What a lovely story this new novel by Carmel is! I’ve followed Carmel from the very beginning of her new career as a published author and I have never been disappointed in what I have read. This novel is new and fresh and tells the story of Greta Gale, a young Irish would-be actress, currently searching for her big break and still living at home with her supportive parents and two younger brothers. She has not been successful with her auditions for quite some time and she thinks she knows the reason why: because she is a plus size and she is anything but a slim Jim. She has laughed off her clumsy accidents and her size related nickname, supposedly happy and full of fun. What her family don’t know is that she is an addict. She couldn’t possibly tell them because she knows that they, all slim and contented, would be disappointed.
However, matters come to a head when she crashes into a neighbour’s front garden. She sees her beloved mother’s injuries and she just knows that it cannot go on. She eventually confesses to her shocked family and goes into rehab, with their full support and lots of love. If you want to know more about this story, the book is published on 1st March and I know you will love this novel and recommend it as a good read. It’s heart-breaking at times, sunny and funny too at other times, as well as full of wisdom, compassion and an exciting Road Trip based around the theme of ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Carmel writes with fluency and flair, her descriptions are wonderfully vivid and tantalising and her characters will definitely feel like they are close friends that you really care for as you get to know and empathise with them. It’s a real rollercoaster of ‘firsts’, memories, love and loss and new beginnings. I particularly liked the first part which gripped me instantly. Through health issues during my pregnancy I put on masses of weight, reaching 107kg when our son was born. I dieted to an eventual 72.6Kg. which is how I feel comfortable. I have a large frame (I like to believe)! So I had masses of empathy for Greta. It’s not easy to diet and she was in despair. I loved the ending which I felt was well balanced and true to life. The mid story was a bit slow for me.
I received this book through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher HarperCollins, all in return for an honest review. Thank you for my copy. These are my own thoughts and I have not been influenced at all. It’s a 3.5* review from me.

First time for me to read a book by Carmel Harrington and I am very happy that I tried one of her book! "My Pear-shaped life" is an excellent book! it's extremely well written. It's a chick-lit book but about very various topics such as drug addiction, issues with body weight, death of loved ones, finding true love, loving yourself and accepting yourself as you are and so on. It's very very good! I especially loved the first half of the book, it was very heart touching and poignant. The second hald is happier and lighter, we take a road trip trought america. It's such a wonderful book! I can only recommend it! I give this book a 4 and half starts out of 5!

Greta is not happy Greta has issues,she made me laugh she entertained me with her weight struggles.I really enjoyed this book a page turner for me..#netgalley#harpercollinsuk

Even though I am Irish and work in an Irish library I had never read any of Carmel Harrington's work. Now I will certainly go through her past books and pick up another. In this book, I could really see myself in the character of Greta. I absolutely loved the first half of this book and read it all in one sitting. The second was good but didn’t have the same emotional connection for me. However, I was intrigued to see how the story would turn out. A good read!

I was quite intrigued by this book although I didn't think it would be my sort of thing at all. Greta Gale wants to be an actress but she feels like her weight is holding her back. The blurb for this book is quite focused on her weight issues but what the real problem is is that she's addicted to sleeping pills which isn't something that is often written about in novels and is really interesting. The second half of the book focuses on a road trip with her uncle which is quite sweet but I preferred the first half. There are a lot of vague attempts to parallel The Wizard of Oz which I wasn't really into but overall I found it a really pleasant read.

A great read.

Greta is generally a likeable character, but at the start of the book she is a bit annoying. I did get a bit confused at times when it jumped to a slightly different point of view.

Makes me want to go on a road trip across America too!