Advice from a 12-year-old Nobody

Vinny is twelve. He lives with his elder sister, agony aunt mother, Amanda and his dad. Vinny is aware there have been too many silences between his parents recently, and his dad is rarely home. Vinny is also having problems with his two best friends because they are into girls and not their regular role-playing game on a Sunday.

Vinny finds an old advice blog of his mother’s. He notices that some of the requests for advice have not been answered. Thinking, ‘How hard can it be?’ he begins answering.

The responses he gets are mostly kind, praising his advice, and Vinny starts to feel less invisible. However, he is still unable to voice his true fears about what might be going on with his parents, and then he gets caught writing the blog by his mum. Will Vinny have the courage to ask his mum what he needs to know?

Helen Rutter’s characters are three dimensional and believable, even if the situation with Vinny finding his Mum’s old blog stretches credulity. The message of this book is loud and clear. No problem is too big to talk about with those you love. This book will also appeal to young readers who love role-playing games.