recovery Archives - The Quick and the Read

Blog Tour: ‘Norah’s Ark’ by Victoria Williamson

Thanks to The Write Reads for inviting me on the blog tour for this charming and thought-provoking Middle Grade novel. Thanks to The Write Reads and Neem Tree Press for my review copy – opinions, as always, are my own.

This is a story about an unlikely friendship forged in difficult circumstances. Norah Day is a sweet, nature-loving girl – one who lives in temporary accommodation with her father and often goes hungry. In contrast, Adam Sinclair seems to have it all – caring parents, big house, his own treehouse. However, Adam is recovering from cancer and is being given no freedom by his overprotective mother – he’s not even allowed outside his own garden. These two children bond over rescuing a nest of baby birds – but their rescue efforts don’t stop there, especially in view of the coming flood.

Book Review: ‘The Sanctuary’ by Emma Haughton

I absolutely loved Emma Haughton’s first fiction book for adults, ‘The Dark’, set in a research centre in Antarctica. This was the perfect claustrophobic locked-room mystery with the inhospitable surroundings meaning escape was impossible.

I gulped that book down in one – so I was thrilled that NetGalley granted me access to Haughton’s next book, ‘The Sanctuary’.

In this book, Zoey wakes in an unfamiliar environment – she doesn’t remember much about the night before, a night out in New York, aside from a few troubling flashbacks. Now she’s in the desert in The Sanctuary, a high-end establishment helping people to kick their various addictions and face their problems. Zoey doesn’t want to be there…but how can she escape when the centre is miles from anywhere and surrounded by the threats of the endless, empty desert? Instead, she begins to get to know the other residents and participate in some often-unorthodox treatments. But is the desert really more of a threat than the perils lurking within The Sanctuary’s walls?

‘The Split’ by Laura Kay

Happy publication day to this funny and uplifting book which I was fortunate enough to read towards the end of last year during lockdown.

I’d heard lots about this book on Twitter and felt that a cheery read was needed, so thought I would give it a try. I’m so glad I did – it was just what I needed to lift me out of the November gloom!

The main character, Ally, starts this book at her lowest ebb. She has quit her job and been dumped by her girlfriend, Emily, leaving her effectively homeless as she has to leave Emily’s houseboat. Taking the cat, who becomes a topic of dispute between the two ex-partners, she heads back to Sheffield and her father’s house. Initially wallowing in her own grief, she starts to see light at the end of the tunnel after rekindling an old friendship, using her passion for baking to find a new job and – most unlikely of all – taking up running after she (rather ill-advisedly) signs up for a half marathon.

I thought that Kay did a gorgeous job of exploring Ally’s thought processes as she worked her way through the end of her relationship. It felt real, with all its ups and downs, irrational thoughts and acts of pettiness – the emails between Emily and Ally about the cat were particularly telling. I also loved Ally’s feeling about running – as someone who has tried and failed to run, I really could imagine the scenes as she slogged round various circuits with no joy and considerable pain!

Indeed, the characterisation is the real strength in this novel = Ally’s friend Jeremy (who is nursing his own heartbreak) is funny and sweet and just the kind of person you’d want on your team if you were in Ally’s situation. Ally’s dad is similarly wonderful – a supportive, straight-talking (when needed) and realistic parent who has his own ways of getting Ally back on the road to recovery – I loved the disco for Syria scenes as these were so keenly observed by someone who clearly has experienced (in recent memory and with vivid clarity) the joys of a school dance!

The plot followed a fairly predictable course, but that absolutely was not a problem as I was reading this exactly to avoid any stressful or horrible situations. Instead, I was treated to a comfortable and engaging read as I followed Ally’s journey back to happiness. It’s a novel that has moments of sadness, but also bucketloads of humour and really relatable moments.

I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys uplifting stories which are strong on character – those in a similar vein to Beth O’Leary’s ‘The Flatshare’ and ‘The Switch’. I enjoyed this a lot and it made a cheerless lockdown day a lot brighter.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you’d like a copy of this book, my affiliate link is below. Thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases.

Header photo by Allec Gomes on Unsplash.