Another Way to Fall - Amanda Brooke - Guest Book Review

Published by Harper

Guest review by Joan Hill

Emma has been very ill, fighting a comprehensive and aggressive battle against a brain tumour that has already destroyed her dreams of rising to the top in a glittering career, travelling all over the world. Her family, mother Meg and younger sister Louise have supported her throughout but, as our story begins, Emma, at twenty nine years old, is once again visiting her consultant Mr Spelling, hoping against all hope for those eagerly awaited words that will give her the ‘All Clear’. Sadly it is not to be and his words only confirm her greatest nightmare. Her fight so far has been pointless and there is nothing more that can be done to ward off her cancer’s virulent and relentless progress. She is going to die.

Regardless of this prognosis her mother Meg is unable to give up. She is determined to fight on, hoping to find a cure in a research programme or to join a trial of some new wonder drug. But Emma knows that if she is to realise her dreams and achieve the goals she had desired so fiercely she must find another way, a way to fit everything in she most desired in her life. She decides to write a book of what she hoped her life would be. She secretly taps it all out on her laptop and as she makes progress with her story, amazingly some of her dreams actually start to come true. With a new love in her life she imagines what she would want in their life together, their holidays and high days, the family they would rear and so the story develops, encapsulating her dreams with a heart-warming clarity. And then it starts to happen; dreams seamlessly merge with reality. She feels the story could be true as she dreams it so vividly.  Could it possibly all come true, right through a lifetime of togetherness? Could she be actually achieving an alternative future?

The ‘story within the story’ is an extremely effective method of moving on Emma’s story to its completion. The characters are strong and empathetic, all with Emma’s best interests and comfort in their hearts. The story is incredibly moving and I particularly loved Beth, the loving mother who would do literally anything for her sick daughter. Amanda Brooke put all of herself and her own experiences and attitudes into building this wonderful portrait of mother-love. She lost her young son to cancer and it must have been so hard to write some aspects of Emma’s story from Beth’s point of view. But she totally nailed it. I also loved the characterisation of her boyfriend Ben. He shone a bright light in her life and enabled her to complete her novel, helping her both emotionally and with the practicalities of writing a novel whilst weakening physically. I really enjoyed this novel and thank Lindsay most sincerely for inviting me to be a guest reviewer.

Many thanks to Joan for reading and reviewing this novel for The Little Reader Library!

The Blue Room - Hanne Ørstavik

'It will be fine, I think to myself, I will get out of here in time. And yet, it's as if I already know it's over. I must let it go, let go of the hope and the dreams, let them float away like twigs in a stream.'


The Blue Room is the second of three titles in Peirene's current series of releases which all come under the theme 'Coming-of-Age'. Translated from the Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin, the story is narrated by Johanne, a young woman who has been locked in her room by her mother, Unni, who she lives with in Oslo. Johanne had met a man, Ivar, in the canteen at college and had planned to travel to America with him that day. She ponders whether to call for help, whether she could escape through the window, and it's not just a physical battle but a mental one too; does she have the necessary courage to break away from her mother in this way? She shares her thoughts about this, and also recalls dreams and recent events, meeting Ivar at collage, studying psychology, attending church, outings with her mother, visiting her Granny.

Mingled with these recollections are erotic fantasies. Johanne explores her relationship with her mother, she depends on her, is supported by her and appreciates and loves her. Yet she wants to make her own decisions, to explore her attraction to Ivar, to explore her sexuality. But she comes back to the thought that she also relies heavily on the security she has at home with her mother, and the promises regarding The Barns, a proposed future setting for her to live and work, and so she checks herself; 'I had to try not to let him come too close. I mustn't forget my plans.'  Her mother keeps a close eye on her, warns her 'it was dangerous to get involved with strange men.' Johanne is torn, grappling with the two different paths, struggling to seperate herself from her mother, to fully immerse herself in life with Ivar, wishing she could just not make the choice; 'I wished I could split my body in two, give one part to Mum and the other to Ivar.'  But there are moments of maturity and insight, with her telling herself 'you seem to think you can put the responsiblity for your life into other people's hands.' Love yourself.' 

It's a short, thoughtful read, much of it based on Johanne's internal musings and debates, and as such she moves from one topic or event to another quickly and with little or no warning, so the reader needs to pay attention to the narrative. The author captures the way our thoughts flit and jump like this very convincingly. I enjoyed the insights into psychology as Johanne thought about her life and her studies. Religion has an important role in her life too, it seems, and we observe her asking for forgiveness about her thoughts several times. It comes across that she has had a fairly innocent existence thus far, her path planned out, and she is trying now to reconcile this with the desires she now feels and the experiences she has with Ivar, potentially taking her away from this path and away from her mother and also her friend Karin.

Johanne observes of herself and her mother's relationship that 'we belong together like two clasped hands.' Though we can't be sure because we only have Johanne's point of view about everything, her judgement and stance, which made me wonder how much to believe, and I felt there was more to a lot of things than first meets the eye.

