This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

Book Description

Rosie and Penn always wanted a daughter. Four sons later, they decide to try one last time - and their beautiful little boy Claude is born. Life continues happily for this big, loving family until the day when Claude says that, when he grows up, he wants to be a girl.

As far as Rosie and Penn are concerned, bright, funny and wonderful Claude can be whoever he or she wants. But as problems begin at school and in the community, the family faces a seemingly impossible dilemma: should Claude change, or should they and Claude try to change the world?

 

 

My Thoughts

I've been hearing about this book for a while and there has been a lot of hype online, I was surprised at first as it took me a little while to get into. I think it was simply because I found all the characters and family members that were introduced early on confusing, once they'd all clicked with me though I was enthralled.

 

The family are all wonderful and Claude wanting to be Poppy is never an issue for them. It felt like it would be a great household to grow up in, a home full of love and compassion. I couldn't help but root for Poppy throughout the story, hoping that everything would work out alright for her in the end.

This is a novel with a powerful message, one with some heartbreaking moments but overall one that is warm and sometimes funny.

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Thanks to Headline and Netgalley for a copy in return for an honest review.

 

 

 

 

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

Ingrid went missing from a Dorset beach twelve years ago and is presumed to have drowned. She left behind her husband Gil, who is an author with one famous novel to his name, and their daughters Nan and Flora. Flora was only ten years old when her mother disappeared and has always believed that she's alive.

 

Gil thinks he sees Ingrid but then has an accident causing both daughters to return to the family home to look after him, his possible sighting is put down to old age and ill health.

 

The story is beautifully told, both in the present day and the past. The latter in the form of letters that Ingrid wrote to her husband and left hidden in the many books inside their house by the sea. Truths, infidelities and tragedies are gradually revealed and I was gripped. This was a clever way of letting us learn about the characters and their marriage and it worked extremely well.

 

I enjoyed the author's first novel, Our Endless Numbered Days and Swimming Lessons is even better.

 

 

Rating: 5 out of 5

 

 

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books (UK) for my review copy.

 

Publication date: 26th January 2017 

 

 

The Dry by Jane Harper

The Dry is set in the small country Australian town of Kiewarra. It hasn't rained there for two years, the severe drought leaving tensions high for the community. This has been made worse by the murders of the Hadler family, thought by local police to have been carried out by the husband/father of the victims who then committed suicide.

Policeman Aaron Falk has returned to his childhood town for the funeral of his best friend Luke. Luke's parents don't believe that he was capable of such a brutal crime and Aaron stays to look into what happened. This isn't the only mystery, years ago their friend Ellie drowned and her father has always blamed Aaron.

 

The two story threads and secrets from the present and past made this novel a compelling read. It grabbed my interest from the off and held it all the way through to the very end. The Dry is well written and heartbreaking in parts, if you enjoy crime fiction you won't be disappointed. 

 

Rating: 4 out of 5 

 

Publication date: 12th January 2017

Thanks to Little Brown and Netgalley for a copy in return for an honest review.