This book completely stunned me by being a totally amazing read and what a wonderful well constructed story it is and so damn compulsive that I flew through it as it was so hard to put down. The two alternating storylines of Jo and Ellie are completely engrossing and written so well that I found myself caring deeply about the two characters as we find out more and more about the hardships life has thrown at them. The descriptions of homelessness and life on the road are heartbreaking yet at times kindness prevails and this makes the book very special. My first book by Jane Corry and I was highly impressed by the quality of her writing and characterisation, this is a difficult book to describe without giving too much away but I can truly say I loved the book and would recommend this as a book not to be missed.
My thanks to NetGalley, Jane Corry and Penguin Books UK for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

After reading and enjoying Jane Corey's blood sisters I was eager to read her latest novel- I looked away. I was not let down. The story gripped me from the first page. Written from the perspective of 2 characters- Ellie- a 49 year old who looks after her grandchild every week and has an unfaithful husband when something terrible happens. And Jo- a homeless woman who explains her life on the streets. I didn't work out the connection between the two characters until I was 70% through the book then it all made sense. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would certainly reccomend it.  Thank you net galley for the advanced copy.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. I was keen to read this having read and enjoyed Jane Corry's previous bppks. Initially I found both voices to be rather difficult to relate to. However, I found the story to be a gripping read which I read in one evening, keen to find out what was happening. Whilst at times the narrative was unclear and I predicted how the two voices merged quite early on, I liked Corry's style and enjoyed the book, caring more about the characters as the story developed.

This is a slow moving, somewhat confusing book which moves between two narrators Ellie and Jo. Ellie's is set in the past and Jo's in the present. After a seemingly unrelated incident in the present we are taken to Ellie's viewpoint. Ellie is a young girl whose mother dies and whose father remarries to give Ellie the stepmother from hell. Jo's narration is that of a homeless woman who is clearly on the run from something. It was obvious to me from very early on what was going on. There were endless hints which become tiresome  - if I had known then what I know now - that sort of thing. This was particularly irritating in Ellie's storyline when we were finding out what had happened to her brother Michael. Somewhat unusually for a novel these days, the end was much better than the rest of the book. which was irredeemably depressing especially with regard to Ellie. I found what happened to Ellie very upsetting. Jo's story was also a very sad one.

I think for me the main problem was the structure, moving between viewpoints and timelines. At the end it becomes obvious why it was done this way but it slowed down the action. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Forty-nine year old Ellie, a devoted granny to little Josh, lives for the days when she looks after him. But when Ellie’s attention is distracted one day, the consequences are dramatic. Because there are things in Ellie’s past, now coming back to haunt her, which she’d much rather forget... 

The story is told in turn by Ellie, who recounts her life both before and after a deeply traumatic event in her teenage years, and by Jo, a homeless woman who tells of her life on the streets. 

Ellie - short for Elinor, but based on her life story it could equally be short for Cinderella - has certainly had an awful time of it in the past, with a wicked stepmother who’s almost straight from a fairy tale. Jo’s current life, too, is no bed of roses and Jane Corry does not gloss over the dangers and difficulties of her day to day existence. Both the kindnesses and cruelties of strangers are vividly portrayed.

It’s hard to say too much about I Looked Away without risking spoilers, but it was a seriously addictive read from an excellent storyteller.

Really well written and totally believable. I was pulled instantly into the very clever storyline and loved every twist and turn. Outstanding.

An excellent read that kept me hooked throughout. I have read all of Jane’s other novels and this one is just as good.

I really enjoyed this book. I think it would be almost impossible not to empathise with Ellie and the many cruelties inflicted upon her during her life. Despite that she remained a loving and caring person who I was rooting for throughout. I also thought that the interspersed account of Jo's life 'on the road' was very well drawn.

I did feel the final third was drawn out just a bit, since it was already clear what had happened in the past to traumatise Ellie so thoroughly yet it was given all the weight of a major revelation.

A really good book, though, and I would look out for this author in the future.

I love Jane Corry but I really couldn't get into this one. I've loved all her others though, so maybe this just wasn't for me. Too many uses of the word 'very; which dulls the pace, though I know it's an early copy.
I would still buy this writer's books going forward though, as her others have been 5 star reads for me.

I have really mixed feelings about I Looked Away, firstly it doesn't have much action and the storyline moves as a very slow pace. It wasn't until the last 20% of the book that anything happened. 
What I liked was it felt like a nanna telling her story, Jane Corry managed to capture the voice of an old woman perfectly. 
I would have preferred a connection between the two narrators earlier in the book.
Overall a solid 3/5, not the best I've read but great for a casual reader.