After the Death of Alice Bennett by Rowland Molony

Paperback, 203 pages

Published January 4th 2007 by Oxford University Press

ISBN

0192754726 (ISBN13: 9780192754721)

original title

After the Death of Alice Bennett

 

Before mum died, she told Sam that she would always be with him. On the day of mum's cremation, his sister Becky receives a text from a friend: 'Thinking about you. X' Sam becomes convinced that the text is from their mother. Imagine if he could text back?! When he finds mum's mobile phone and a 'contact number' in her handwriting, Sam his heart pounding, sends a message. It is received by a kind but lonely lorry driver, Tony. Unthinkingly, Tony responds. Before he knows it, the boy is texting regularly, and Tony is replying. Sam thinks he's in contact with mum and forms a plan. He's going to find her and bring her back for Christmas. By the time Tony realises what's happening, he can't bring himself to tell Sam that it's not his mother on the end of the phone, but neither can he just stop texting or, worse, let the child turn up. He also realises that he's come to rely on Sam's messages because they make him feel less alone. As Sam sets out on his journey, Tony must try to find him. But how will he explain to this little boy that his mother is really dead? And how will Sam cope when confronted with the truth?

 

My Review

Death is a complicated thing to go through. No one ever really knows how to deal with it or what to do about it. But how do you explain the complications of death to a child who has lost their mother and has some notion that there is another world where they have most likely gone to. The book is something that I think should be given to those who are struggling with this concept of death because it shows and represents that we are not alone, that we do not have to go through this complicated time on our own. The story was very basic and simple but it was imaginative and seemed to have something very real to it. Your piece just showed how when a child is not explained the process of death properly, they start to make things up, they start to imagine all sorts of things. In many ways this was an emotionally triggering book that makes you look at Death. How would you feel, what would you do if you were in his situation and what exactly do you believe about it all.

There were some bits within the book that leaves you highly suspicious as to whether that would have happened. would you be that luck enough to meet up with a random person at such a young age and not get kidnapped or hurt or questioned some way or another. the book just leave you with a whole lot of questions but at the same time it is engaging and really pulls me in.

 

My rating