Small Mercies

Mercy needs to stand up for herself. She also needs a miracle. Eleven-year-old Mercy lives with her eccentric foster aunts two elderly sisters so poor they can afford only one lightbulb. A nasty housing developer is eyeing their house, which suddenly starts falling apart just as Aunt Flora does, too. Shes forgetting words, names and even how to behave in public. Mercy tries to keep her head down at school but when a classmate frames her for stealing the schools raffle money, Mercys teachers decide to take a closer look at her home life. With the help of a neighbour, Mr Singh, who teaches Mercy about Gandhi and his principles of passive resistance, Mercy finds a tool that can help solve her problems. But first, like Gandhi, she needs to stand up for herself. She also needs a miracle. And to summon it she has to find her voice and tell the truth and that truth is neither pure nor simple. A book that already feels like a classic, Small Mercies holds a strong message for children today. Full of heart, it will shine among the best children's literature for years to come.