P is for Pearl is a meaningful and quietly powerful story that meditates on the achingly familiar and painfully common. Eliza Henry Jones deftly navigates the complexities of her characters' experiences and connections with life, including grief and mental illness. It’s intensely Australian, emotive and beautifully composed. I highly recommend it.

This is a beautifully written book...the language perfectly captures the characters and the the setting in this novel..

In fact I think the setting is as equally important as the people in the book, it feels like the story could have only been told from this town.

I love a story that doesn't tell you everything form the start...you get bits of the story as you read, so you are getting to know the characters at the same time that they get to know each other.

I know this is the author's first YA novel, so I can only hope that she writes more.

‘I worked at the café down on the main surfing beach in town.’

Meet Gwendolyn P. Pearson. Gwen lives in a small coastal town in Tasmania with her father, step-mother (Biddy), step-brother (Tyrone) and half-sister (Evie). She remembers her mum: a colourful whirlwind of a woman, now dead. Everyone in the small community knew Gwen’s mum: some talk about her, others look at Gwen sympathetically and say nothing. Gwen tries not to think about losing her mother, or the death of her younger brother. Keeping busy helps. Gwen is now seventeen years old, in Year 11 at high school, trying to think about her future. One evening there’s an incident in the café, where Gwen and her best friend Loretta work part-time, and Gwen’s world is shaken.

Gwen tries to make sense of what happened to her mother and her brother. Trying to understand what happened leads Gwen to realise that life is more complex than she had realised. While Gwen is learning more about the deaths of her mother and brother, she is coming to terms with the fact that life is more complex than she’d thought, and that other people also have issues to deal with.

I read this novel, and then almost immediately reread it. I didn’t actually miss much on the first read, but the second read gave me an opportunity to think more about what Gwen was experiencing and her reactions. This is a beautifully written novel which explores the meaning of friendship, the impact of mental illness, as well as different configurations of family and grief. None of these issues are trivialised or glossed over. The characters came alive for me, especially Evie with her wicked sense of humour, Loretta and her dislike of sport, and Tyrone. It’s not just the story Ms Henry Jones tells, it’s the characters she peoples it with and the way in which she tells it.

I’ve been recommending this novel to family and friends. Unreservedly.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Australia, the past few years, has had a wonderful run of beautifully written and emotional YA stories, and this is no exception. I loved this and I bloody cried a fair bit because this is so raw and sad and filled with grief, but it is also funny and so distinctly Australian that when I read it I feel it in my bones and I love the way you can just sense when you're reading something by an Australian YA author because it's just so real and near and you can feel that sense of home.

Gwen is so broken and complex and all the characters of the town and he siblings were really lovingly written, and I adore Loretta for being the perfect best friend, and Ben for just getting it and both being exactly what Gwen needs which was just so nice to read.

So yeah, I thought this was great.

Absolutely beautiful, poignant novel. It reminded me so much of Sophie Hardcastle’s Breathing Under Water. They both have a great understanding of what’s it like to be a teenager going through loss and uncertainties. It was written in a way that’s believable and truthful.

P is for Pearl tells the story of 17-year-old Gwen who lost her mum and brother at an early age. An incident at the café where she worked part time prompted vivid memories, flashback and dreams of the time they died - she grieving all over again. Gwen knew her mum was different but as a young girl Gwen just accepted it. Now that Gwen is older she’s discovering there might be more to her mum’s eccentric behavior and uncovering hidden secrets from her mothers pasts. And the only person who can help Gwen with answers is her father but dealing with loss himself, he shuts down or avoids any questions raised.

This is a story is narrated by Gwen, looking at her grief and suffering from all angles, even seeing it from her friends and families pov and how they played an a vital part in her life to recovering - looking out for her, knowing what to say and do and just keeping it normal. But it’s also a lovely coming of age story and the complexities of growing up; first crush, friendships and the tough decision about a career when you leave high school.

Set in a small town of Tasmania everyone knows each other, and they know their stories. There is a special closeness and trust of the town’s community that’s warm, welcoming and very natural which I loved. They all seem to have each other back in a subtle way and there’s a gentle kindness in everyone. I enjoyed the playful dialogue between friends - Gwen, Loretta, Gordon and even her annoying step Brother Tyrone who gets a kick out of playing tricks on Gwen but can be surprisingly compassionate when she least expected.

