Review of Statistically Speaking by Debbie Johnson

Debbie Johnson has done it again with Statistically Speaking! The breathtaking honesty of the main character is what truly sets this book apart. She has a knack for saying exactly what I’m thinking, making her incredibly relatable and refreshing.

The story is a rollercoaster of emotions, with its highs and lows masterfully woven to make you pause and reflect. It’s not just a story—it’s an experience that stays with you long after you’ve turned the final page.

If you’re a fan of witty, sarcastic characters and heartfelt storytelling, this book deserves a prime spot on your shelf. Statistically Speaking is undoubtedly one to watch out for next year—don’t miss it!

3.5/There is so much to love about this book. The premise, the characters, and the journey the main character takes to overcome past traumas. However, it could have used a heavier hand in the editing and focusing process. Parts of the inner narrative became extremely repetitive and made it feel like the book was dragging on a bit. Overall, was still a good read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Muse for the eARC.

🗿If there’s any book that will make you believe more in humanity, it’s easily this one

What a wholesome book. So many representations as well. What I loved about this book most is that it’s so real. Has everyday struggles and issues life keeps throwing at us

Despite everything, it was such a positive book. So bright and joyful. I annotated so much. She’s just so optimistic and it was so nice to read. This book gives you hope for some reason.. I don’t even know how to explain it

I ate this book up in one day. In a 12 hour shift, I finished this heart wrenching book. Yes, you could find me sobbing ABOUT A BOOK at the nursing station. SUE ME

It was so beautifully written. The characters were just so sweet and adorable, especially that old lady. This book was just bittersweet which made it even more perfect. It’s just the way the author expresses things in her writing that absolutely captivates you

I really really enjoyed this one! Please read it 🩵 I hope I get to read more books by Debbie Johnson

i really enjoyed this story. you follow a young woman who hasn't had the easiest life. at some point in her life she had to give up her child for adoption and she keeps hoping that her baby didnt have to go through what she went through. nearing the 18th birthday of her child, we read about her thinking more about this child, and follow her process through finding contact. i think this is a beautiful story, its real, and is well written. i also enjoyed the characters, and the added aspect of found family.

thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

NetGalley allowed me to read this via ARC, and I thank them for the opportunity.

If you ever need proof that your "found family" is just as important, and often more important than your blood family, then this book is for you.

The author did a beautiful job writing about the utter heartache the main character, Gemma, goes through after she puts her daughter up for adoption. "Baby" is never far from her thoughts and my heart was so pulled to her ache.

This book felt honest, heartbreaking as well as heartwarming, and joyful
All at once.

This was a really interesting and heartwarming (and renching) read. I do adoption research, and Gemma's story is all too common among birth mothers. I am so glad to see this represented, especially as birth mothers' experiences are often overlooked and stigmatized. I recommend this to the masses!

This book made me sad, but not necessarily in a bad way. Gemma is a flawed character, but her journey is a powerful one. In the beginning, I thought she was a little whiny and self-centered. Honestly, I couldn’t see that she had many good qualities to recommend her as a friend or girlfriend. Over the course of the book, she learns a lot about herself and grows into a better person.
I’m a little confused about the “statistics” part, since most of her oddities seemed to do with history or just counting things.
I did question some of the choices she made along the way, and some of her thought processes didn’t make sense to me. I didn’t care for some of the content, so I gave it three stars. However, I did find myself really invested in the story, and hoping Gemma would get a happy ending. I enjoyed the themes of family, friendship and forgiveness.
This book is a reminder that you can, if you’re willing, work hard and overcome hard circumstances to make a good life. Overall, it was a good book with solid characters and a strong story.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this story. It was engaging and hooked me in from the start. Gemma, who grew up in foster care, thinks back to the baby she gave up for adoption when she meets her friend's daughter, who highly resembles Gemma herself. This was a very emotional story and there was a lot of discussions about mental health, which I thought were good additions to the story. However, the book didn't end as strong as I began for me. I listened to the audiobook and while I liked the narrator, I felt like it dragged on longer than necessary.

Statistically Speaking is the thirteenth stand-alone novel by best-selling British author, Debbie Johnson. Thirty-four-year-old high school history teacher Gemma Jones has been living and teaching in Liverpool for longer than she normally stays. There’s her downstairs neighbour, Margie, whose dog she takes for runs, and whom she surreptitiously helps out; there are her students, smart and interested; and there’s dishy PE teacher, Karim, who keeps asking her out for drinks and is a challenge to celibacy “like having a box of chocolates open on the kitchen table while you eat celery sticks”: is she putting down tiny roots?

