The Secret Collector by Abigail Johnson - #blogtour #bookreview

 

Alfred had not let anyone inside his house for almost three years. Not that anyone cared. The overgrown weeds and bushes that swamped the small front garden were usually enough of a deterrent to any potential callers...

***

The Blurb

When an elderly eccentric collector and a troubled teen become each other's only hope of getting their  lives back on track, what can possibly go wrong? 

Alfred is an elderly widower who uses antiques and collectibles to fill the hole in his heart left by his late  wife. Kian is a lost teen who has been let down by the care system and finds it difficult staying on the  straight and narrow. 

After Kian throws a brick through Alfred's window, the shock sends Alfred to hospital and a social worker to his home, where his hoarding becomes impossible to ignore. 

Begrudgingly, and at the request of the authorities, they both agree to enrol Kian on a restorative justice  programme, helping to make Alfred’s home liveable again. The only problem: Alfred doesn't want to throw  any of his treasures away, and he certainly doesn’t want Kian for company. 

What unfolds is a surprising and delightful journey of two characters who help each other more than they  ever could have anticipated and, along the way, form the unlikeliest of friendships. 

My Review

This was a delightful read, and I loved everything about it.

The main characters, Alfred and Kian are brought together as part of the restorative justice programme after Kian throws a brick through Alfred's window. What follows is one of the most delightful of friendships that I have discovered within the pages of a book.

However, this friendship took time to form. Initially, they are resentful of each other. Both characters are flawed; both trying to appease the authorities that have entered their lives following the incident caused by Kian. If the restorative justice fails then teenager Kian fears he will be sent to prison and elderly Alfred is concerned he will be placed into a care home.

There are some difficult themes addressed in the book; growing up in care, grief and abandonment to name the main ones. However, Ms. Johnson dealt with this with compassion and sensitivity. At no point does the book ever become overly dramatic.

I was actually rather sorry when the book ended as it was delightful to be immersed in this story. Had time permitted I would have gobbled this up in one sitting. It was a quick and easy read with charming characters and a delightful plot line.

It is a well written, heartfelt and joyous book which was a delight to read. This is a debut novel from the author, Abigail Johnson. I thought it was fabulous and highly accomplished. If her future writing is as fabulous as this is then she is definitely one to watch. 

It is a heartfelt novel which is full of hope and optimism. I highly recommend this book.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1035057757

Publisher:  Pan

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  304 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Waterstones

Blackwell's

About the Author

Abigail Johnson wrote this novel while completing the Curtis Brown Creative three-month novel  writing course, where she was tutored by author Laura Barnett.  

It was longlisted for the 2021 and 2022 Bath Novel Award. Her writing has also been longlisted for  the Exeter Novel Award, shortlisted for the 2021 Edinburgh Flash Fiction Award and she was a  Friday Night Live finalist at the Festival of Writing in 2017. She lives in Birmingham.  

You can also find Abigail at:

Author Website

Instagram

Twitter / X

BlueSky

(book and media courtesy of the publisher/author)

(all opinions are my own)

(bookshop.org affiliated)

Gone with the Penguins by Hazel Prior - Veronica McCreedy series - #bookreview #blogtour

 

I have asked Eileen to refrain from humming. In order to read the article in the Scots Times, I require absolute peace and quiet. Now silenced, she continues to busy herself flicking dust around the mantelpiece...

***

The Blurb

Still fiery and feisty at eighty-seven, Veronica McCreedy, the very first Penguin Ambassador, is determined to prove that nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it.

Eileen, Veronica’s ever-patient assistant, is content taking care of other people. But when a new adventure calls, it makes her question everything...

Ten-year-old, penguin-obsessed Daisy can’t wait to be reunited with Mrs McCreedy in her huge house by the sea for the school holidays.

When they discover that the local Sea Life Centre is under threat, the unlikely trio are determined to save it and the penguins that live there.

Inspired by the penguins and fuelled by Darjeeling tea and finger sandwiches, they embark on an epic fundraising walk. But soon, their mission becomes so much more and it might just lead each of them to a new beginning...

