When Skeletons Rise

Eleven-year-old Arlo Skinner hasn’t felt settled since his dad disappeared in London. Moving to a small Cornish village with his mum was meant to help, but making new friends — or trusting anyone — still feels tough.

With the help of his teacher, Mr Murray, and two boys at school who slowly win him over, Arlo begins to feel like things might finally be getting better. Then a sailor’s skeleton is unearthed, sparking Arlo’s love of all things pirate and pulling him into the buried history of a long‑lost shipwreck.

As Arlo digs deeper into the secrets buried beneath the Cornish soil, surprising clues about his own family begin to surface. Just when Arlo starts to believe he could belong here, he worries that a hidden truth from the past might wreck everything.