'An extraordinary novel told from the perspective of ten-year-old Sam, who is recovering from an operation that leaves him unable to speak. Sam lives with his mother, sister Katie and Aunt Dettie, his father's sister, who helps to look after them. His father is notably absent, and has been for some time, but when their mother begins to date again, Aunt Dettie reacts very badly. After an unexpected phone call, Aunt Dettie packs Sam and Katie into the backseat of her car and tells them that she's taking them to Perth to be reunited with their father. As Dettie drives the children across Australia in the middle of a sweltering and dangerous bushfire season, her behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, and the children begin to realise that there is something very wrong.
'Voiceless, Sam can only watch helplessly as the family trip becomes a smoke-filled nightmare.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Writing Disability in Australia:
| Type of disability | Mutism (traumatic, after surgery for throat cancer). |
| Type of character | Primary. |
| Point of view | Third person. |
'After a failed laryngectomy to try to remove some cancerous lymphs, young Sam has a stoma, a hole, where his voice had once been. Rendered mute, he is shaken by the alienating experience, from diagnosis to hospital treatment to convalescence.' (Introduction)
'Children in peril make for gripping stories – think The Brothers Grimm and Dickens, A Series of Unfortunate Events and All the Light We Cannot See. In Sign, Colin Dray’s debut thriller, the child in question is Sam, a young boy recovering from an operation to remove a cancer from his throat, leaving him mute. His father, Donald, shot through to Perth a while ago, so Sam lives with his younger sister, adorable and lively Katie, and mum, Joanne, in pre-mobile-phone Sydney. His father’s sister, eccentric Aunt Dettie, has been of steadfast practical and emotional help through the separation and Sam’s illness.' (Introduction)
'After a failed laryngectomy to try to remove some cancerous lymphs, young Sam has a stoma, a hole, where his voice had once been. Rendered mute, he is shaken by the alienating experience, from diagnosis to hospital treatment to convalescence.' (Introduction)
'Children in peril make for gripping stories – think The Brothers Grimm and Dickens, A Series of Unfortunate Events and All the Light We Cannot See. In Sign, Colin Dray’s debut thriller, the child in question is Sam, a young boy recovering from an operation to remove a cancer from his throat, leaving him mute. His father, Donald, shot through to Perth a while ago, so Sam lives with his younger sister, adorable and lively Katie, and mum, Joanne, in pre-mobile-phone Sydney. His father’s sister, eccentric Aunt Dettie, has been of steadfast practical and emotional help through the separation and Sam’s illness.' (Introduction)
