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And then there's a terrible accident. Newly orphaned, Rose finds herself transported to Britain by the Luca family - wealthy Romanian ex-pats. And no matter how much Mrs Luca spoils her with gifts and attention, Rose doesn't like there. Mr Luca is cross and sharp. His daughter Victoria is resentful and spoiled. And this ''gadje'' house has so many rules. There's no music either. So Rose refuses to speak...
Sally Grindley writes about children facing adversity - children whose situations are different in some way from the majority of her readers. She has written about [[Bitter Chocolate by Sally Grindley|child labour]] on cocoa plantations, the many [[Torn Pages by Sally GrindleyAIDS Grindley|AIDS orphans]] in Africa, and the family tensions caused by [[Hurricane Wills by Sally Grindley|attention deficit disorder]] right here in the UK. Her books are marked by lively curiosity, great humanity, and never come without a good dollop of common sense. They're perfect for children, who always like reading about other children, and who are also full of lively curiosity about the world around them.
''My Name is Rose'' has perhaps a slightly less realistic plot than some of her other books in that an orphaned child is simply uprooted to another country and no attention is really paid to the bribes and forgeries that this sort of thing would entail. But Rose's grief - resulting in selective mutism - is as real as anything. And the descriptions of her life in the Roma community are vivid, accurate and stereotype-defying. You're rooting for this little girl right from page one.