This novel is pure gem, one I will treasure.

<i>Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for my review copy.</i>

This ARC for provided to me by #NetGalley for an honest opnion.

P is for Pearl is a beautifully written book about 17 year old Gwendolyn. It takes you on an emotional journey through her grief and pain and finally her acceptance.
It has such an incredible setting, a small coastal town in Tasmania, Australia. Henry Jones really made you feel like you knew the place. It was comfortable, lovely and I really enjoyed the read.
As a heads up, it's probably obvious, but this book does cover mental health issues, death, and grief. It is very beautifully done and very respectable.

"P is for Pearl" is a moving and emotionally fueled slow burn. Following Gwendolyn as she deals with a past trauma that has been re-triggered, we follow her emotional journey to self discovery, self care and growing up. In the process she meets, or revisits, old friends and new acquaintances that help her realise that she is not alone, and she is not alone in her pain. This book is beautiful. Eliza Henry-Jones writes domestic grief with such truth and tenderness, and I could not put this book down.

P is for Pearl is the tender-hearted story of seventeen-year-old Gwen growing up in regional Tasmania. An incident at the local coffee chop where Gwen works with her best friend, Loretta sends Gwen spinning into the realms of grief. The story follows the aftermath of the incident and Gwen’s acceptance of the death of her mother and brother some years past.

Life becomes more complicated when two strangers come to town. Handsome Ben and his troubled sister, Amber descend upon the town causing a flurry of excitement within the school community. Not least of all, Gwen who finds herself thinking more and more about Handsome Ben.

Threaded throughout the story are examples of positive teen relationships from the relationship of Gwen with her siblings, to the friendship she enjoys with her close friends, and my favourite of all, the intergenerational relationship Gwen enjoys with local police sergeant, Martin. Family relationships are also explored throughout, and Gwen’s father’s remarriage causes tension throughout the book.

Henry-Jones has used her setting of a wild, isolated coastal town to perfection. The town with its wild and violent ocean adds a strong element of atmosphere as well foreshadowing events and memories from the past.

The narrative is interspersed with diary entries by Gwen.

P is for Pearl explores themes of grief, friendship, and mental health and illness, and interestingly, the story was first written by Henry-Jones in her teens.

Although this book has been marketed to YA readers, I believe it would better suit younger teens and higher middle-grade readers.

My thanks to Harper Collins Publishers and NetGalley for a copy to read and review.

I loved Eliza Henry – Jones’ previous adult novels so I was keen to read this one, as well.

The main character of this novel is Gwendolyn P. Pearson, who’s seventeen and is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. An incident at the café she was working part-time triggers memories and feelings that make her feel sleepless and unsettled. She’s trying to piece together things from the past, as she was little when her mum and little brother passed away. She’s got her best friend, Loretta and their side-kick, Gordon, to support her. She’s also got a nice dad, gorgeous half-sister, Evie, a kind stepmother and a strange, older step Brother, Tyrone.
They live in a small coastal town in Tasmania. I particularly loved the atmosphere and the descriptions of this place.

There are two new kids in town, Ben and his twin sister, Amber, who are the same age as the Gwen. Ben is sweet and handsome. He’s a runner like Gwen. That brings them together.

P is for Pearl is a slow-moving novel, which suits the small town’s wintery pace. Again, Eliza Henry – Jones’s expertise in trauma and grief counselling comes in handy as this novel deals with grief, mental illness, families in all their diverse forms. While it didn’t affect me as deeply as her previous novels, I found it still a very enjoyable, worthwhile read.

I loved the comfortable feeling of this book. I connected with the feeling of the small town and the familiarity with all the residents there. It was a different kind of story that had a lot of focus on the characters and who they were rather than any big events. I liked that what looked like key plot points came to nothing and you realise Jones has a different direction in mind for the story.

What I also liked were the slow reveals and the shifting focus, it is also a great exploration of mental health and how that is dealt with at all ages and stages of life. Jones doesn't delve too deeply into this, it is very much shown from the outside, but that in itself is an interesting point of view.

I enjoyed the surprises and their reveals that were impactful but didn't feel like Plot Twists. They weren't suddenly thrown in your face but they developed gradually which I liked. It felt natural and it felt like a realistic moment of discovery rather than a sudden change in the story.

The characters are pretty wonderful as well. I liked the relationship Gwen has with her friends and the people in town. It has a great small town feeling and the friendships and the support the community provide to one another is heart-warming but doesn't come across as cheesy.

