' This story of friendship love grief & growing up will yank on the heartstrings. & then some' Look Alice Bliss is fifteen. She's smart funny & clever. Not afraid to stand up for the things she believes in. She also idolizes her father & when he leaves home to fight a war she doesn't believe in Alice is distraught. She & her mother negotiate his absence as best they can -- waiting impatiently for his letters throwing themselves into school & work respectively bickering intermittently & in Alice's case falling for the boy next door -- but then they're told that he's missing in action & have to face up to the fact that he may never return. 'A powerful coming-of-age story of love family & grief' Big Issue 'I put down this book & 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 & intelligent.. .strong storytelling & a rich emotional core' Jenny Downham author of Before I Die