Diana Rosie Boeken

"Italy, 1938. Mussolini is in power and war is not far away ... Clara and Pippo are just children: quiet, thoughtful Clara is the older sister, Pippo the younger brother is forever chatting. The family has only recently arrived in the city carrying their few possessions. When Mamma goes missing early one morning, both Clara and Pippo go in search of her. Clara turns right; Pippo, left. As a result of the choices they make that morning, their lives will be changed forever. Diana Rosie's Pippo and Clara tells the story of a family and a country divided. But will Clara and Pippo - and their mother - find each other again?"--Publisher

A story about love and loss - and how so much of our lives hinges on chance . . .

Alberto is an old man. But he doesn't know how old—he remembers nothing before his arrival at an orphanage during the Spanish civil war. He rarely thinks about his missing childhood, but when seven-year-old Tino discovers his grandfather has never had a birthday party, never blown out candles on a birthday cake, never received a single birthday present, he's determined things should change. And so the two set out to find Alberto's birthday. Their search for the old man's memories takes them deep into the heart of Spain, a country that has pledged to forget its painful past. As stories of courage, cruelty and love unfold, Alberto realizes that he has lost more than a birthday. He has lost a part of himself. But with his grandson's help, he might just find it again.