her dad. As if that is not bad enough Claire discovers that her mum is planning to move to the country with her new boyfriend Mac. Thrown into a small one-teacher school and forced to make friends with children she has nothing in common with, isolation, resentment and loneliness begin to take over. I mean who would want to move to a house that has no electricity, no proper toilet and no Wifi? Not only does Claire have all of this to adjust to but she is also faced with meeting her dad's new girlfriend. What else could possibly go wrong? Plenty as you will see as the story unfolds.
This is a heart-warming story that addresses an issue that is facing many of our children today. Parents separating, new partners being introduced and children being forced to move to new places. It would be an excellent text for them to read to see they are not the only ones who experience what they are feeling.
The book touches on separation, guilt, loneliness, rejection and acceptance. It does touch briefly on domestic violence so I would recommend it for children 11 and up. It is just under 300 pages but the writing is quite large.
Kathryn Schumacher