Lizzie Benson, who we met in "Paradise Lodge" and "Man at the Helmet", finds a job as a dental nurse to a horrible, incapable dentist JP Wintergreen. As it turns out, Lizzie is rather good at the job, she even undertakes some dental work herself. She also moves into the flat above the practice, becomes a fan of the women's magazines she finds in the waiting room and learns a dental technician she falls for.

The characters were hilarious, but at the same time believable and relatable. Nina Stibbe has nailed the distinctive voice of Lizzie brilliantly and also, her characterizations are perfect and engaging. It was a great joy for me to read this book as it was the third one in the series and I loved to see the characters again - I've already grown fond of them and there is something special in them all - you may not like some of them but you still care about them. They're all brilliantly crafted, no matter if they're the main or the background ones.

This book is full of ridiculous situations but it doesn't mean that it is not believable, because it is. Maybe it's a bit overboard, maybe it's a bit over the top, maybe we need to read it with a pinch of salt but this is what I expect from Nina Stibbe. The events simply work here, with this bunch of eclectic characters, and it seems natural. The author is great at observing and pays incredible attention to details, and this is what makes the book so outstanding - it might be not the quickest read, the pace is rather slow but the sharp observations and dialogues simply make it an addictive and hooking read. And let's not forget the dry, sarcastic humour - it's simply brilliantly clever.

Nina Stibbe brought back the 70s and 80s - music, the way people dressed, the cars. The references were there, the characters spoke like people in those times. This story will be so relatable to many because it touches upon growing up and not really knowing what it is you want to do with your life, and it shows that it's also OK to simply find your ways as you go.

"Reasons to be Cheerful" was a brilliant and - yes! - cheerful read. It made me smile, it made me laugh, it made me cringe with embarrassment and I loved it. It was a witty, brutally honest and bitter - sweat novel, touching and poignant about coming of age, about family, relationships and grief. It's brilliantly chaotic but this is why I liked it so much, and I loved the writing style - it's straight to the point, it's dry and it's almost reportage - style but it works perfectly and Nina Stibbe is a great story - teller. If you're in a need for a smile and chuckle and bonkers characters, do not hesitate - Nina Stibbe is the right person and her books sync up to this descriptions perfectly. Highly recommended!

The main character of Lizzie Vogel is charming. This book takes you on a journey with Lizzie who gets a new job, leaves home and there it all stars. It is an hilarious book with many laugh out loud moments and others that had my eyes brimming with tears.
Nina .Stibbe is simply the best author. If you haven't read any of Ninas books you be delighted by her funny observations. 10/10

I tried to get into this book but sadly it wasnt for me,,the charcaters were not likeable and as say just couldnt get into this book

I want to love Nina Stibbe’s books. I thought this one sounded brilliant and was really looking forward to reading it.

Unfortunately, it just didn’t live up to the hype for me. It didn’t particularly go anywhere and read sort of like memoirs of someone random - which I suppose it’s meant to be, but it just wasn’t gripping and I had to force myself to read from about 20% of the way in.

A funny read about Lizzie's life and her job as a dentist's assistant. A funny easy read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I didn't realise that this was actually part of a series about Lizzie, it works ok as a stand alone! I went for it because I loved "Love, Nina" and it didn't disappoint.

It's 1980s Leicester - Lizzie Vogel is 18, she's bright but she doesn't know what she wants to do so when a job comes up as a dental assistant to JP Wintergreen which includes a flat, she takes it. She leaves home and her slightly erratic family and starts working for JP and Tammy - formerly sole dentist assistant, now JP's fiance. The book covers her slow romance with Andy, dental technician and soon also her mother's lodger, and local friendships, as well as dealing with JP's refusal to treat Asian patients. Some of it is funny, other bits are frustrating but very real - the slowness of Lizzie's relationship with Andy for example, and the general ickiness of JP.

Overall, it's quite good fun - some of the background would have made a little more sense if I'd read the earlier books, but it does work without that! I'm looking forward to hearing about Lizzie's further adventures in London...

At last, a book that is marketed as being funny that actually made me laugh! The story fizzes along with some unbelievable dentistry and uncomfortable 80s nostalgia thrown into the mix, but Ms Stibbe also makes us care enough about the characters to feel really touched by their heartbreak.


Thank you to netgalley and penguin books for an advance copy of this book.

The main character is very likeable and the story draws you into her life, moving away from home, finding friends and boyfriends. There is quite a lot of dental description which ties in with her job and comment on the difficulty of finding an NHS dentist. I found the mother character very similar to the mother in Man at the helm. There was an unexpected twist towards the end however I felt it all came together well.

This is definitely a marmite type of read. Silly, unbelievable in parts, exaggerated to the extreme at times, lots of teeth, so sad you will want to put it in the freezer! This isn't an author I've read before and not the sort of book I would normally pick up, but actually the book cover does it no justice.

You have to suspend all sense to be able to devour this book, but it is worth it to immerse yourself in the laugh out loud moments and general mayhem of Lizzie's life. It isn't a time I would want to go back to, but yes, the eighties were weird! It isn't all light hearted though, there's real sadness at times. Just beautifully described and you don't want it to end.

