Tag Archive | Harper Collins

The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston

Jun29

Simply Beautiful

The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston is a simply beautiful novel that I never wanted to end.

It is a timeslip novel about love and loss and awakening. The action is set within the extensive gardens of a large house. There are different zones within the garden, including a secret garden whose entrance keeps moving. Time moves at a different pace within this garden. It is a place where plants and lives are re-awakened.

The novel is about grief. It is a raw grief which was easy for me to recognise as my beautiful Dad has just died and I feel the pain too. “He didn’t tell me how sorry he was for my loss… He simply let me cry until there wasn’t anything left.” Sometimes, we just need others to be there while we cry. There is no need for words.

The loss within the novel is that of a good friend to cancer. The leading lady is learning to live again. She fears that moving on means letting go of Harrie – but Harrie will live forever in her heart.

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Darling Bud by C J Skuse

Jun16

Chilling – Nature Vs Nurture

Darling Bud by C J Skuse is a chilling contemporary novel and the sixth book in the Sweetpea series but can be read as a stand-alone.

There is the theme of nature versus nurture. Do we become monsters? Is there something in our DNA or can we overcome our genes? “You can’t fight a monster by becoming one.” We witness the leading lady trying to overcome her gene pool. Meeting up with her mother when she is sixteen, confirms to her that she is correct in fighting against her ‘bad’ genes.

We witness the desire to belong within a family – but be careful what you wish for – all that glisters is not gold.

There are those who will exploit others for their own gain, whilst hiding secrets.

We see a warped sense of vigilante justice. We need to let the authorities punish the guilty.

A mother’s heart breaks through, if only for a moment. “She’d left me with the best person in the world, knowing that she was one of the worst.”

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The Diverging Lives Of Bethany Raven by Sarah E Bonner

May8

Unique & Engaging

The Diverging Lives Of Bethany Raven by Sarah E Bonner is a very entertaining contemporary novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The plotline is unique – one in which Bethany Raven wakes each day in a different version of herself. There are similar but different life experiences as we witness what life could have been like if she had made different choices. “One tiny choice created a whole ripple.”

Her final wake up life is horrendous as she is married to a bully. Bethany is desperate to find her way back home.

Constant in her many lives is Tyler Adams – her nemesis in her original life, and just a science teacher in her final life but his brain is huge, and she needs all his knowledge to help her get back home.

We witness Bethany Raven interacting with her friends in the different worlds.

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The Shadow Pony by Olivia Wakeford (Illustrated by David Litchfield)

Apr24

Love – The Glue That Binds

The Shadow Pony by Olivia Wakeford (illustrated by David Litchfield) is the most charming contemporary children’s novel that I adored. It is suitable for the over tens. It is beautifully illustrated too.

The story is set in Wales and has Aberuraun Colliery as its’ focus. Following a school trip, lead character eleven-year-old Evan desires to find out more about the pit ponies that worked the mines.

Evan’s Grandad used to work in the mine and is haunted by a past event.

There is power in a story. It is in sharing stories that memories can be passed down the generations. We all want to know our personal histories.

We see the difficulties that arise when living with someone with a mental illness. Twelve-year-old Melly’s Mum has bi-polar. This is hard for Melly as sometimes her Mum has to be hospitalised.

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