Advice from a 12-Year-Old Nobody

Paperback

Vinny needs support from his agony-aunt mum, but she’s too busy helping other people to notice in this empathetic tale about family and mental health by bestseller Helen Rutter.

Vinny’s got problems – lots of them. His family's falling apart, and his best mates have dumped him for some really annoying girls.

He should be able to turn to his mum for help – she’s an online life coach who answers other people’s problems for a living. But she’s too busy to see that Vinny is really struggling.

Unable to solve his own issues, Vinny starts replying to unanswered posts on an old blog of his mum’s. At first the solutions seem easy, and he can be as hilariously honest as any 12-year-old boy would be, but what will happen when Vinny realises he’s out of his depth?

Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.

RRP: £7.99

Imprint

Barrington Stoke

ISBN

978-0-00-875958-2

Interest age

9+

Reading age

8

Publication Date

12-02-2026

Format

Paperback

Pages

88 pages

Dimensions

129x198mm

Product Description

Vinny needs support from his agony-aunt mum, but she’s too busy helping other people to notice in this empathetic tale about family and mental health by bestseller Helen Rutter.

Vinny’s got problems – lots of them. His family's falling apart, and his best mates have dumped him for some really annoying girls.

He should be able to turn to his mum for help – she’s an online life coach who answers other people’s problems for a living. But she’s too busy to see that Vinny is really struggling.

Unable to solve his own issues, Vinny starts replying to unanswered posts on an old blog of his mum’s. At first the solutions seem easy, and he can be as hilariously honest as any 12-year-old boy would be, but what will happen when Vinny realises he’s out of his depth?

Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.

Author

Helen Rutter, Illustrated by Julia Christians

Helen Rutter is an acclaimed author and comedian. Her debut novel, The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh, was a Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month, in addition to being nominated for the Carnegie, shortlisted for the Costa, Blue Peter and Branford Boase Awards, and winning the Teach Primary Book Award.

Imprint

Barrington Stoke

ISBN

978-0-00-875958-2

Reading age

8

Interest age

9+

Publication Date

12-02-2026

Format

Paperback

Pages

88 pages

Dimensions

129x198mm

Product Description

Vinny needs support from his agony-aunt mum, but she’s too busy helping other people to notice in this empathetic tale about family and mental health by bestseller Helen Rutter.

Vinny’s got problems – lots of them. His family's falling apart, and his best mates have dumped him for some really annoying girls.

He should be able to turn to his mum for help – she’s an online life coach who answers other people’s problems for a living. But she’s too busy to see that Vinny is really struggling.

Unable to solve his own issues, Vinny starts replying to unanswered posts on an old blog of his mum’s. At first the solutions seem easy, and he can be as hilariously honest as any 12-year-old boy would be, but what will happen when Vinny realises he’s out of his depth?

Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.

Author

Helen Rutter, Illustrated by Julia Christians

Helen Rutter is an acclaimed author and comedian. Her debut novel, The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh, was a Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month, in addition to being nominated for the Carnegie, shortlisted for the Costa, Blue Peter and Branford Boase Awards, and winning the Teach Primary Book Award.