So suspend your reality checker and dive in, this is a humdinger of a ride!

I’d probably give this a 4.5, rather than a 4, netgalley needs the ability to give halfs! :) I really enjoyed this book, very light hearted read, I always love Nina’s writing style, almost like reading a blog post or something because it just flows so naturally! Humorous in parts, and others utterly heartbreaking - but it also touches up on real issues with NHS dentistry, especially in the 80’s, I like to think it has improved somewhat, however I’m not sure! If you’re someone who worries about your teeth a lot, this might not be the book for you, I found myself thinking about my teeth so much that they hurt! Still loved the book.

An uplifting, fun read with touching moments. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A few bits unlikely but it’s fiction so I let it go. Very nostalgic read for someone of my age , great flashbacks !

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This is my first read by Nina Stibbe.
Loved the story of 18 years old Lizzy navigating her Way through life as a dental nurse. although some of the dentistry work she carried out was somewhat unbelievable. (Of course this is fiction!!) I found it really entertaining, funny and sad.
An easy read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the chance to read and review.

In true Nina Stibbe style Reasons to be Cheerful is uplifting, quirky and laugh out loud funny. A true joy to read.

I really enjoyed this book as I always enjoy any of Nina Stibbe's work. The time period of the book 1970s - 1980s is very well described. Also the characters come alive on the page and Stibbe is skilled at making you care about them. Some of the scenes in the dental surgery where the main character works were hard to believe but overall a very good read and a book I would recommend.

Reasons to be Cheerful continues the story of Lizzie Vogel, who we met in Paradise Lodge. Then, aged only fifteen, much too young and with no qualifications, she landed a job in a care home. Older now but still without qualifications, she blags her way into a job as a dental nurse to a truly horrible dentist. She turns out to be rather good at the job and even, quite illegally, undertakes some dental work herself. This is less horrifying than you might expect. Doing this job, she meets patients nice and nasty and a dental technician she falls for. Although she’s moved away from home to Leicester, she remains tied to her slightly weird family. Both funny and very sad events are recorded in the same flat, reportage-style writing, which makes for very successful story telling. This is enjoyable, if you can get over your horror of dentistry.

Brilliant! Who would think that the life of an 18 year old dental nurse with no social life could be so entertaining! Funny ,sad ,so well written, I became Lizzie!

Reasons To Be Cheerful is a brilliant read. It features likable, hilarious characters and a story that I (and many other people) can really relate to – growing up not knowing exactly what you’re going to do with your life, or where you fit into a ‘bigger picture’, and finding your way as you go.

The novel spins a fantastic tale about Lizzie, who grew up in a village and makes that leap to a ‘bigger city’, with an – admittedly slightly random – career with extremely odd colleagues, which make me smile, laugh and – surprisingly – cry! Anna Stibbe writes so brilliantly, creating characters you really care about, plus some you don’t but who are still really entertaining to read about. Lizzie’s family, friends and casual-or-perhaps-not-so-casual boyfriend are all crafted so well, I can imagine them as people I actually know.

The completely ridiculous situations make this novel so heart-achingly entertaining; one of the most memorable for me is the many times where Lizzie has to hold the dentist’s cigarette for him to puff on, so his hands don’t smell of smoke for customers afterwards.

It’s a testament to Anna Stibbe’s writing that the story doesn’t actually have a whole lot of ‘big action’ as such, but it’s still completely addictive reading. I think this is because there are so many small but absolutely spot on references and observations from Lizzie about everyday life that made me really engage with the story. The novel’s dry wit also elevates it above other books with a similar storyline.

Reasons To Be Cheerful is actually the third in a series, which I didn’t realise before I started reading (so I’m now absolutely dying to read of the other two books, to learn more about Lizzie) and I definitely didn’t feel that I was missing anything from not having read the first two. So if you haven’t read the rest of the series, definitely give this a go anyway – but be prepared to then want to read anything and everything else by Nina Stibbe afterwards!

Having read and enjoyed 'Man at the Helm' a couple of years ago, I was delighted to find that this novel continued Lizzie Vogel's life story. This time Lizzie leaves home, sort of, to work as an assistant for an odious xenophobic dentist with aspirations to join the Masons. In other hands the events of the novel, and Lizzie's backstory, could have been tragedy, but in Nina Stibbe's wonderful hands the story sparkles with wit and humour and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.

You cannot help but get sucked into this book. It is jammed packed with every emotion you go through.
It’s all about Lizzie and her life.
I would compare it to a modern day Adrian Mole.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Penguin UK for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

The story is set in the 1980s, which were my mid-teens and early twenties, so I could identify with the era!

Lizzie gets a job in a dental practice, working for the miserable JP – who has her holding his cigarette whilst he puffs so that he doesn’t get yellow fingers – and his American girlfriend, Tammy. Lizzie strikes up a romantic relationship of sorts with Andy, a dental technician at the company who supplies JP’s clients with their bridges and dentures. Lots of fun characters, including Lizzie’s mum, her stepfather (who she still calls Mr Holt), and the vicar and his driving-instructor wife.

A great read with plenty of laughs, and I’d highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.