The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot tells the story of Lenni, a 17-year-old living on a terminal ward, and Margot, an 83-year-old from another ward. Together, they have “lived” one hundred years and decide to celebrate their lives by painting one hundred years worth of their life stories.

First of all, I am so confused as to why I haven’t seen this book all over bookstagram! It was such a beautiful, powerful, and wholesome story about friendship. Both characters were so loveable and hilarious in their own ways. I very rarely cry in books, but this one had me audibly saying “aww” and tearing up right until the very end. I soooo enjoyed the flashbacks of Lenni and Margot’s lives, as told through the paintings. I love when books go back in time with characters, because I feel that it allows me to really see how the characters become who they are during the present story. While reading, I just kept thinking about how I didn’t want it to end... but the ending was excellent.

It’s been a while since I’ve closed a book and just wanted to sit with it. This book did exactly that. It honestly made my heart feel so warm and then so sad – basically all the feels. I am so thrilled that this is being adapted into a feature film – it will be beautiful.

I am so happy to have read this beautiful and unique story. It is so different than anything I’ve read before – and I loved that about it. Keep in mind, I don't give 5 ⭐️’s out easily. If you haven’t read this yet, and are a fan of contemporary fiction, themes of friendship, and present day/past day timelines… I highly suggest you pick this one up. I don't think you’ll regret it.

Thank you to @netgalley and @harpercollins for the digital review copy! I also was able to borrow this one from the library but will be buying a beautiful copy for my own bookshelf ♥️

“The stars that we see the clearest are already dead...They have been gone for who knows how long, but we can still see them...They live on.”

This is the story of 2 terminally ill friends. Lenni is 17, Margot in 83. Together, they have lived 100 years. They decide to document their stories with 100 paintings to live on after they are gone…”one hundred pictures intended to say ‘Lenni and Margo’ were here.” And this book beautifully relays their stories, their loves, their fears, and their light.

The author poignantly weaves their stories and the people they touch. A recurring theme throughout the book is that of letting go. Not just letting people go, but in a bigger sense, setting them free...letting them know it is ok to be free. “Letting people who need to leave, leave. Allowing them to be free.” Each interaction where someone is set free will consume your heart.

I am blown away to know this is a debut novel. Marianne Cronin has an elegant way with words. Her writing kept me engaged...the short chapters made it easy to read, like listening to stories, which is exactly what is happening as the friends share the stories of their lives. I loved all the people in their hospital lives, as well as the people with deep and lasting impacts...they made for fun and real interactions that helped develop the personalities of the main characters. The heart wrenching nature of love and loss is keenly felt throughout. Be sure to have tissues at the ready and be prepared to fall in love.

“Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light. I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

I requested this as background reading for a possible review on BookBrowse. Unfortunately the book did not get picked for review but we did include it in our Publishing This Week newsletter to about 35,000 the week of publication.

I think a lot of readers will adore this one; I personally have never been a huge fan of hospital narratives. I did find the story moving, but as a whole I think it fell a tad short.

So, first off, thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an early read of The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin. Lenni is 17, Margot is 83 – between them, they have lived 100 years. This unlikely pair meets in an art therapy class, in the hospital where they are both long-term patients. Lenni has an unnamed terminal illness and Margot is awaiting heart surgery. While that might not sound like light summer reading, this book is heartwarming in all the right ways. Lenni and Margot quickly become friends. In fact, Lenni makes friends with everyone she meets – the chaplain of the hospital chapel, the “new nurse”, the art therapy teacher. In art class, Lenni and Margot decide they will collaborate on a project – they will each create paintings that represents each of their 100 years (for 100 total), and as they paint, they tell each other the stories of their lives. It’s a story about the importance friendship and of finding love in unexpected places. Be prepared to laugh, to smile, and perhaps to shed a few tears at the end. If you liked The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Bachman, or The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, books with characters you are glad you met, even though they broke your heart a little, then give The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin a try.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I enjoyed it and look forward to recommending it to others

