Don't Breathe A Word

Marianne Musgrove (author)

Random House, Australia: 2009; 137pp

ISBN: 9781741662962

Genre: realistic fiction

Issues: aging, caring, family, loyalty, relationships, responsibility, trust

When their grandfather has a fall and ends up in hospital overnight, Kenzie and Thalia realise how precarious their home situation is. Orphaned young, their grandfather, ‘Pirate', is all that stands between them and foster care - a fate they dread.

But how can the girls conceal their grandfather's fragility when it becomes apparent that something is very wrong? He takes to wandering at night, believing himself to be much younger. He mistakes his granddaughter, Kenzie, for his daughter, Meredith. He blows up a microwave while ‘fixing' it. He gives away a fortnight's pension to a charity collector - but then doesn't understand why his bank account is empty.

And keeping Pirate safe and her small family together seems to be a responsibility that falls almost entirely on eleven year old Kenzie's shoulders. Thalia, blithely ignoring the warning signs she doesn't want to see, is more concerned with her dance concert rehearsals. Kenzie finds herself struggling to manage a restless, cranky adult, the housework, cooking - and an overdue school project. She becomes isolated from friends who have no idea of the burden she is carrying.

Marianne Musgrove has captured the confusion, anxiety and frustration of the child carer who is torn between love, duty and a longing for forgotten childhood normality, where adults were the carers. The very different reactions of Kenzie and Thalia to the situation, as well as what they see as the threat of interference offered by their adult stepsister give the reader insight into the terrible complexities of such situations. There are many ‘invisible carers' of a very young age in our community. Don't Breathe A Word champions their cause whilst also questioning a society where children cannot ask for help for fear of losing what they most want - a home with those they love.