📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ In Little Stars by Linda Green

Quercus
6 September 2022 (ebook and audio)

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

Two families divided by hate. A love that will not die.

Sylvie and Donna travel on the same train to work each day but have never spoken. Their families are on different sides of the bitter Brexit divide, although the tensions and arguments at home give them much in common.

What they don't know is that their eldest children, Rachid and Jodie, are about to meet for the first time and fall in love. Aware that neither family will approve, the teenagers vow to keep their romance a secret.

But as Sylvie's family feel increasingly unwelcome in England, a desire for a better life threatens Rachid and Jodie's relationship. Can their love unite their families - or will it end in tragedy?

📖 My Review..

Rachid and Jodie are about to meet for the first time when they are both travelling to Leeds on the same train. Their lives are about to implode as the attraction between them is instant and real. However, regardless of how powerful the attraction, the impact that their relationship will have on their individual families will have far reaching consequences.

In a fractured North of England, reeling from years of political neglect, there is an undercurrent of discontent. Brexit has split families apart but there is also strong racial tension which rears its ugly head and which becomes such a strong theme throughout the story. In Little Stars brings these divisions in our once united nation into sharp focus and there is much to ponder over with characters and situations which feel scarily authentic, and which are so realistically portrayed that the sense of unease and creeping disquiet, from both sides of the divide, makes for uncomfortable reading. 

There is very quickly an emotional connection made with Rachid and Jodie, both are lovely young people who just want to make their way in the world and whose shared hopes, dreams and love for the music of Prince really resonate, but as is the way with star crossed lovers, life has a nasty habit of biting back and, without revealing any spoilers, Linda Green doesn't pull her punches when it comes to what happens next.

I was both visibly shaken and emotionally drained by the conclusion of In Little Stars. Without doubt  this powerful family drama will stay with me for a long time to come.

🍷Best Read with..a mug of tea and a Bakewell slice

About the Author

Linda Green is the bestselling author of eleven novels. She is an award-winning journalist and has written for The Guardian, the Independent on Sunday and the Big Issue. Linda lives in West Yorkshire. 

Website

Twitter @LindaGreenisms #OneMoment

@QuercusBooks

@MillsReid11

Blog Tour ~ One Moment by Linda Green

Delighted to be sharing my review on this Blog Tour
and Social Media Blast

Quercus
5 March 2020

My thanks to the publishers for my ecopy of this book and the opportunity to be part of this book blast

Finn and Kaz are about to meet for the first time.

Ten-year-old Finn, a quirky, sensitive boy who talks a lot and only eats at cafes with a 5-star hygiene rating, is having a tough time at school and home.

Outspoken Kaz, 59, who has an acerbic sense of humour and a heart of gold, is working at the café when Finn and his mum come in.

They don't know it yet, but the second time they meet will be a moment which changes both of their lives forever...

What did I think about it..

Quiet, sensitive Finn, and outspoken Kaz shouldn't really have anything in common and yet, the fickle finger of fate has a habit of pairing people together who under ordinary circumstances would never have met.

I think what's so beautiful about this story is the way the author gets right into the heart and mind of ten year old Finn, and describes his life in such precise detail that you feel like you are immersed right at the epicenter of all he is experiencing. I heard Finn's voice so clearly that there were times when I looked up from reading only to expect him to be in the room alongside me. Finn's a real character, brave and strong, and despite some pretty tough issues to deal with he was always true to himself.

Kaz's character is no less compelling, she's a bluff 59 year old Yorkshire woman with no airs or graces and despite the rotten hand that life has dealt her she keeps on going with that air of true grit which is so reminiscent of Northern women. So many times I found myself cheering her on, hoping that her circumstances would improve,

Told in alternate chapters the story is revealed so beautifully that my heart quite literally broke into pieces. I wanted to reach into the very fabric of the pages and wrap both Finn and Kaz in a warm comfort blanket so I could keep them safe and became so completely invested in both their characters that I actually miss them now that their story is completed, but oh, what a story it is.

