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The Beforelife Of Eliza Valentine by Laura Pearson

Oct10

Whimsical & Beautiful

The Beforelife Of Eliza Valentine by Laura Pearson is a very unique and beautiful contemporary offering that I read in just two sittings, pausing only to sleep.

The novel surrounds four siblings in the beforelife. The reader gets to know them as the tale is told through the eyes of one of them. We witness the love and the rivalry. We see their desire to exist and their questions about what happens if they are never born.

This is a novel about love. It is not your conventional love story but it is a love story as we witness the ultimate in sacrificial love. This reminds the reader of Jesus’ words, “Greater love hath no man but that he lay down his life for his friends.”

This is also a book about parental love – and the lack of it, in some cases. Some people just do not have the capacity to love, treating their offspring with indifference at best, verbal cruelty at worst. The children are forever left wondering if the lack of love was their fault. This persists into adulthood as a grown up character says “all I needed was for you to be there.”

In contrast there is a father who loves deeply. His pregnant daughter asks for advice on parenting. “How did you get it so right?”… “I just loved you… I loved you more than anything else.” Her father expands further. “Making one decision after another, but if you base them all on the love you feel, I don’t think you can go far wrong.” Good parenting is nothing to do with the size of a bank balance but it is all about the love in our hearts.

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The Girl Who Wasn’t There by Jacqueline Wilson

Oct9

Engaging & Exciting

The Girl Who Wasn’t There by Jacqueline Wilson is a most delightful children’s novel for ages ten years and older. I am considerably older than the target market but I really enjoyed the story.

Jacqueline Wilson has once more written an engaging and exciting novel that entertains from the start.

We follow a family whose father has bought a hundred year old folly at auction, with the view to renovating it. It seems like a fairytale but its’ crumbling walls and floors soon turn it into a nightmare. The family has a summer of adventure as they live in a caravan on site. The tower may be falling down but the setting is idyllic.

The action is seen through the eyes of ten year old Luna, who is big sister to six year old Aurora. Like most siblings, there are ups and downs but there is a lot of love. “Aurora was my little sister and I had to stick up for her. No one picks on Aurora at school and gets away with it!

School can be an intimidating and scary place to be as children navigate the classroom and the playground. We witness the kindness of teachers who help those who are struggling to fit in.

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Beyond The Smiles by Minnie Lewis

Oct7

Uniquely Constructed

Beyond The Smiles by Minnie Lewis is a compelling contemporary novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The novel is cleverly constructed. Much of the tale is seen through lead character Laura’s eyes but we also have the same action seen through the eyes of others. We see the various motivations as we realise that sometimes trust is misplaced.

Families are complex. We cannot choose them. Some members are kind and caring, others are manipulative and evil. They protect certain members whilst casting out others.

The love of money is a dreadful master. It ensures that people do unscrupulous deeds in the pursuit of it.

The past intrudes on the present as a character inherits from a father who was unknown. A whole can of worms opens up.

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The Secret Diary by Anna Stuart

Oct3

Tell It To The Worms

The Secret Diary by Anna Stuart is a powerful dual timeline novel that I loved.

The book is set in present day and 1945 after the war has ended. The time periods are linked by a family and an old diary.

We see the devastation that loss causes. World War II ripped families apart but in present day, a dreadful accident sees a young widow and her young sons try to make sense of a senseless loss. Everyone processes loss differently. We ‘hear’ the raw pain as a young widow exclaims “Why did you leave me? … I can’t forgive you this because you aren’t … here to forgive.” She feels alone but she has family who walk beside her. “You don’t have to do this alone. I’m here for you.” The reader ‘feels’ the warmth and love of the extended family.

During World War II a friendship and camaraderie were formed amongst four young women who operated the ack ack guns. Their friendship would last a lifetime. They were bound together by love, and a secret that they would keep forever.

War changed the roles of women. “For her ‘freedom’ had been the war years.” As the men were away women stepped into their shoes. This created problems in the post war period as returning men and the older generation wanted to put the women back in their traditional boxes. “You can’t just pack the past away with your gas mask and your ration book and ‘go back to normal’ because normal is different too.” It is perfectly stated by a character, “Society wanted to slot us … back into our kitchen-shaped holes, but we’d grown and we weren’t going to shrink ourselves to fit back inside.” Society expected women to return to their old roles. “I’m not ‘a girl like me’ anymore – I’m a totally different girl. And I really like her!” The war changed lives in all sorts of ways.

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