But she’s also feeling unsettled because the baby she gave away when she was sixteen will now be on the cusp of adulthood. So when a new student arrives in her class, tall and red-haired like Gemma, she can’t help wonder, especially when she learns that Katie Bell, history nerd, was adopted, and born on the same day as Gemma’s baby. Could she be?

While Gemma’s life has turned out well despite her fraught childhood (a mother often not on intimate terms with the real world), foster homes, and early motherhood, her wariness of rejection means she always keeps people at a distance. But she’s having trouble doing that with Margie, Katie and her adopted mum, Erin, and Karim...

Johnson explores many of the issues around adoption from multiple perspectives: that of the adopting parents, the birth parents, and the child. She gives the reader appealing characters, entertaining dialogue, and a tale with a few twists and turns before the feel-good resolution. Very enjoyable.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Focus

ARC and ALC Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gemma Jones grew up with adversity. Being raised by a single-mother who struggled with her mental health and addiction eventually landed her in the system. At sixteen she found herself pregnant and unable to care for herself or her baby. Deciding the only option was to place her baby girl up for adoption, she went on to become a successful history teacher. Eighteen years later Gemma finds herself anxiety ridden and unable to make personal connections. Will dealing with her past be the cure she needs, or will it end with more trauma?

Having sold over one million books worldwide, it is evident that Debbie Johnson’s talent had worked its way into the hearts of many.

Statistically Speaking was one of the more moving stories I have read in 2024. While this is a work of fiction, it is rooted in reality. Not only does it speaks to the heartache that accompanies adoption on both ends, it dives into mental illness, and found family.

Gemma’s found family is made up of exceptional side characters. Not only do they help her navigate uncharted territory, they encourage her to step out of her comfort zone (in all areas of her life). I loved bearing witness to this strong group of women, consisting of all ages, as they came along and surround Gemma with both tough criticism and unconditional acceptance.

I had the pleasure of both reading and listening to this book. As an American, I preferred listening to it on audio. The reason being it was narrated by Louise Williams, whose accent transported me to Liverpool, where the story is set. With that being said, I enjoyed both formats.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Harper Muse, Harper Collins Focus, and Debbie Johnson for allowing me to read and listen to this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

This story follows Gemma, a teacher in coastal England, who often seeks order in the present as a way to deal with the chaotic past of her childhood upbringing.

We learn early on that Gemma placed a daughter for adoption when she became a mother at the age of 16. That daughter is now turning 18 and Gemma hopes to be able to connect with her. We follow her journey, not just in trying to find her daughter, but to accept the chaos and mess that comes with opening our lives to allow others in.

I really enjoyed this story. Gemma was a truly lovely heroine of our story. I appreciated that while she had her counting and techniques to manage her anxiety, it wasn't overdone in a trope-like way that felt unrealistic. Gemma was genuine, kind, and felt like someone you wanted to root for. There was an amazing cast of characters with her and it often felt like you were right there amidst them on Margie's terrace.

The author, Debbie Johnson, did a wonderful job of setting the scene without overdoing it. I could feel I was right there with them, but I wasn't overwhelmed with exposition. The characters were well fleshed-out and felt like people you would know (or wish that you could!) I also really think the adoption storyline was handled very well and allowed us to step into the shoes of Gemma as a birth mother and how placing her daughter for adoption had impacted her life, positively and negatively. I also loved the element of a "found family" that Gemma had in her own life now.

Overall, I just truly enjoyed this book. It felt cozy, but also dealt with the weightier topics with much care. I love when a story has such a great set of characters that have their own stories and personalities and I felt like the ones in this story truly meshed well to bring the story forward. I would definitely read more by this author and I highly recommend this book!

This book was so good! Gemma has her baby at 16 and decided to give her up. 18 years later and she wonders what became of her baby and goes though a self discovery journey making friends, finding love, and healing herself

Rating: 2.5

This was a good story, I just didn't feel connected to the characters at all. The writing made me feel detached and bored.

This was a heartwarming story. I enjoyed the overall plot, but I did find that it felt a bit drawn out. While I definitely enjoy a long book, I typically want longer books to have a decent amount of character building, and I just felt like the amount of character building growth in relation to the length of the book was a bit lacking. However, the story as a whole was enjoyable.

