This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Susan Lobban
Everyone's from somewhere, right? Well not Clemency ‘Smitty’ Smittson. Despite her parents’ best efforts, she has never really felt like she belongs. A black girl with white parents always raises questions and the only link to her original heritage is a baby box beautifully adorned with butterflies. Smitty has always wondered why she was put up for adoption, but she has made a promise to her mother that she will not look for her biological family until both her parents are dead.
Smitty is once more without roots as she moves to Brighton with her mother, following the death of her dad and her split from long-term lover and best friend Seth. A fresh start is just what mother and daughter need, but unbeknownst to them both, this simple move brings them closer to Smitty’s past. A chance encounter unexpectedly answers all of Smitty’s questions, which she was perhaps better not knowing.
All her life Smitty has had to deal with the curious and often very opinionated public perception of her little family unit. Being adopted should not have made a difference to her sense of belonging, but as it was so blatantly obvious that her mum and dad were not her biological parents, she always felt like a bit of an outsider. When we meet Smitty her dad has died, but we get a glimpse of the overwhelming love he had for his daughter and the lengths he goes to for her are truly heartbreaking. Her mother, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish altogether and when combined with a racist uncle and bullying cousin, it is no wonder Smitty feels lost. The actions of her extended family were shocking, but not completely surprising; however Smitty’s mother’s behaviour was astounding for the majority of the book.
Told with the aid of flashbacks, emails and split into parts, I found that this book felt more like five than one. So, what started as a straightforward adoption story branched into so much more. This kept my interest throughout, but I did feel that when certain things were revealed along the way, they felt lost amongst what else was going on at the same time. One particular storyline – involving the health of Smitty’s biological grandmother – I think we could have done without as it seemed hurried.
My favourite aspect of the book were the flashbacks as they gave a genuine insight into Smitty’s complicated relationship with her best friends. Dylan and Seth were the people who made her happiest and really understood her although, even with them, she still kept a part of herself back. These flashbacks also showed the way her cousin chipped away at her over the years; despite her behaviour being vitriolic, it made for terrific reading.Dorothy Koomson is certainly not formulaic in her writing as each book I have read has been completely different. That Girl from Nowhere is a compelling drama with a whole host of multi-faceted characters. Page by page this fictional family tree grows bigger and bigger until it casts a large shadow on Smitty’s life.
8/10