When I first became a fiction writer, I had a vast library on which to draw. Some of it reposed upon my overcrowded bookshelves, some on the tottering To Be Read pile on my bedside cabinet (note to self: when in doubt, always buy a sturdier piece of furniture than you think you’ll need) and much more of it lived in the fizzing recesses of my brain.
When I joined the ACW (Association of Christian Writers), I realised that I could attend two Writers’ Days a year. To a humble freelancer, walking into a room full of real, published writers was thrilling and overwhelming all at once. As I have shared before, gazing up on the table loaded up with the fruits of their labours sent me into such a spin that I returned home eight books up.
One of the very first people I met was the author I am reviewing today, Annie Try. We are both residents of East Anglia and I shared part of a train journey home with her. I was delighted and honoured to be invited to be part of her blog tour for her latest novel, published by Kevin Mayhew, and even more chuffed to receive an actual signed copy in the post. In these days of digital content, a book that you can hold in your hands is a treat indeed. I was also most entertained by her description of me on her own blog (please see here) as a writer, speaker and queen of the craft fairs!
So. To Em, the heroine of this novel. She’s a looked-after teenager with some painful and deeply buried memories from her past. We meet her at her best friend Cass’s house playing an innocent game with her friends. Within seconds, she’s in the throes of a huge panic attack and running from the house in terror. It’s a great way to start a novel and I was very keen to find out what happened next.
Author Annie Try
I’ve never written YA, but I do have teenage characters in my own books. It’s hard to write in someone else’s voice, particularly a young person’s, but the author has got it just right.
Cass is uniquely qualified to act as Em’s best friend. She was in a serious car crash, lost an eye and had to have reconstructive facial surgery. She has dealt with betrayal, pain, loss and grief and the author shows this very clearly in her lack of confidence in her appearance. Her kindness and empathy with Em is emphasised by references to her own trauma, deepening and enriching the narrative. Susie, Em’s foster mother, is able to help her to start to speak about her early childhood traumas and some of the most touching scenes come when Em interacts with her little son Sam. I found this part of the book hard to read because it is so powerfully written. The voice of the abused child is authentic and heart-breaking all at once. Having recently read and reviewed Fran Hill’s upcoming novel “Cuckoo in the Nest” which also has a looked-after child as its protagonist, I was back on familiar ground, with a teenager dealing with buried pain and trauma which should never have been visited on them.
There is a gentle faith element in the book which is never preachy or jarring. Cass attends church and has a strong faith in spite of her struggles and challenges with life, and Em is drawn to the sense of community and acceptance she finds there. Weaving faith into a YA narrative is never easy, but the author has done it well.
I loved the hand-written doodles and notes at the end of many of the chapters. They’re short and easy to read, so if you need to take a break, as I did several times, you don’t lose the thread of the narrative.
I was hugely relieved to find that Em has her supportive best friend, her excellent social worker Jen, her foster mum and her boyfriend Jock around her. I was rooting for her from day one and the author builds up the picture of what her life has been with great skill. The book was a wonderful read, gripping and addictive. I hope there will be another novel from this talented author to update us on the next chapter in Em and Cass’s lives.
You can find out more about Annie here:
www.annie-try.co.uk | Annie Try’s Blog | Facebook: Annie Try Writer |Twitter: @Annie_Try
I was given an ARC of this book by the author but was under no pressure to give a favourable review.