The Co-Ordinates of Loss

by Amanda Prowse

The story opens on a yacht moored off the beautiful island of Bermuda. Rachel and James seem to have the perfect life until the heart stopping moment that they realise their young son, Oscar, has gone. They travel along different roads to deal with the overwhelming grief of losing him. Rachel retreats into a dark part of her soul, pushing James away. She can barely function.

In desperation, she leaves James to return home to the UK. While there, she receives letters from her housekeeper in Bermuda, the wonderful Cee Cee, who clearly loved young Oscar as if he were her own. By reading these letters, Rachel gradually experiences a stirring of hope from the depths of despair. The healing of both parents, and their marriage, can begin.

This is not an easy book to read in the sense of the emotions that surface as the story unfolds. It’s impossible not to feel the anguish that Rachel feels (and the sadness that Cee Cee describes in her letters as she opens up about her youth) and of course, any mother will recognize the fear that nothing in the world can be more shattering than losing a child.

Yet I would not describe this as a depressing book. Although no one would ever recover from such a devastating loss, it serves as a reminder that some peace can be found and eventually, memories can soothe and heal rather than simply inflict pain.

This book will get to you, it will stay with you, and it might change you a little.

The Giver of Stars

by Jojo Moyes

I’ve read several of Jojo’s books and have always preferred those that time hop, such as The Last Letter From Your Lover and The Girl You Left Behind. But reading the blurb for this one, I felt it would differ from her usual stories and wasn’t sure I’d like it. Still, I thought I’d try it.

I am so glad I did. This well researched historical work of fiction (though based on true events) drew me in to the lives of the women of Kentucky who deliver library books by horseback. The characters are not just likeable but have real depth, so that I became quite angry on their behalf—especially with Alice and Margery.

The depiction of landscape and the zeitgeist of 1930s Kentucky is vividly portrayed, and I have read that a screenplay adaptation is currently underway so we may well see a movie of the book in the next couple of years. If this goes ahead, I hope whoever directs can do the book justice.

Definitely worth a read but be prepared, it is obviously quite different to Me Before You, and might take a little while to get into. It is absolutely worth it though, so persevere.

True Colours

by Kristin Hannah

I’ve recently finished this, the fourth book I’ve read by this author. Like Jojo’s book, it is the striking description of place and character that made this difficult to put down.

Three sisters with unique talents, skills and life experiences have grown to adulthood without their late mother. Winona, Aurora, and Vivi Ann are part of the furniture of the waterside town they have grown up in. But a stranger drives a wedge between the girls as jealousy mounts, and as well as broken hearts, a crime that shocks the core of this close knit community threatens to shatter what remains of the sisters’ tenuous bonds.

I’ll not reveal any more details of the story—read it for yourselves and find out why it’s a page turner.

I might say that it hasn’t quite knocked my favourite Kristen Hannah book off the top spot—that book is The Great Alone and I would suggest that when you have read the blurb for True Colours, if it doesn’t quite tick the box for you, look at The Great Alone.

Having said all that, frankly, any work by Hannah is outstanding.

I hope you enjoyed these reviews, and if this prompts you to try one of the three books mentioned here, I’d love to know whether you agree with me.

Happy reading!

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Love, Liv x