Covering a whole range of tangible emotions, from grief and loss, to mental health and bullying there is never a moment when this story doesn't ring absolutely true. From the sheer unreasonableness of our benefits system, through the complicated minefield of mental health care, and into schools who sometimes don't listen when evidence of bullying is ignored for fear of offending the wrong people. It's a salutary warning that there are people like Finn and Kaz in all our modern villages, towns and cities, and we should begin to take more notice of what's going on around us.

I can't heap enough praise on One Moment, it captivated me by the strength of the writing, such a perceptive author, I'm in awe of her ability to weave a tale that has you crying big sobby tears one minute, ranting about bureaucracy the next, and then laughing out loud at the image of a life size, cardboard, Alan Titchmarsh.

If you only read one book in 2020, let it be this one as despise the tough nature of the story I know that both Finn and Kaz's story will stay with you for a very long time.

About the Author

Linda Green is the bestselling author of eight novels. She is an award-winning journalist and has written for The Guardian, the Independent on Sunday and the Big Issue. Linda lives in West Yorkshire. 

Website

Twitter @LindaGreenisms #OneMoment

@QuercusBooks

@MillsReid11

First Remembered Read ~ Classic

Those of us who read, and who are influenced by books, tend to squirrel away our memories of all the stories we have read over the years. 

And yet, there is always that one special book tucked away in the far corner of your mind which reminds you just why you love reading so much…

During July and August I've invited a few friends to share their First Remembered Read

My First Remembered ~ Classic

I'm thrilled to welcome


John R. McKay, author of  Mosquitoes

My first classic - The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger.

I first read The Catcher In The Rye when I was at high school in the early 1980s having had it recommended to me by a friend. When I heard that John Lennon’s killer had been holding a copy of the book when he murdered the ex-Beatle, I was intrigued to know what it was all about.

The book is written from the viewpoint of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year old boy in 1950s America as he comes to terms with life after being expelled from school. Unable to face his parents he heads for New York City where his immaturity, naivety and sometimes juvenile behaviour eventually land him in a psychiatric ward.

The style of writing left a big impression upon me as it was a technique I had never come across before and have rarely seen since. Although the plot is nothing special, Holden’s thoughts and sometimes comical way at looking at life keep the pages turning, and although he is a very flawed character, and probably not somebody, if real, you would want to spend any length of time with, you still find yourself rooting for him.

The way in which Salinger develops Holden’s character and the often frank viewpoints he expresses, directly influenced my own character, ‘Alex Sumner’, in my novel ‘Mosquitoes’.

I have since read the book a number of times and each time I do, I get something new from it. Although it is sometimes a sad tale, as you observe the decline of his mental state, it is also uplifting in many ways, as Holden tries to cling on to his childhood innocence whilst at the same time attempting to appear mature and grown-up.

Having first read the book at around the same age as Holden Caulfield was, it had a big impression upon me at the time and I still have a large fondness for it. With the passage of time, some of the vernacular may now be a little dated. However, it still remains timeless and a classic of its age, and I have no doubt I will re-visit it once again in the near future.

Linda Green, Book Blogger at Books of All Kinds

My First Classic - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The first classic that I had the pleasure to read was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen when I was the tender age of eleven. I always enjoyed reading and had read a few books here and there up to that point but it was this book that really kick-started my love affair with books and especially classics. Finding a copy of it at home which was probably left by my older sister, I remember curling up to read it and not putting it back down for hours. The richness of the language was new to me but instead of putting me off, it drew me in until I was a part of the story, dancing with the Bennets, or gazing up at the magnificence of Pemberley. The characters, the settings, the time period, all combined to create such a special reading experience for me that Pride and Prejudice is still one of the few books that I re-read every year. 

This classic also began my love for Jane Austen as well as classics in general - I even centred my dissertation at University on the beloved author. 

At the last count I have five different editions of Pride and Prejudice itself, another fifteen varying editions of Jane Austen’s other novels, and around one hundred classics in general, and I am certain that I became a bookworm the day I picked up Pride and Prejudice as a young girl. 

Thank you so much for having me and I really love your new feature!

Huge thanks to John and Linda for sharing the memories

 of their First Classic Read with me today.


Next week : My First Shakespeare