How To Find Your Way In The Air

Emily can’t forgive Grandad for coming to stay and taking over her precious bedroom. It’s Khadija, her best friend, who finds a way to break through. Grandad is excited by Khadija’s Barbadian ancestry, recalling Aubie, his best friend from long ago. As he tells them how he and Aubie were Prisoners of War, the two girls appoint Grandad their Oral History Informant for their school project on World War 2. In chapters alternating with theirs, he unfolds his story, tapping into memories that have remained buried for sixty years. Meanwhile, Emily and Khadija are dealing with the pangs of first love, the terror of confronting a racist gang. Making it their mission to track down Aubie before it’s too late, they go to spend half-term in Barbados. They find Aubie just in time for Grandad’s ninetieth birthday, only for a hurricane to blow all their plans away. The airport is closed, they miss his birthday and return to find that he has died in hospital. In the midst of her devastation, Emily is comforted by Abdi, a young Somali refugee who has befriended Grandad. Grandad’s last gift to Emily is a little book: How To Find Your Way In The Air.