There isn't a great exploration of other characters, but at the same time it's not their story and you forget to notice it sometimes. You know who they are, and Jones gives you enough that you understand their lives and who they are, but Jones doesn't go into huge depths. This is Gwen's story after all and Jones keeps it revolving around her.

There is a natural feeling to the way Jones writes. Conversations are natural, more information isn't provided between characters just so a reader understands, and the events and actions of the characters are intriguing and fascinating without being unnatural or fanciful.

It says in Jones' acknowledgements that she first wrote this book when she was 16, whether that accounts for the tone this book sets or just that she can tell a young adult story well I'm not sure. I was drawn into Gwen's story and came out the other side satisfied and content which is never a bad way to feel at the end of a book.

Seventeen-year-old Gwen has a difficult and tragic family history, but so far she has been able to avoid thinking about the death of her mother. All of that changes after an incident at the cafe where she works, and everything Gwen has repressed begins to rise to the surface.

P is for Pearl is a beautifully-written coming-of-age story that tackles big issues: grief, mental health, and the complexity of relationships. The characters all have complicated, nuanced connections, and I felt the friendship between Gwen and Loretta was particularly well-depicted; it was refreshing to see such a positive a close female friendship in a YA novel, one that was given more time than any romantic relationship. I did find it difficult to believe that some of the reveals made over the course of the novel were things Gwen didn't already know (trying to avoid spoilers makes it hard to discuss this aspect!) but that is a minor flaw in an otherwise moving novel.

There's definitely budding romance, friendship, and conflicts with schoolmates as you would expect when reading about a teenager during her everyday life. However, the focus is not there. It's more about the emotional suffering and grief of a young lady who had lost her baby brother, then later her mother. The combination of YA and grief is unconventional and timely, I think. We don’t often put those two in the same room together when the reality is many young adults have experienced it.

Our main character is Gwendolyn, more known as Gwen, or as her mother nicknamed her, Pearl. This novel is told From Gwen’s point of view, told from her everyday moments and diary entries. Her grief and sadness surfaced after a man stirred up trouble at a café where she works by flinging tables off of the floor, hitting the cafe window in the process. Something about the shattered glass triggered Gwen’s memories about her late mother. Readers can see Gwen's sorrow and heartache from her diary entries, also from her monologues telling us that she’s having trouble remembering much about her brother Jamie except that he played the violin. Perhaps this was how Gwen liked to remember Jamie.

It took a couple of chapters (only like two or three) for me to 'get into' this book, but then I fell completely head over heels for it.

The writing style was pretty much perfectly suited to my reading tastes. It had a literary, dreamy kind of feel that reminded me of the Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (which I count as one of the most beautiful books I've ever read), and made me feel like we were drifting towards fantasy. The other thing about this that gave me Scorpio Races vibes was the development of the relationship between two of the main characters - my heart hadn't been so invested in a couple since Sean and Puck. So, if you loved the Scorpio Races I'd definitely recommend this as a read-alike.

I felt like the sibling relationships were really well written in this - I'm really loving great sibling pairs in YA at the moment!

Now, aside from the beautiful setting and sweet romance, this book deals with lots of pretty heavy issues that teens might face (but that I don't really feel that I know enough about personally to go into much here) - it is about grief and loss and mental health issues (and a trigger alert for death - look into it a bit more if this is something you would prefer to avoid).

Overall I thought this was a wonderful read, and I'm definitely adding Eliza Henry-Jones' other books to my TBR.

This was pure poetry, it was such a beautiful and moving story for me to read, it spoke straight to my heart. A beautifully written story of loss and secrets and coming to terms with the truth of what life is. Set in Tasmania in a small seaside town, 17 year old Gwen is dealing with loss, not just the loss of her mum and brother, but the loss of all she believes to be the truth. I can't express how moved I was by this story, it is one I can see myself rereading just to immerse myself in Eliza Henry-Jones' words.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for a copy in return for an honest review.

Before I even started this novel, the cover and the publisher drew me in and I wanted so to love it.
I loved the plot, the almost lyrical writing and the flow of the writing style. However I didn't engage with the protagonist, yes she has relate able traits, but I really struggled to engage with her on a level that would have made the book that much more to me. This isn't at the fault of the author. A good, fast paced read!