My Review

This book is the third in a trilogy, which you may think is a strange point to begin reading. I have had my eye on the first two books in the series, How the Penguins Saved Veronica and Call of the Penguins for some time. I know you all understand how difficult it is to find time to read all of the books that we would like to and so I never got to the first two in the series. When I was offered a place on the blog tour for this final book in the series I thought I would jump in.

To be honest, not having read the first two did not impede my enjoyment of this final book in any way. I fell in love with Veronica, Eileen and Daisy; three unrelated women from three generations and they were all wonderful in their own way.

I enjoyed the easy narrative of this book. It was perfect to snuggle up with in the evenings and to lose myself in the world of the three characters.

The author must have undertaken extensive research in order to write this book. She understands and portrays the need to be concerned about climate change, and it's effect on the world around us. This book is largely about conservation needs and the necessity of us all addressing them. It reads in a very lighthearted way but conveys an important message.

However, the book is also about friendship and love. It was delightful to read of the blossoming romance between two characters in the book. I am not going to reveal who. You will have to read the book to discover this for yourself.

This was a wonderfully heartwarming book which I highly recommend.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1804993330

Publisher:  Penguin

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  448 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

Waterstones

Blackwell's

About the Author

HAZEL PRIOR lives on Exmoor with her husband and a huge ginger cat. As well as writing, she works as a freelance harpist.

Hazel is the author of Ellie and the Harp-Maker, the #1 ebook and audiobook bestseller Away with the Penguins and its follow-up, Call of the Penguins. Gone with

the Penguins is her fifth novel.

You can also find Hazel at:

Hazel Prior website

Twitter / X

Instagram

(book and all media courtesy of Random Things Tours)

(all opinions are my own)

(bookshop.org affiliated)

Lyrics for the Loved Ones by Anne Goodwin - #BookReview

Matty would have have stayed snug in her room with her precious belongings around her, but she hates to disappoint Oh My Darling. Whereas some maids are brassy, Oh My Darling was born to serve. Matty panders to her whims, no matter how outlandish, rewarding her docility as the Lord bestows His blessing on the meek.

As the maid hooks her arm to lift her from the chair, Matty hears coughing in the corridor. "Is this a fire drill?" That would account for Oh My Darling's haste.

Oh My Darling cocks her head in that charming manner of hers "Can't smell no smoke. Can't hear no alarm. Can you?

Matty cannot...

***

After half a century confined in a psychiatric hospital, Matty has moved to a care home on the Cumbrian coast. Next year, she’ll be a hundred, and she intends to celebrate in style. Yet, before she can make the arrangements, her ‘maid’ goes missing.

Irene, a care assistant, aims to surprise Matty with a birthday visit from the child she gave up for adoption as a young woman. But, when lockdown shuts the care-home doors, all plans are put on hold.

But Matty won’t be beaten. At least not until the Black Lives Matter protests burst her bubble and buried secrets come to light.

Will she survive to a hundred? Will she see her ‘maid’ again? Will she meet her long-lost child?

Rooted in injustice, balanced with humour, this is a bittersweet story of reckoning with hidden histories in cloistered times.

***

This book is a sequel to Matilda Windsor is Coming Home. It is a fantastic book which I can't recommend highly enough. Although Lyrics for the Loved Ones works perfectly well as a standalone novel you will enjoy it all the more if you familiarise yourself with the main character, Matty, before doing so. If you would like to read my review of Matilda Windsor is Coming Home you can do so by clicking here.

Ms. Goodwin has also written a prequel. Stolen Summers was an equally great read and you can read my review by clicking here.

Lyrics for the Loved Ones provided me with the wonderful opportunity to spend more time in Matty's company. She is a wonderful character, who has been misunderstood all of her life, been incarcerated in a mental institution for having a baby out of wedlock and we now find her living in Cumbria in a care home. I have read many, many books over the years and Matty remains one of my favourite characters.

As ever, the author writes with intelligence, understanding and sensitivity. Her prose is beautiful to read, and she has carefully placed every single word. There is no waffle, not a word is wasted. It is a delight to read.

This particular book is set during the covid pandemic and it follows Matty and those connected with her. It is written with poignancy as well as moments of humour amidst such challenging circumstances.