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT by Marianne Cronin is the story set in a Glasgow hospital of two terminal patients - one aged 17 years and the other 83 – who become fast friends and retell the stories of their lives through pictures. This debut novel is an interesting juxtaposition of two rather quirky characters and it's generally positive and humorous, although not especially memorable. It will make for an entertaining movie. Booklist described Cronin's well-written novel as "A strong and intriguing read-alike for John Green's The Fault in Our Stars." I respectfully disagree because Lenni felt very immature at times (more like an 11 year-old than a 17 year-old). Margot, while full of vigor and the more nuanced perspective that comes with age, shares tales of numerous broken relationships and rather random life choices. It is wonderful that these lonely characters have found friendship and support in each other, if only for a short time. THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT was a Library Reads selection for June.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
by Marianne Cronin
Published June 1, 2021

Words can not describe how much this book meant to me. For those who value friendship and the value of life this book is a winner!
An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories.
Their last one begins here.

Life is short. No-one knows that better than seventeen-year-old Lenni living on the terminal ward. But as she is about to learn, it's not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with.

Dodging doctor's orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eight-three-year-old from the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realize that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years.

To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything.

As their extraordinary friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. 5 stars

Lenni is a seventeen year old girl, living in the hospitals terminal ward. Margot is an eighty three year old patient of the next ward over. Fate brings them together in the art room.
Through the telling of each others life story, the two unlikely pair develop a friendship that will outlast death. Together, they combine their one hundred years on earth to celebrate their personal journeys of love and loss.

This story had me sobbing like a baby. I haven't had a good book cry in a while. Writers like John Green and Nicholas Sparks have tackled similar story lines, but have not had this effect on me. The way Cronin writes, brought the characters alive like no one else can. She even made the back ground characters shine with their own stories. There is not one unimportant character in this book. I loved them all.
The main characters, Lenni & Margot are the shining stars of the book. Lenni is a spunky teenager, who functions with a no filter attitude. When you are given a death sentence at such a young age, I think you have a right to live the way you want. Lenni doesn't want to give up on life, and with Margot she doesn't have to. Margot is amazing. She is my real life grandma turned into a fictional character. She shows us that we need to take a minute, slow down and listen. There are so many memories and life lessons to be learned from the elderly, who are more then willing to tell you about. Lenni helps Margot stay young, while Margot helps Lenni live the life she won't be able to.
Such an amazing, ugly cry story. I really hope it gets turned into a movie. I need to see the paintings that they create, on the big screen. It would be fabulous.

This is a touching, tender story that's both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I laughed and cried, sometimes at the same time, as I shared the beautiful friendship between eighty-three year old Margot and seventeen year old Lenni. They meet in a Glasgow hospital where Lenni is living out her final days as she succumbs to a terminal illness. Between the two of them, they have lived one hundred years. To celebrate this milestone, they embark on a project to paint their life stories. It's a moving story about the power of love and life even in the midst of loss

This story is like balm to the soul. It moved me so much. I love books about unusual friendships, two people that appear to be so different yet are completely compatible to the point it is pure magic! Lenni and Margot together was pure magic!

Lenni is a 17 year old and Margot is 83 years old, both terminally ill patients in a hospital ward. They form such a strong bond and celebrate their combined age of 100 by sharing stories and experiences from their past. They agree together they will paint a memorable moment from each year of their life.

Oh my heart. I loved the inquisitive, witty, and endearing nature of Lenni. I enjoyed all of Margot’s stories and Father Arthur was also a favorite. I loved reading how Lenni’s relationship with Margot, Arthur, and even the new nurse evolved.
This book really gave me all the FEELS. I am not a big crier and it had me in tears. BUT there is also light-heartedness in the humor so you don’t feel down and depressed. This book will actually fill your bucket!