I read The Blue Room in only a couple of sittings; as with other books from this publisher, it's short at fewer than 200 pages. I was curious as to what Johanne would do, would she be moved to action, would she still be in the room at the end of the story. This is another intriguing, thought-provoking slice of translated European fiction from Peirene. 

Thanks to the publisher for kindly sending me a copy of this novel for an honest review.

Published by Peirene Press
Translated from the Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin


About the author

Hanne Ørstavik, born in 1969, is one of the most admired authors in contemporary Norwegian literature. She has received a number of literary prizes, including the Dobloug Prize for her entire literary output, and the Brage Prize, Norway's most prestigious literary award. Her novels have been translated into 18 languages but never before into English. 

Finding Mother - Anne Allen

'She knew there was something vital missing in her life but didn't know what it was.'

This is the second novel from Anne Allen, I've already read and enjoyed her debut, Dangerous Waters. (Link to my review below). In Finding Mother, we meet 35 year old Nicole Oxford as she is in a very emotional state, and having made a big decision. Her marriage is in trouble, her husband Tom has been unfaithful and destroyed her trust, she has had enough and as the novel opens, she walks out and leaves him behind in England to head to Spain. Despite a successful career as an investigative journalist, she feels the need to find out who she really is, having been raised by loving parents who adopted her as a baby, and never before having looked for her birth mother or indeed her father. So the time now feels right to search for her birth mother, if she is to discover more about her true self as she hopes to do if she finds her. 

The story sees Nicole visiting the parents who raised her, Mary and Ian, in Spain where they have retired, to undertake the delicate task of asking them if they have any information or clues as to her birth mother which she can follow up on. It's a difficult situation confronting them with the fact that she'd like to do this after so many years, and this was dealt with well by the author. She then travels back to the Channel Islands to look into her origins. Jersey was her home prior to her move to England, and her search takes her to Guernsey. Without wanting to reveal too many further plot points, I'll just say that the story unfolds as Nicole discovers the truth about her birth and adoption, and meets her birth mother and grandmother; the latter, Eve, is a well drawn character who I liked and whose story reveals secrets from the past. 

This is a novel with a nice pace, that is easy to read, it's a moving tale of families and relationships across the generations and of love and uncovering the past, trying to find a sense of self. It could be a good summer read for relaxing with in the garden or on the beach. I personally would have enjoyed a bit more complexity or drama to the story perhaps or more twists and turns in places, a couple of times I felt I could see where the story was going. Anne Allen writes with warmth and empathy about people dealing with difficult situations, and has created an enjoyable tale with a strong sense of place, settings beautifully evoked, making this reader keen to visit the Channel Islands one day. 

Views of other bloggers - A Spoonful of Happy Endings | My Reading Corner | Jaffa Reads Too | Bookboodle | 

My review of Dangerous Waters

Thanks to the author for kindly sending a copy of this novel for an honest review.

Author links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Just What Kind of Mother Are You? - Paula Daly

Lisa Kallisto receives a phone call from her friend Kate Riverty, and replies to one of her questions without thinking about it very much. After all she’s tired and stressed, busy with her children, her husband, carrying out her job, worrying about money, and her ageing mother; so many things to juggle every single day. Then it is revealed that Kate’s daughter, thirteen-year-old Lucinda has gone missing. And the way things have worked out, it seems Lisa is implicated in this; Lucinda was supposed to have been staying over at Lisa’s with her friend Sally, Lisa’s daughter. So begins a nightmare few days in Lisa’s life, during which friendships are tested, her marriage comes under strain, dark and uncomfortable secrets are brought out into the open, and the community is shocked and scared. When another girl who had been missing is found, the search for Lucinda intensifies and fears grow when there is no news.

This is a wonderful, compelling modern day tale, with some good twists and revelations. The author tackles the modern day plight of women who are trying to cope simultaneously with caring for their children, looking after their home, doing well at work and maintaining their relationships as well as competing with the standards that other seemingly 'perfect' mothers appear to set and which are realistically impossible to maintain. The novel deftly highlights the importance of the real, loving relationships in our lives as opposed to the somewhat fake friendships that can be formed when really there is actually little in common.

This novel appealed to me on many levels; I loved the Lake District setting around Troutbeck and Windermere because that whole area is one of my favourite places in the world, so it was exciting for me to be reading a story based there. I also was very pleased about the inclusion of Lisa’s work caring for and rehoming abandoned dogs and cats. It was great to see an incredibly important cause like this highlighted in this story and incorporated well within the progression of the main plot too at one stage.

First and foremost though it’s a cracking thriller, the author has done a great job for her debut work in keeping the reader’s attention and produced a very good story; it’s pacey and passionate and I was turning the pages very quickly to find out what had happened. I found the narrative really engaging; we have chapters from Lisa’s point of view, an emotional observer on the investigation and close to all involved, then the main detective on the case, DC Joanne Aspinall, and also some short, haunting and teasing passages that allow us an insight into the criminal’s thoughts.

Lisa is a likeable, flawed main character who has a good heart but has made mistakes and is aware of them; in other words she is rounded, human and believable, and she goes through so many emotions over the course of the story. Likewise Joanne’s character is developed beyond her role in the investigation to incorporate aspects of her home life and make her a rounded personality.

