A heartfelt time-travel adventure about a boy trying to understand and help his grandfather, with humour alongside grief, family upheaval and the unsettling effects of Alzheimer’s.
Cosmo witnesses his grandfather’s changing memory, personality and behaviour, and looks for a way to help him.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The book presents memory loss through the emotional experience of a child and shows the strain placed on relatives and carers.
Talk about: How does the story distinguish the person from the illness, if at all?
Family loyalty and separation
Cosmo lives with his grandparents after his mother leaves for Australia, while outside intervention threatens further separation.Provisional readingProvisional: the reviewed evidence does not establish how the book treats this theme. The evidence gap is listed under Confidence & Basis.Provisional: the reviewed evidence does not establish how the book treats this theme. The evidence gap is listed under Confidence & Basis.
Talk about: Whether does Cosmo’s protective role bring his family closer, or create further complications?
Past and present
A key takes Cosmo to Blackbrick Abbey in the past, where he meets his grandfather as a sixteen-year-old and plans to gather memories.AmbiguousAmbiguous: the book leaves its position open to more than one reasonable reading.Ambiguous: the book leaves its position open to more than one reasonable reading.
How the book presents it: The fantastical journey can be read literally within Cosmo’s experience or as an imaginative way of making sense of events; the author deliberately leaves some questions open.
Talk about: What does the journey suggest about changing the past compared with understanding it?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
It may suit readers who enjoy imaginative mysteries with emotional stakes, especially stories about loyalty, memory, the influence of the past and a young person trying to protect someone they love.
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What Deserves Attention
Consider whether the reader would welcome a book showing memory loss through a child’s eyes. It includes confusion, incontinence, social pressure, sudden fury, bereavement and the fear of family separation.
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A Conversation Worth Having
How does Cosmo’s attempt to recover his grandfather’s memories change his understanding of what can be repaired, what must be accepted and how people remain connected through loss?
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Reading Approach
If Alzheimer’s or family separation is personally relevant, read alongside the child and pause after emotionally intense scenes. Afterwards, discuss how humour, imagination and responsibility shape Cosmo’s response.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Memory, identity and caregiving: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Family loyalty and separation: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Past and present: The precise status of the time travel and the meaning of some coincidences and memories remain unresolved.
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