Luna Rae Is Not Alone by Hayley Webster

Luna Rae is Not Alone by Hayley Webster

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are a lot of new things in Luna Rae’s life. New home, new school, new friends. It’s a lot to deal with and the one she thinks might help would be winning the school’s baking competition with her mum. The only problem is that Luna’s mum has disappeared…

Luna Rae Is Not Alone is something rather special indeed. You should be getting it on your radar now. This is such a gentle, wise and soft book full of advice and guidance for anybody going through complicated family situations. Luna is prone to ‘catastrophising’ – that is, to see the worst possible outcome in a scenario, and Webster handles her anxieties so beautifully and kindly. I loved it. It’s the sort of book where there’s a lot swimming underneath the surface and you just sort of feel it coming through, this sort of warm and gentle and soft honesty. It doesn’t solve everything, nor ‘fix things’ nor does it wrap up everything in a neat bow. It just sort of goes ‘look, this is life’ and presents it to readers with such utter, gentle kindness. Beautiful stuff.

I also enjoyed how Webster handled the adults in her book. I think you can tell a lot about a book in the way it treats the adults and this is perfectly handled stuff. Adults have flaws, same as everybody else, and they’re trying to make things work the best they can. Might not be the right way, might not be the best way, but they’re trying and they’re learning along with all of us. There’s depth and texture in this book, everywhere you look.

February 2021, mark the date.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy.


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