Twelve-year-old Bobby Nusku is an archivist of his mother. He catalogues traces of her life and waits for her to return home. Bobby thinks that he's been left to face the world alone until he meets lonely single mother Val and her daughter Rosa. They spend a magical summer together, discovering the books in the mobile library where Val works as a cleaner. But as the summer draws to a close, Bobby finds himself in trouble and Val is in danger of losing her job. There's only one thing to do -- and so they take to the road in the mobile library...Quirky, dark, magical and full of heart, Mobile Library is both a tragicomic road trip and a celebration of the adventures that books can take us on. It's a love-letter to unlikely families and the stories that shaped us.
'Engagingly offbeat ... the van becomes as much of a vehicle of fantasy as the Little Prince's biplane or James's giant peach - both a sanctuary from the outside world and a store of limitless possibilities ... quietly profound ... genuinely compelling' Guardian
'Whitehouse cleverly illustrates the way in which lives and books intertwine' Daily Mail
'Powerful, eccentric ... Whitehouse's writing is energetic and pacey, spiked with startling moments of tenderness and superbly controlled. Don't wait for the inevitable film' The Times
'A beautifully written ode to childhood innocence' Marie Claire
'The quirkiest plot we've seen for a while ... making for a magical literary tour that evokes how the books we read as children inspire us. Heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure' Glamour
Author
About David Whitehouse
Dr David Whitehouse is a scientist, journalist and the author of five books, including THE SUN and THE MOON. He is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society a regular broadcaster on science-related matters for the BBC and Sky News. Asteroid 4036 Whitehouse is named after him.
