Page 3 - SAMPLE Luna Rae is Not Alone

ing long night shifts at her new job. Luna has her suspi- cions but doesn’t say anything, and looks after her little sister Lolly – making her breakfast and telling Lolly that their mum made it.
At her new school Luna finds out that there’s going to be a big baking competition which families can enter together – Luna LOVES baking and decides she’ll enter with her mum. Some of the other kids in her class are unkind and bullying towards Luna – one girl, Jennifer Browne, in particular, but she finds out that Rudo is in her class too, which makes her happier.They agree to meet in the treehouse that night.
Luna realises its been five days since she’s seen her mum – she doesn’t know what’s going on, but she keeps up the pretence that everything is fine to protect Lolly. She goes to the treehouse to meet Rudo but he doesn’t turn either, and now she’s worried about him too.
The next day at school Rudo still doesn’t show up. Later in the day Luna is called to the headteacher’s office, where her dad and Rudo’s mum are waiting.They tell Luna that Rudo has had an accident and is in hospital – and that Luna can come and visit him.
Luna sees Rudo and he tells her about his accident – he had been climbing up a bridge at night to spray-paint the message ‘Save the Whales’ on to the side when he fell and broke some bones. Luna promises to carry on taking notes on all of their neighbours while Rudo is in hospital.
The next day Luna goes to the treehouse, but is caught