Flora “Flossie” Barnes is a pretty content preteen living in a lovely home with her mum, stepdad, and baby half brother. She’s got the most popular girl in school for a best friend, a teacher she loves, and a father with whom she adores spending her weekends. Suddenly, however, her world turns upside down when her stepdad is given a temporary job assignment in Australia and she is horrified at the thought of not seeing her beloved dad for six months.

Floss is a bit of a drama queen ordinarily, but for this crisis, she pulls out all the stops and convinces her mother that she must stay behind in England with her dad. This is an agonizing decision for both mother and daughter, who may fight bitterly but truly love each other and value being together. Flossie’s mum reluctantly allows her to remain with her father, but insists that she keep an emergency plane ticket to Australia readily accessible Flossie, however, is determined to make a life with her father and have it be happy and triumphant in every way. Sadly, roadblocks abound as she and her father face one disaster after another—bankruptcy, eviction, homelessness, and physical danger—all kept quite secret from her faraway mother.

This is an ideal novel for a Mother/Daughter Book Club gathering, in that author Jacqueline Wilson addresses timely issues without moralizing or judging. How much of Flossie’s actions are informed by her mother’s teaching and guidance, with or without her actual presence? Throughout this affecting tale, Flossie remains resourceful, loving, generous, and optimistic, a genuine hero who faces the issues of relationships and responsibilities head-on. Reading Guide Discussions are available for download here and in the Activities section. Both mothers and daughters will want to weigh in on this conversation.