Lenni reminded me of one of my favorite fictional characters, Juniper Jones from The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones. I adored her. I am pretty sure this book will be one of my top 10 of 2021!

You might hesitate to read a book about a 17-year-old and an 83-year-old who are both alone and dying in a Glasgow hospital. I can guarantee you will cry during the last chapters of the book, but you will also cheer and laugh as these two seemingly quite different, but independent women find friendship as they race to finish the 100 pictures and stories that will memorialize their shared one hundred years of living. Lenni, the 17-year-old, who has been abandoned by her family seeks enlightenment about God from soon to be retiring hospital chaplain. A hospital porter and a nurse with cherry red hair also become part of her hospital family as she slowly loses the battle against cancer. Margot, of course, since she has been alive much longer than Lenni shares the most stories and artwork in the book. Thrown together by chance they create an extraordinarily strong love for one another. If you are a fan of The End of Your Life Book Club or Tuesdays with Morrie you’re in for another treat about learning from one another and sharing your life with people you care about.

In this book, two women, one 17 and one 83, meet in the hospital as they're headed towards the sunset of their lives, only one of them is going there much too early. It's a book about friendship, but not just that. It's so much more - it's also about finding yourself, understanding love, accepting things and just... Life. Living it out. However much you've got left.

If you thought this book was going to be weepy cause the main character is dying and that's the premise, well - you're wrong. As we meet Leni, we instantly realize she's got a good backbone and plenty of fire in her. And a good sense of humor! The first pages often made me smile.

The funny thing is, I never thought a book about dying people could be so... Comfortable. And so... Alive? One of the characters describes Leni as "so alive", so she can't possibly be dying - and when I read this and thought about it, I realized that, indeed, that's a great description of the character - I couldn't sum her up better. From the very first pages of the book, Leni just comes off the page.

And yet... The book is also sneakily sad. It's not outright sad, and yet... You realize that prolonging the life of a terminally ill patient is both a saving grace, as well as kind of cruel, really. But there is just no good solution. Leni doesn't want to die - and yet, the hospital is a prison for her. Bed rest is a punishment. Her days are all the same, and things she loves are taken from her one by one, as her world shrinks. It's truthfully very sad to watch, but you realize that you're not sure what is ethically more correct - to let a person suffer the drudgery longer? Or to let them live life fully, but with their time shortened..? Much to think about.

Aside from all this, The One Hundred Years of Leni and Margot is also a book about loss, complicated love and figuring yourself out. A love that's hard to pursue. And it's queer! I will not elaborate, cause it's kind of a spoiler if I do, but I did want to just mention it at least, so you knew it was there.

So now, the name of the book. Bet you're wondering why it's called that, especially because we know that both the characters are dying and probably won't get to live to 100. Well, let me spoiler tag this, but [spoiler is on Goodreads] How cool is that? And it's even better than that - because [spoiler is on Goodreads].

In reality, although the book is continuous, it's made up of snippets of now and of the past from both women's lives. So ever so slowly, we learn about who Leni and Margot were, before they became patients with terminal conditions. We learn to love them, we wonder about their quite complicated and not at all easy lives. And then it's time to say goodbye. This is why the book really leaves a mark on you.

By the time it's time to say goodbye, you can feel your heart breaking for the characters. The goodbyes are so gentle, so quiet. It affects you deeply. It makes you stop and think. And you know you'll remember the story for quite a while.

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

This was such a unique and well executed novel. It tells the story of Lenni, a teenager and Margot, an octogenarian, who meet in a hospital ward. The stories from Margot’s past are interwoven with events and stories in the hospital, painting a beautiful picture of Margot’s life. These stories of a long life that Lenni will never experience give Lenni a glimpse into her own hypothetical futures and also go in to creating their art of 100 combined years of life. This novel highlights human frailties and the unpredictability of life while also shining light on the beauty and love that persists throughout. This was a winner for me.

