This story of friendship, love, grief and growing up will yank on the heartstrings. And then some' Look Alice Bliss is fifteen. She's smart, funny, and clever. Not afraid to stand up for the things she believes in. She also idolizes her father, and when he leaves home to fight a war she doesn't believe in, Alice is distraught. She and her mother negotiate his absence as best they can - waiting impatiently for his letters, throwing themselves into school and work respectively, bickering intermittently and, in Alice's case, falling for the boy next door - but then they're told that he's missing in action and have to face up to the fact that he may never return. 'A powerful coming-of-age story of love, family and grief' Big Issue 'I put down this book and thought, there is no one like this girl, so fully has Harrington brought a new Alice to life' Sarah Blake, bestselling author of The Postmistress 'Compassionate and intelligent . . . strong storytelling and a rich emotional core' Jenny Downham, author of Before I Die