Statistically Speaking follows the story of Gemma a present day 30-something year old woman continuing to unpack her traumatic history and develop her present day identity. Gemma's history is significantly shaped by her relinquishment of her daughter at age 16 when she was just a young girl, foster youth and unexpectedly pregnant teenager. Gemma is a character that is very relatable for those who experienced a similar background. The author does a surprisingly good job capturing the complicated emotions that develop when impacted by significant childhood trauma and parental instability. Gemma's character struggles significantly with identity development and resisting the urge towards hyperindependence to cope with her complicated past. The book itself is an engaging easy read, I felt so much empathy and compassion for Gemma as she navigated the very real complications of caring for yourself the majority of your life. Throughout the book you are able to experience the complicated emotions Gemma works through and see the reactions of the people around her in the novel. Although I really loved this book and felt as though it did such a good job of presenting a character with the depth previously described my critical feedback is I wish this book had done more and gone into more depth with exploring the complicated emotions of being a birth mother and experiencing the other often deeply painful and forever changing impact of other side of adoption. Overall a good read to begin exploring the nuances of childhood trauma, adoption, hyperindepence in a solid fiction read! Highly recommend and much enjoyed the read.

This is another fabulous book from Debbie Johnson that sensitively deals with the complex emotional issues as well as the trials and tribulations of youngsters being in care, mental health issues, alcoholism, unwanted pregnancy and adoption.

This is not a predictable story, it's very poignant and heartwarming whilst also touching upon the very real traumas that occur for lots of youngsters when put into care. I instantly cared for the characters and there were twists and turns in the book which stopped it from being predictable and superficial.

Having read many of Debbie Johnson's books I feel that this was a grittier story than the other books that I have read by her (that I also loved) and it was a real success that I highly recommend to others.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the themes of self discovery, family, growth, and moving on. The writer did a good job at covering those multiple themes at once. Also this book had a lot of funny moments, which I love while reading!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

But back to the book that I just adored. It is the story of a woman who gave a baby up for adoption when she was just 16 and now, 18 years later, as a high school history teacher, is waiting for the daughter she never knew to contact her. She has lived her life by never getting close to others, always putting up walls until now. So many quirky moments, so many laugh out moments, so much sweetness, so much love. I had one moment that I could not stop laughing and I was reading it in the elevator on my way to my office. Whoops. I love second chance at life books. I love seeing characters find their happiness and show resilience. The kind of book that just gives you hope and makes you smile. Loved it.

Thank you for Debbie Johnson, Harper Publishing, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!
Gemma’s story was a very touching one. As a therapist I was reading beautiful well thought out words, and could tell the author did research. My heart ached for the main character, and I thoroughly enjoyed the found family aspect.
My only critiques are just personal preferences and not related to how well the story was written. There was a lot of inner monologue and this helped to understand her process, but also kept the plot from moving along in the way I prefer. The other thing is the forgiveness piece with her mom, which yes forgiveness is very powerful. AND forgiveness to me should be given when it is deserved. Which maybe it was deserved, from my standpoint I didn’t think so but i’m also not Gemma!
This book was heartwarming and an overall beautiful read.

After finishing this book late for a NetGalley review on its pub day last week I finally was able to finish Statistically Speaking by Debbie Johnson!

This book is a wonderful example of community, found family, healthy communication and resilience. The book starts with the main character giving her daughter up for adoption - a choice she made due to her life circumstances and a teenage pregnancy. We then flash forward almost 18 years to a time when she’s built a life for herself but grapples daily with the fact that she could come face to face to the child she gave up at any moment due to working at a university. The story progresses as she has to acknowledge things she long avoided and readers get to see the relationships bloom as she opens herself up to those around her.

I really enjoyed this book, while stories involving adoption, foster care and traumatic childhoods can be heavy, Johnson did a great job balancing heavy and light. The friendships main character Gemma builds with her neighbor Margie and Bill, mother-daughter duo Erin and Katie, and coworker Karim. I would definitely recommend this book to people looking for an enjoyable read without a ton of fluff, as well as people who are neurodivergent and OCD as there’s representation of stimming and compulsive behaviors that I found helped me to connect to Gemma, in particular!

I have posted my review here as well as on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Target websites. Links will be updated as soon as they are approved and available.