Grappling with grief is hard enough without repeat visits from the deceased. Pearl deals with death life and family in this haunting humorous and poignant debut. The world can tip at any moment… a fact that fifteen-year-old Pearl is all too aware of when her mum dies after giving birth to her baby sister Rose. Rose who looks exactly like a baby rat all pink wrinkled and writhing. This little Rat has destroyed everything even ruined the wonderful relationship that Pearl had with her stepfather the Rat’s biological father. Mum though… Mum’s dead but she can’t seem to leave. She keeps visiting Pearl. Smoking cursing guiding. Told across the year following her mother’s death Pearl’s story is full of bittersweet humour and heartbreaking honesty about how you deal with grief that cuts you to the bone as she tries not only to come to terms with losing her mother but also the fact that her sister — The Rat — is a constant reminder of why her mum is no longer around.
