• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

“A love letter to the process of research, the experience of writing poetry, and Iceland.”—School Library Journal

Owen has always done well, even without trying that hard. He gets As in school, is an avid photographer and knows he can count on his family’s support. But then Owen makes a mistake. A big one. And now he must face his fear of disappointing his entire family.

A last-minute trip to Iceland, just Owen and his granddad, seems like the perfect way out. For Owen’s granddad, the trip is about paying tribute to a friend with Icelandic roots. But Owen has a more urgent reason for going: he must get back the notebook his granddad accidentally sent to the Iceland archive. He can’t let anyone read the things he wrote in it!

The pair gets on a plane, excited to leave their prairie town for a country of lava fields, glaciers and geysers. However, as they explore Iceland, the plan to recover Owen’s notebook starts to spiral out of control. Why does Owen’s granddad seem so confused and forgetful? And can Owen really hide the truth of what’s in his notebook?

Key Text Features
author’s note
historical context
dialogue

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

Jessica Scott Kerrin is the author of The Things Owen Wrote, The Spotted Dog Last Seen (finalist for the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award and the John Spray Mystery Award) and The Missing Dog Is Spotted. She is also the author of the picture book, The Better Tree Fort (illustrated by Qin Leng), and is known for the Lobster Chronicles series and the bestselling Martin Bridge series. Her novels have been translated into French, Turkish, Russian and Slovenian.

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Born and raised in Alberta, Jessica now lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Jessica Scott Kerrin's profile page

A quietly powerful gem, this novel will find a special place in readers' hearts.

Atlantic Books Today

Scott Kerrin has written an intriguing and thoughtful treatment of the onset of dementia through one boy's eyes.

Canadian Children's Book News

A tender and affecting coming-of age story.

Kirkus Reviews

. . . deftly written and well-paced.

Quill & Quire

An unusual and moving novel.

School Library Journal