Knowing the Score
Ros Roberts
Little Tiger

Gemma knows very little about her family members other than her mum with whom she has lived for as long as she can remember. However despite their closeness, Gemma is keen to find out about the others – Gran and Uncle Jo(e) – whom she has included in her special people mind map drawn during the year six residential from which she’s just returned. She’s aware that following her return from the USA, Mum fell out with Gran and since then they seldom see one another. She also has hazy memories of visiting Gran’s house and her Uncle’s disastrous wedding, after which all contact stopped.

Then Mum is invited to join Terry and two other friends on a month long, adults only Caribbean cruise. With some persuasion, she agrees to let Gemma stay with Gran, something the girl sees as an opportunity to start healing the family rift. At the last minute though comes news that Gran has fallen and broken her hip. Mum’s initial reaction is to cancel her plans but finally she allows her daughter to stay with Uncle Joe instead.

It’s evident to his niece from the start that he’s friendly, fun and generous, clearly with much more money that Gemma’s mum, though it’s his qualities not his wealth that Gemma values. When she learns that Uncle Joe has work commitments during the first part of her stay and that he has enrolled her in a tennis camp, she’s more than a little worried, but agrees to give it a try. It’s thanks to the camp that Gemma eventually discovers a vital secret about her mum; she also finds that she’s a quick learner when it comes to tennis and has a lot of potential as a player. Now all she needs to do is to bring her fractured family back together. Can she do that without upsetting anyone?

Embracing some of the harsher realities of life, this sensitively written story of a complex family
with its themes of forgiveness, new beginnings, healing and risk taking will be especially enjoyed by older KS2 readers.