This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Victoria Sutton
Angie and Kitty are best friends who know everything about one another. They have been there for each other through thick and thin. Yes, Kitty can be a bit wild and unreliable, but she has a heart of gold and is incredibly generous. She has a wonderful boyfriend, Simon, and she feels lucky to be so happy in her life at the moment. Angie, on the other hand, is going through a terrible time recently what with being dumped by her boyfriend, losing her job and then, just this week, her flat.
The novel begins as Angie is waiting to meet Kitty at The Sanctuary Spa. Kitty has arranged a Spa day as a special treat to cheer Angie up on her birthday. It is just the type of thing that Kitty would do; she is so kind and generous a friend. Except she doesn’t turn up and Angie is left stood up on her birthday. Convinced that there must be a very good reason for this, Angie gives her friend the benefit of the doubt as she goes off in search of what has happened to her. But Kitty is nowhere to be found and as the hours turn into days, turn into weeks, it appears that maybe these two best friends didn’t know each other as well as they thought…
As I started reading Me & You, I didn’t imagine at all how the story would pan out. I thought it would be a novel about Angie’s break up and heartbreak but it turned out to be more a novel about friendship and self-discovery. It took me a little while to get into it, but as I realised the mystery that was afoot, I found myself utterly gripped.
The story is told from two viewpoints. Angie is written in the first person in a diary format and Kitty is written in the third person. I thought that this worked well in distinguishing them and revealing all of Angie’s thoughts and feelings whilst maintaining the mystery that surrounds Kitty. Angie is an easily likeable character, witty and caring from the outset and the type of friend everyone needs. Kitty is a more complex but incredible character who we discover more about bit by bit as her story is revealed.There were a number of twists and turns that I didn’t expect, which kept my heart in my throat on numerous occasions. Claudia Carroll deals expertly with sensitive issues whilst maintaining a level of humour and Me & You was heart breaking and heart lifting all at once. It is difficult to say more without revealing too much, but you should definitely read it to find out for yourself!
8/10
Claudia Carroll's Website