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CUT FLOWERSThe novel
Cut Flowers is Aneeta Prem MBE’s novel of friendship, family secrets, music and courage. Its safeguarding purpose is serious, but its characters and story come first.
On the last day before the summer holidays, best friends Katie and Sophia receive a simple homework assignment: prepare a presentation about what they did. The task will eventually connect two very different holidays, but first the girls must live them.
Katie travels to Africa to meet Granny JoJo and her cousins. Behind the safari trips, she discovers that no one will speak about Aunt Daisy. As the truth emerges, Katie realises that she and her cousin Sweetpea may face the same danger.
Back in England, Sophia meets Charlie and enters a seaside singing adventure that reaches into royal circles. Music gives her holiday pace, comedy and ambition while Katie’s story gathers danger elsewhere.
When Katie returns, Sophia’s creativity and the friends’ loyalty turn a school presentation into something larger. The novel moves from private family silence towards a public voice without losing sight of the girls at its centre.
The safeguarding theme gives the story consequence rather than replacing the story. Fiction allows readers to explore pressure, secrecy, loyalty and help-seeking through characters, without being asked to disclose personal experience.
Paperback. First published in 2016 by Prem Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9569751-5-7. Illustrated by Robyn Neild.
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