Book Review The Way We Were By Sinead Moriarty

The Way We Were by Sinead Moriarty

Synopsis

'He needed something else. He wanted more.' Alice and Ben are a couple like any other bound together by love, work, children, familiarity and a shared sense of purpose.

But when Ben decides to pursue a dream of his own, he brings devastation on his family and, as far as they know, their lives will never be the same again.

Alice and Ben are now on different paths: she needs to put their shared life behind her; he needs to remember it to survive.

So, what happens if they get a second chance? Can they - should they - go back to the way they were? "Smart family drama that packs a punch." (Heat on The Secrets Sisters Keep). "Fans of Sinead know they can expect honesty, humor and great story-telling." (Hello).

My Musings

A tantalizing plot that observes the repercussions on a family when a much loved husband and father literally comes back from the dead after two years. Can you just go back to how it was when all the family's lives have moved on? This fascinating premise is told from four points of view, Alice, the wife, Ben the husband and their two daughters.

Sinead handles the complex plot deftly whilst wracking up the emotional onslaught as they all struggle to survive after Ben's disappearance (presumed dead) and then struggle again to come to terms with his reappearance. They have all moved on in various ways so it is a fascinating conundrum on how to put someone back in your life they thought had gone for good. My heart was in my mouth when Alice gets the call Ben is alive just as she is about to get engaged to her knight in shining armor!!

Sinead has clearly researched similar cases and scenarios and you are taken on a nail biting and emotional journey with the family as they valiantly try to do the right thing while remaining true to themselves. Cracks start to appear and secrets and home truths are revealed. This has real pathos, twists and turns and the end is especially romantic.

An enthralling romance with so may hidden depths you become completely lost in it. 

**This book was kindly sent to me by Penguin. The review in unbiased. **

• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 448 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Publication Date: 30/07/2015
• ISBN: 9781844883493

Book Review: My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend by Eleanor Wood

Synopsis

An irresistible romance is perfect for anyone who has ever had a celebrity crush (everyone).

Geeky girl meets famous boy . . . what could go wrong?

Tuesday Cooper is happy being normal -doing her a-levels and indulging in her twin obsessions: buying weird vintage clothes in charity shops and writing her beloved music blog (which nobody ever reads). Her love for music started when she was thirteen and had a massive crush on Jackson Griffith, teen rock god and SUPER HOT LOVE OF HER LIFE. Now Tuesday's eighteen and has moved on to fancying boys in real life and Jackson went off the celebrity radar years ago.

So it can't be him that's messaging her on her blog, can it?

From one girl's computer to the pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival, this is a love story for anyone who has ever wished that someone would sing a love song just for them.

Dreams can come true . . .

My Musings

This coming of age book is written in a witty conversational manner that is part diary, part blog and is very hard to put down!!.

Tuesday is a bright,  geeky self depreciating eighteen year old in the middle of her A levels. She has a lesbian best friend, a wannabe rock star boyfriend and a lovely but slightly flaky mum. She also loves vintage clothes and retro pop.

The book starts as if we have been dropped into the middle of her life while she continues to write her musings on her blog which is only read by her mum and friends. Or so she thinks.

Out of nowhere a guy calling himself Jackson Griffith, (former wild child, now reclusive, pop star) starts chatting to her as she is a fan. This throws up no end of problems. Tuesday is unsurprisingly dazzled by the attention of this gorgeous twenty something pop star and throws caution to the wind. (Wouldn't we all?) and sets out to meet him in secret. They get on so well he invites her to Glastonbury.
Should she go just before her last A level?

The reader is taken along for the ride and it is easy to see why she goes against all her good girl principles. I think we all want to be a little wild at some point in our lives!! We travel with her to Glastonbury the weekend before her last A level and meet  a colorful array of characters and discover why not everything that glitters is not necessarily gold. Having a Rock Star Boyfriend may not be all that's it cracked up to be and reality hits when after an amazing time  Tuesday needs to get back for her exam.

I won't spoil the end but Tuesday comes back from her adventure a little less naive, a little more tougher and also more sure than ever about what she want's to do with her life.

A great holiday read that will take you on a rock and roll adventure and leave you with a smile on your face.

Ps, Don't forget to read the authors note at the end for her inspiration for this story which really made me laugh. Fact is stranger than fiction it seems!!
Publisher Pan Macmillan

PB ISBN 978144727787

#EleanorWood #BookReview #TeenRead #SummerRead #YAFiction #Contemporary #Glastonbury #Vintage

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Book Review, We Never Asked For Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

 We Never Asked For Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Synopsis

From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Language of Flowers comes her much-anticipated new novel about young love, hard choices, and hope against all odds.

For fourteen years, Letty Espinosa has worked three jobs around San Francisco to make ends meet while her mother raised her children—Alex, now fifteen, and Luna, six—in their tiny apartment on a forgotten spit of wetlands near the bay. But now Letty’s parents are returning to Mexico, and Letty must step up and become a mother for the first time in her life.

Navigating this new terrain is challenging for Letty, especially as Luna desperately misses her grandparents and Alex, who is falling in love with a classmate, is unwilling to give his mother a chance. Letty comes up with a plan to help the family escape the dangerous neighborhood and heartbreaking injustice that have marked their lives, but one wrong move could jeopardize everything she’s worked for and her family’s fragile hopes for the future.

Vanessa Diffenbaugh blends gorgeous prose with compelling themes of motherhood, undocumented immigration, and the American Dream in a powerful and prescient story about family.

My Musings

The story begins within a fractured framework jumping from a woman driving away from her young children to the young children desperately fending for themselves alone. Why is she abandoning them? Where is she going? Why does she believe she is a bad mother? Will her children survive? 

All the pieces  fall into place like birds coming together for migration. Feathers and birds pepper the story with symbolism similar to flowers in Diffenbaugh's first beautiful novel The Language of Flowers,  but in a more spiritual, fleeting way. 

We see Letty  struggle to become a fit mother, the decisions she has made , the effect these have on her children especially her 15 year old son, Alex. Both go through rites of passage and come of age helped by some lovable characters. The story draws your emotions as they struggle to survive poverty and the humility and unfairness it brings but also importantly how it can bring out kindness.

Letty also has to pick between old and new loves while her son discovers first love and the pitfalls of his own naivity. It is a captivating read that speaks of the transience of life and relationships. To live and appreciate those special moments on our journey through life and how to keep going no matter what. It is a poignant tale of family and friendship that was an engrossing and memorable read and a must read for Diffenbaugh fans. 

It took me on a journey and even when the book ended you knew her characters were still on their own journeys of discovery and that in itself was a fitting and satisfying end. 

Lyrical and emotive writing with a wonderfully colorful set of characters. A great read and a good choice for a book group with lots to talk about.