I have read almost all of the books which Anne Goodwin has written and with each one I have observed her writing become more accomplished. She has become one of my favourite authors, and I wholeheartedly recommend them.

ISBN: 978 1739145026

Publisher:  Anecdotal Press

Formats: e-book and paperback

No. of Pages: 345 (paperback)

About the Author:

Anne Goodwin’s drive to understand what makes people tick led to a career in clinical psychology. That same curiosity now powers her fiction.

Anne writes about the darkness that haunts her and is wary of artificial light. She makes stuff up to tell the truth about adversity, creating characters to care about and stories to make you think. She explores identity, mental health and social justice with compassion, humour and hope.

An award-winning short-story writer, she has published three novels and a short story collection with small independent press, Inspired Quill. Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, (my review can be found here) was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize. Lyrics for the Loved Ones is her fourth novel.

Away from her desk, Anne guides book-loving walkers through the Derbyshire landscape that inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.

Available to purchase from:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Books to Read

Shadow by Michael Morpurgo - Illustrated by Christian Birmingham - #BookReview

None of it would ever have happened if it hadn't been for Grandma's tree. And that's a fact. Ever since Grandma died - that was about three years ago now - Grandpa had always come to spend the summer holidays with us up in Manchester. But this summer he said he couldn't come, because he was worried about Grandma's tree.

We'd all planted that tree together, the whole family, in his garden in Cambridge. A cherry tree it was, because Grandma especially loved the white blossoms in the spring. Each of us had passed around the jug and poured a little water on it, to give it a good start.

***

A stunning and moving novel from Michael Morpurgo, the nation’s favourite storyteller – featuring the bravest dog in all the world…

This is the story of Aman, as told in his own words – a boy from Afghanistan fleeing the horror of the Afghan war. When a western dog shows up outside the caves where Aman lives with his mother, Aman is initially repulsed – it is not customary for people to keep dogs as pets in his part of the world. But when Aman and his mother finally decide to make a bid for freedom, the dog Aman has called Shadow will not leave their side. Soon it becomes clear: the destinies of boy and dog are linked, and always will be…

***

I very rarely review children's books, although before I began the blog I exclusively did children and young adult titles. Those were the days when reviews were only found in magazines and newspapers and I was a regular contributor to Carousel magazine and a few others.

I have happy memories of Michael Morpurgo's books. I can remember perching on the edge of the bed while I read them to my children at bed time. They adored The Butterfly Lion and Kensuke's Kingdom and as they grew older they all enjoyed reading the outstanding Private Peaceful.

Shadow was published after they were grown but I wanted a trip down memory lane and so purchased a copy. It is a wonderful story that appealed to me as a adult as much as it would to children.

The thing I appreciate about Mr Morpurgo's writing is that although they are intended for a young audience, he does not shy away from tackling difficult subjects and situations. Shadow is about asylum seekers, life under Taliban rule in Afghanistan and the feeling of hopelessness. Neither does he sugar coat his text.  He writes with such sensitivity that they are palatable for a young audience, whilst portraying what was a horrifying situation for the main character, Aman, and his family.

I loved the characters of Matt, Aman and Grandpa, and I can never resist a book which has a dog as one of its central characters. The characters come alive, not only in the text, but in the excellent monotone illustrations.

This is a story about hope and resilience and would be perfect for children around nine years and upwards. However, any younger child who has experienced life as a refugee would find this book relatable and would enjoy sharing it with an adult. I highly recommend it.

ISBN: 978 0007339617

Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 288 (paperback)

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About the Author: 

Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain's best-loved children's book writers. He has written more than 100 books and has won the Smarties Prize, the Whitbread Award, and the Blue Peter Book Award for Private Peaceful. He is also the author of War Horse which has been made into a Tony Award-winning Broadway play and a Golden Globe-nominated film. Michael was Writer in Residence at The Savoy Hotel from January to March 2007, and previously he was Children's Laureate from 2003-2005, a role that took him across Britain to inspire a love of reading in children. You can visit him online at www.michaelmorpurgo.com.

Support Independent Bookshops - Buy from Bookshop.org *

*Disclosure: I only recommend books I would buy myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains an affiliate link from which I may earn a small commission.

(author photo courtesy of the authors website/bio info courtesy of Amazon)