As with the best crime stories, there is plenty of intrigue to make you wonder as you read and to make you think about if how things look on the outside really reflects what is hidden within. Importantly, the tension doesn't let up from start to finish. To say anymore about the plot would spoil it, so just give this one a read! I think it could be very popular, in particular at book clubs as it does provoke interesting discussion points. Definitely one to pick up this summer.

Published by Bantam Press

You can follow the author on twitter @pauladalyauthor and discuss the book there using #JWKOMAY

Thank you to Alison Barrow at Transworld for the chance to read a proof copy of this book.

Kismetology - Jaimie Admans

‘Mac here knows her stuff when it comes to kismetology.’

This enjoyable contemporary novel deals with matters of the heart in an entertaining and humourous way. Mackenzie Atkinson moved three doors down the road from her mother Eleanor’s house to live with her partner Dan. As she might perhaps have suspected, this has resulted in her mother being a regular visitor to her home, made a problem by the fact that her mother doesn't hesitate to interfere in all aspects of Mackenzie's life, in particular her love life, and often comments, usually unfavourably, about Dan, even if he is in the same room! Mackenzie decides that what would help an awful lot is if her mother were less lonely and had her own romantic interest, and she sets out to help her find a perfect match.

The twist comes in that, rather than send her mother out into the world on blind dates with complete strangers, Mackenzie decides that she will do the advertising and sourcing of potential suitors and that she will even meet any prospective partners before her mother does and vet them first, only lining up dates with her mother if the men are up to scratch. Cue many episodes of Mackenzie meeting often very unsuitable and sometimes downright awful candidates! Finding a balanced, mature gentleman proves much more difficult than first anticipated. The story kept me engaged as I wondered who, if anyone, Mackenzie's mother would like, and whether Mackenzie's own love life would survive the whole experience intact too.

I really enjoyed this romantic, funny novel, and the storytelling and the editing impressed me. Mackenzie has a likeable personality and is an engaging lead character who carries the story throughout. Her reactions to the various different men she meets on the dates are brilliant. As well as trying to help her mother, Mackenzie begins to consider her own situation and wonders if she could improve it, in particular in terms of work but also love. Eleanor is an interesting character, usually accompanied by pampered pooch Baby. Despite the antagonism between mother and daughter at times, it comes across that Mackenzie genuinely cares about her mother and wants to see her happy. The only small thing I would mention is that sometimes the thing that Mackenzie had made her mind up to do was repeated several times in her thoughts; I think this was just to reiterate her determination to do what she had planned, but occasionally I thought the idea had been described and didn't need repeating again, or arguing about with Dan again. 

I thought this was a light, entertaining and funny read and many will sympathise with Mackenzie's situation. I looked forward to reading a bit more every time I picked up my ereader and the story always kept me interested and often made me smile. Jaimie Admans writes really well and with heart about love, relationships and families and has crafted a promising debut novel. Also I think the book cover is really pretty and attractive. 

Thanks very much to the author for kindly sending an ebook copy of this novel for me to read and give an honest review. 

You can find the author on twitter @be_the_spark and visit her website here.

With All My Love - Patricia Scanlan - guest review

Briony and her young daughter Katie are helping her mother Valerie settle into her new home in Spain. Valerie has moved there to try and find peace in her ageing years after suffering much heartache as a young woman. While sorting through things Briony uncovers an old photo album and a letter falls out addressed to her, it is from her paternal grandmother Tessa begging her to get in touch when she is an adult. She has fond memories of her grandmother and is devastated to discover Valerie has denied her a vital part of her childhood. Briony in anger vows never to speak to her mother again and begins to source flights home.

Valerie wants to explain to her daughter what led to this bitter separation and begins to question her judgement all those years ago. But will Briony listen or even understand? This is a novel that deals with the complex relationships often found in families.

The book is written in a way that draws you in making you feel like you are right there with them, in fact while memories were being explored and when we are brought back to the present I found myself shocked at how deeply I felt involved . The chapters dealing with the present are short and to the point whilst those delving into the past are more descriptive and explain each of the cleverly woven together characters and their impact on each other.The characters that stood out for me were in fact not the central ones but Lorcan (Tessa's husband) and Lizzie (Valerie's best friend) who both remained the voice of reason throughout the story.

There were scenes that I personally could identify with and the emotion the words carried actually brought a tear to my eye at times showing how well researched these parts were.

I found the fact that the prologue covered an event from the middle of the book a refreshing change and the epilogue left me feeling warm and reiterating my personal beliefs.

This is a novel to take your time with and to savour every single word and moment. Another hit from this author!

Reviewed by Fiona Keegan - guest reviewer

Many thanks to Fiona for reading and reviewing this novel for The Little Reader Library. Fiona is a nurse, mum and grandma who enjoys reading when she has a spare moment !

Published by Simon and Schuster

Thanks to the publisher for kindly offering a proof copy of this novel at their blogger event.