Eight-year-old Pepper sees the world a little differently from most people.
One day, during a school field trip, Pepper is kidnapped by a stranger and driven to rural Arkansas. The man, who calls himself 'Uncle Dan', claims that Pepper's mother has died and they are to live together from now on - but the boy isn't convinced.
Pepper always found it hard to figure out when people are lying, but he's absolutely certain his mother is alive, and he's going to find her.
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[There are things I know, things I remember, and things that other people tell me]***
(@FairlightBooks, 11 July 2018, paperback, 119 pages, bought from @AmazonUK)
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This is an incredibly sad book but incredibly touching and hopeful and full of life. I cried a lot when I was reading it. It's not clearly stated in the book but I think Pepper has autism. I've read a few books featuring kids with autism and their behaviour and traits are similar to Pepper. The book takes every mother's nightmare as a focus - a child taken. The author focuses on the experiences of the child rather than the parents which I haven't come across before. The book really chilled me at times. Who is this man 'Uncle Dan' and what are his motivations? He sends Pepper to school which is not exactly what you'd expect from a child kidnapper. He hits Pepper once but seems to genuinely care for him. Pepper does not seem to fully understand what's happened to him and that 'Uncle Dan' is a bad man. The ending of the book broke my heart a little it was so sad yet so happy at the same time.
