This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Kay Brooks
Daisy Macintyre is officially a mess. She knows spending most of her time eating jaffa cakes and watching Hugh Grant films is not healthy. After losing her mother to cancer, her life has stopped. With all family support being withdrawn, Daisy sees no path out of the grief and guilt that she is haunted by. Luckily, Daisy has her best friend Abby, who is determined to see that she survives this ordeal. When she signs them both up to do a Moonwalk in aid of charity, she reminds Daisy that there is a life full of adventure, laughs and love out there still waiting for her. She just needs to find the motivation to go and get it.
This truly is a tale of friendship and the lengths that some people will go to in order to support others. At the start of the novel Daisy is trapped deep within a depression, unwilling to deal with her grief or the events that have exacerbated it. Unable to stand by and watch her friend miss out on life altogether, Abby perseveres through being repeatedly pushed away until she finally gets through to Daisy. Far from being a depressing plot, there’s plenty of laugh-out-loud moments to be found between the pages; some of it subtle, such as the descriptions of Danny’s lycra-clad body and some of it obvious, like the sarcastic wit of friendly Felix.
I can’t make a mere mention of Felix and leave it at that. He is another wonderful character in this book with a big heart. When Daisy first bumps into him and his wheelbarrow, he is on a mission to help some neighbours who are down on their luck. He too shows tremendous patience when dealing with the sullen barriers Daisy has put up to protect herself from having to deal with any of the issues life has thrown at her and yet, he is also dealing with a past laden with grief.This novel has plenty of subplots to keep the reader gripped, so it is not just one long account of events leading up to the Moonwalk. There’s the strained relationship between Abby and her long term boyfriend, Tom, who Daisy suspects may be keeping a big secret that could blow Abby’s world apart. There’s also the mystery of what is keeping Daisy’s cold sister, Naomi, away when they should be supporting each other in their grief.
Some chapters begin with Facebook conversations that reveal much more about the relationships between the characters and also about Daisy’s addiction to living behind a screen. This made the book seem contemporary and added an element of fun. It does start off slow and at times, the reader feels like joining Daisy in her depression, but it is certainly worth reading on. Once the action starts, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable read.
A deep, thoughtful story dealing with serious issues with plenty of light-hearted laughs thrown in for good measure!
8/10