Charlotte has had to learn the hard way that little bad things that happen are not the end of the world. Having a row with your best friend, or swallowing a paper clip may seem terrible at the time, but when dad goes off to work one day and doesn't return, everything gets put into perspective. He has had a massive stroke, and Charlie will never see her funny, understanding dad again. Told in the first person, this is Charlie's outpourings of her feelings, other peoples' reactions, the changes to her family, and her growing realisation that 'everything changes - nothing stays the same'. Her reactions are complex, and she grows from being a self-centred 10 or 11 year old to one who begins to think of others. Part of her understanding comes from getting to know a new girl at school, Anita, who comes from a country unnamed but where she has experienced violence and pain. Charlie also comes to know the elderly widow next door, Mrs. Wieczerzak, who encourages her to make a memory box of the things that remind her of her father. Bereavement is absolutely central to this short novel. Easily read, it is packed with details of what it is like to lose a loved father when young.