Bringing Back Kay-Kay

Lena and her brother have a special bond and she idolises him. But that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t enjoy some time without him and some time enjoying being centre stage in their family. When he goes missing after a school trip she feels terribly guilty for wanting that time alone and an absolute desperate ache to see him again. Real and complicated characters with emotional depth and normal internal conflicts make this brilliant mystery adventure a compelling read as Lena sets out to find out what happened to her brother and bring him home.

As Lena carefully pieces together the different parts of her brother’s life and the different stages of his disappearance she faces both the dismissal of her efforts by the adults around her and a growing understanding that, despite loving him with all her heart, she didn’t know some of the most important things about her brother’s life. She talks to his friends, to his teachers, reads his words and retraces every one of his steps. She finds out things that the adults in the story have missed and embarks on a journey to find out where exactly he is.

The mystery at the heart of this novel is carefully plotted and the clues that Lena pieces together carry the reader forward as we learn more about Karthik through the answers she finds. As her journey carries her further and further away from home we find ourselves transported along the railways of India and meeting the characters and landscape that are a part of the vibrant network.

As the story reaches its exciting and heart stopping climax we realise that bravery, heroism, intelligence and creativity all take different forms – but these themes are woven skillfully into the narrative which, at its heart is a gripping, exciting and brilliant adventure.