A unexpected gem of a book, which I read with a big daft grin on my face. It might have made me well up in places as well. I absolutely loved it!

Tilly is a statistician. To understand the collapse of her marriage, she writes a report. With diagrams and footnotes.

Violet is in her mid-20s, alone and effectively housebound. She starts writing on a borrowed typewriter to explore the world she can't visit in person. She will become Tilly's grandmother.

Alongside these two unconventional, inconvenient women grow a chaotic family of characters - quirky, believable (mostly!), warm and beautiful. And an oddball collection of inanimate objects set on making their own characters known (Washing Machine #76 is a classic). There's also a dog in a wheelbarrow. What more do you need?!

Thank you #netgalley for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. #TheMapOfUs is one of my surprise favourites of the year, and is out on Saturday.

Lovely, engaging opener which introduces us to Violet North whose blue typewriter is the linchpin of the story. The plot contains a perfect mixture of humour and sadness, and for some reason certain elements reminded me of the poignant old couple in Pixar’s animated film “Up”.

Tilly’s father is a sand artist, her brother is a world authority on the colour blue, her sister has an out-of-control handbag addiction, meanwhile her mum has to contend with the never-ending deaths of their washing machines (due to aforementioned sand)! I found the characters were well thought out, each had their own quirks and unique traits and I felt invested in all of them.

This is a heart-warming and charming love story with an important message to prioritise what’s really important in life. Made me think of the empty jar/Philosophy teacher lesson.

Some could find the story a little too sickly-sweet and the ending a tad predictable but if you’re looking for a nice, feel good read I definitely recommend. I was in the right mood to fully embrace the cheese and had a genuine smile on my face when I finished reading it.

I wish I could have liked The Map Of Us more but I'm afraid we weren't the best match. There was perhaps 76% probability that we would hit it off but that means there was a 34% chance of the opposite. It's something Tilly would say; she must have rubbed off on me after all :-).

I have to admit I was excited to read this novel mostly because of the reference to that other novel, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, but I couldn't find the same connection or recognition in Matilda - or Tilly as she's called by 3 people - that I found in Eleanor.

The novel was told in alternating voices in short snappy chapters of only a few pages, or even just half a page at times, so it was easy enough to digest, but on the the other hand the big cast of quirky characters that changed so quickly made it difficult to get invested in them and remember them sometimes as well.

The author also introduced also a few different literary styles that some will undoubtedly find original but I found it halted the flow of the story somewhat. Some of them worked really well like hearing her mother's voice through letters addressed to Tilly, and others - like the almost poetic entries of her father's thoughts in almost three word sentences - not so much.

The thread that followed Violet North, the grandmother who starts writing stories on her blue typewriter, was the one I looked forward to returning to most of all and I really hoped she would find happiness in the end. She lives in a world of her own and created a fictuous character who roams the Great Moors and lets her have adventures when she can not. Like Violet, most of the other characters in this novel live in a world of their own: Tilly's father's passion is building sand sculptures (no dolphins though!), Tilly's world seems to be built by numbers, her sister Katherine's world is filled with the haunt for the perfect handbag (she's got 342! bags) and her brother Matt is the world authority on the color blue. Can they break out of their limited worlds and make a connection with someone outside of their world? It'll be quite a journey.

This novel was a bit out of my 'rational' comfort zone and a bit too wordery for me, making it difficult to understand why some of it was relevant to the story so I guess that's why it didn't really work out for me. It reminds me a little of We Were Liars by E. Lockheart, where the prose also rubbed me the wrong way. If you like originality though this might be exactly your cup of tea.

Expecting nothing more than a light hearted read requiring little concentration, I actually found The Map of Us provided quirkily signposted directions for an unexpected and delightful journey.

It has an oddly detached narrative style that complements Matlida (Tilly) Eastleigh’s statistician’s mind perfectly. The clippy chapters, barely half a page in most places, allowed me to travel lightly and effortlessly stroll through the pages.

What I discovered is all roads lead ‘North’ – that’s Violet North and her humble blue, Remington typewriter with an annoying ‘e’ that sticks. I didn’t grasp how an inanimate object could play such a significant role before I started reading. How it could create new paths to follow and become an anchor for future generations, especially as they sail some pretty choppy seas before finding the true route to their happiness.

With all honesty it took a little while for me to settle into this book before I realised I was overcomplicating things. The only advice I can offer future readers is: don’t try to work out the destination before you get there, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and a quirky collection of people connected by various ways. I found it hard to keep track of everyone and imagine how they all fit together as the stories and view points changed quickly and often. I liked how it all came together in the end and found all the characters very likeable. They were quirky and unique but good people despite some of the hard and tragic childhoods described. A nice lighthearted read but I ended up skimming through some and never connecting to the characters.

Tilly is a statistician, compiling a report on why her marriage has failed. Her father is building competitive sand art. Daniel is wondering how committed to his healthy snack business.... what will unite them, and the rest of the characters, is love.
This is a feelgood novel with a cast of quirky and likable characters, and the author deftly balances this against the obvious pain and loss that each of the characters is entitled to feel before their stories are resolved, to avoid being twee or sentimental.
A cracking read, that deserves to be really popular.

I was immediately drawn to the cover of this book because I love the blue typewriter on it. Upon reading it though, I realize this was not my cup of tea and I just could not connect to the characters at all. I received this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review.

The Map of Us was a really pleasant surprise. It was quite different than the Eleanor’s and Harold's this may be linked with. Nothing particularly tragic happens, and there is no great need for catharsis and a good cry.
The book is made up of short, discrete, chapters. Although there is a literal, and metaphorical map, in the book, it felt more like a patchwork quilt. The reader is introduced to a number of disparate pieces, which are cleverly woven together towards the end of the book.
For me, Violet, in her big house, with a head full of dreams, and Tilly, who sees the world through statistics, are very similar. They understand the world through a different prism to most people. The Map of Us allows them to triumph through their odd way of doing things, and improve the world around them.
There is a pleasing menagerie of lovely characters. I particularly liked Sidney, who helps Violet with her vile brother David, a real pantomime villain. To quote Philip Henslowe in Shakespeare in Love:
“Love and a bit with a dog, that's what they want.”