Drop what you're doing and read this!

Review: this is going to be a hard review to write because I loved this book so much and I don't want to give away any spoilers so excuse me if this one gets a little bit gushy! Alice Peterson does an amazing job of writing books which deal with tricky topics, difficulties for her characters, illness and heartbreak and I think she does an amazing job of it. There are many of you out there who will have reservations about picking up one of her novels because of the difficult subjects that she deals with. But the reason you should definitely read any of her novels, especially this one is because she manages to take these difficult subjects and come out with an amazingly heart-warming and uplifting read that will make you want to go out into the world and face your own demons, however small or large they might be face on.

This book deals with Tom and Alice, characters who do have a lot of difficulties in life, but who are determined to live life to the full nonetheless. I loved getting to know these bright young people and I loved watching them bond and grow as the story progresses. This is very much a book about people and Alice is the lynch pin that hold the book together. But there are other people in this book who the reader will definitely fall in love with to. As much as this book is about Alice, it is also about family and I love the way this author wove the concept of a strong family model, be that blood relation or the family you make for yourself in the form of your support network of friends, throughout this difficult story. I loved the values that Alice's family groups had a I loved reading about their journey over the course of this novel too.

I really loved the way this novel was structured, it has chapters written from Alice's point of view, from Tom's point of view and also from Mary's point of view in the form of extracts from her diary. This means we switch between person as well as point of view and we get to see how the things that are being thrown at Alice are affecting Tom and Mary, and vice versa. I'm a big fan of multiple narratives and, although this is a long book, this structure made for a well-paced read.

Yes I did cry more than once during this read, thankfully I didn't listen to any of this in public though, I would definitely keep this one as a home read. Even though I cried though, this book still left me feeling optimistic and filled me with joy. I loved getting to know all these characters and relationships and I loved being back in an Alice Peterson novel once again! If you haven't read anything by Alice Peterson before, or you were wary of picking up one of her novels then this would be a great starting point for you-whilst there may be a few tears, this really is a wonderfully uplifting and fulfilling read which has laughter and sadness in equal measure. I would definitely recommend dropping what you're doing and reading this one immediately!

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6 people found this helpful

Excellent!

Such a brilliant, heartfelt, insightful and movibg story. I related to so many aspects of this book and Alice's battles, despite them being of a different nature. Each character became utterly alive & in that sense i believe A peterson paid the best tribute she could have to Alice and her family and story. It also went a huge way in educating me about CF (without feeling like a school day!).

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2 people found this helpful

Moving story - poor narration

The story was engaging, insightful and moving. The two minor narrators were good but unfortunately the main narrator was pretty bad. She was so flat and read with some really strange intonation. It really spoiled the book for me.

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Inspiring

This book makes you stop and think. Although we all live with our own challenges everyday in life, we must take that challenge however heavy a burden and make the absolute best we can every day.
I loved this book, the characters, narrator and lesson of hope and success that can be won if we really want it.

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Heartbreakingly inspirational (from another person with CF)

A heartbreaking yet inspirational view of life with CF/chronic conditions. I say this as someone also with cystic fibrosis facing many of the same challenges. It’s a hard hitting insight into the challenges many people face through social interaction, career progression and relationships. The vocal cast adding personality and emotion. One of my best Audible purchases to date. Highly recommended.

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A must read

It's rare for me to rate a book with all 5 stars, but this book is incredible. Alice Peterson tells the story with compassion and joy. I was swept up in it and the beautifully well drawn characters from the beginning. I laughed and I cried and immediately wanted to listen to the music - which is also beautiful. I don't want to spoil what I didn't realise until the end, but if you are looking for a sensitively written book that you don't want to put down, this is definitely one for you.
Quite simply, Alice Peterson has an amazing gift for telling a story.

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1 person found this helpful

Inspirational and heartbreakingly poignant

This is the first review I have written for a very long time, but I felt that I truly had to do so. At the centre of this book, the author has portrayed a courageous strong and truly inspirational woman I could not stop listening - I laughed, I cried and I was truly inspired.

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Beautiful story

I listen to a lot of audiobooks and rarely do I write a review, but this story was amazing, beautifully written and performed.

Don’t hesitate, listen ….. it’s brilliant!!

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Narration ruined the story

The main character’s narration made it very hard to listen to this book. The Welsh character’s accent was excruciating to the point of having to find objects to squeeze very hard in order to get through. Then, half-way through the narration got very spitty which added to the difficulty to concentrate or empathise with the main character at all. The characters had such different ways of speaking it was hard to imagine a mother-daughter relationship with such strongly different accents. Got through it, but with very gritted teeth. This is one of those books that put people off audible, unfortunately.

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