Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Protagonist archetypes
Themes
Synopsis
Eleven-year-old Riley believes in the whispers, magical fairies that will grant you wishes if you leave them tributes. Riley has a lot of wishes. He wishes bullies at school would stop picking on him. He wishes Dylan, his 8th grade crush, liked him, and Riley wishes he would stop wetting the bed. But most of all, Riley wishes for his mom to come back home. She disappeared a few months ago, and Riley is determined to crack the case. He even meets with a detective, Frank, to go over his witness statement time and time again. Frustrated with the lack of progress in the investigation, Riley decides to take matters into his own hands. So he goes on a camping trip with his friend Gary to find the whispers and ask them to bring his mom back home. But Riley doesn't realize the trip will shake the foundation of everything that he believes in forever.
Is The Whispers appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 10 and up.
Parents should know this book deals with a child processing the disappearance of his mother through belief in magical fairies. It addresses bullying, bedwetting, and grief, with an ending that likely involves Riley confronting painful truths about his mother's disappearance.
What to know going in
This book has mild violence, no sexual content, and clean language. Content notes include death of parent, grief, and abandonment (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Kids will connect with Riley's determination to solve his mother's disappearance and his friendship with Gary as they go on a quest to find magical whispers.