I really enjoyed reading this story, even though it ripped my heart out of my chest and made me cry while in the car with my whole family. The short chapters made it very easy to read. The characters were well developed and completely lovable. The subtle queerness in the story was very appreciated too. I loved that Lenni never told us her illness and had complete control over what details she shared with everyone, including the reader. I thought that Lenni was very well crafted—she had moments of childishness and moments of profound maturity. She was wonderful to read. I also appreciated her questioning of religion, and how that didn’t put off Father Arthur.

My only complaint about the book is the format of the stories told. It made the timeline of the book a little confusing, though I think that was intentional to show how time gets away from you in a hospital stay. I didn’t really love that some chapters would have a paragraph or two of introduction and then a short story. I would’ve preferred it to come out in dialogue between the characters. That said, I think I figured out late that I was reading Lenni’s journal, and perhaps that’s why it’s written that way.

Thank you NetGalley for an e-ARC of The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot.The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin is an endearing story of friendship and hope during one's final days. Cronin created characters that crossed generations and came alive, characters that were resilient to life's upheavals. Lenni is 17, terminally ill, and isn't ready to die. She meets Margot, who is 83, reflective, and determined to make her life count. Together, they become an unlikely pair sharing their stories through art and forming an eternal friendship. A book that will make you feel all the feels, leave you satisfied, yet wanting more.

Just as there are people it is a privilege to meet, there are books that are a privilege to read, and this wonderful and magical debut novel by Marianne Cronin is one of them!

Lenni Pettersson, 17, is a gentle, lonely girl with a dry wit, a lot of questions, and not a lot of time to get them answered. A patient on the May ward (the terminal or more politically correct "life-limited" pediatric ward), of the Glosgow Princess Royal Hospital, Lenni goes to see Father Arthur in the hospital's chapel to see if he can answer her questions. He can't, at least not to her satisfaction, but she finds it interesting to talk with him and challenge him; he finds her quite a character who surprises him with the things she says and she makes him laugh. She begins to visit him often and the two form a bond that's important to them both.

Not feeling a fit in the arts class for teens ("they have so much time"), Lenni wanders into the above-eighties arts class one day and Pippa, the instructor, asks if she'd like to paint with them. Lenni sees a woman she has seen before in the hospital who introduces herself as Margot Macrae and the friendship between Lenni and Margot begins. They are delighted to discover that between them, they are one hundred years old (Lenni, 17 and Margot 83) and decide that they should commemorate that event by telling their life stories in paintings and words. What better way for them to document their lives, and get to know each other better (and for us, the lucky readers, to get to enjoy their growing friendship and their adventures together as well)?

And so it is that Lenni makes friends among the staff and patients, friends who become her family, while she leaves an indelible mark on their hearts and lives before her time runs out.

"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."

What a lovely, funny, wise, heartbreaking reminder of the importance of friendship and the love, support, and sheer joy it brings! You have to read this book! It will make you smile, laugh, and cry, and afterwards, you might find yourself making a phone call to someone you love to tell them about a wonderful book you just read and to thank them for making a difference in your life.

Kudos to Marianne Cronin on an amazing debut!! My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Harper Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel which is scheduled to be published on June, 1, 2021. All opinions expressed in this review are my own, and are freely given.

Feisty and unconventional, 17 year old Lenni is dying and can’t leave the hospital. 83 year old Margot is also in the hospital. They become unlikely friends and co-conspirators. In the hospital art therapy room, Lenni suggests they create 100 paintings, 1 for each year of their collective lives. Lenni writes the stories of the paintings in her diary. Through the paintings and stories we follow the short, traumatic life of Lenni and the much longer, eventful life of Margot. Other characters form a circle of friendship around Lenni. Warm-hearted, funny and sad. Thx to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a review copy.

What a beautiful but poignant book. This book melted me on so many levels and I just loved it. There is something about young people and elderly people sharing their stories with each other. These two went a step further and wanted to share collective memories of 100 years combined.