This was just the book I needed to read this week. Smoothly written with just incredible characters and a story that spans quite a few years and has the most perfect ending.
I adored Paulette from the start, her soul and values after all she goes through is just inspiring and I felt I really got to know her. There are also other characters that you change your opinions on throughout the story and I loved this. Evocative, poignant and uplifting I really felt moved by the ending.

Tragic. Hopeful. And everything in between. De Waal’s characters are the absolute lifeblood of THE BEST OF EVERYTHING. Your heart will break for Paulette time and again. But in those people who cause her such grief, there is enough nuance that you can understand the actions they take.

A wonderful, thoughtful novel

Paulette comes to the UK as a girl with her granny, from St Kitts and "The Best of Everything"; is the story of her failures and successes as she builds her life here. I really enjoyed this book. The characters are really vivid and the themes that were easy to emphasise with. Central to the novel is love and forgiveness. The characters make mistakes , but ultimately they are forgiven as we are all human. The book comes full circle in a very satisfying way in that Paulette's version of the Best of Everything would be completely different at the end of the novel from the start. A few things in the plot didn't make complete sense to me otherwise this would have been 5 stars , an enjoyable read that I suspect will stay with me.

I adore Kit de Wall! They write characters like no one else, and this book is no exception!
I finished this book many days ago, but cannot get these characters out of my head. I instantly felt attached to Paulette, and she was the main reason why I kept reading. I wanted to know what would happen to her throughout the years.

This book covers a huge time span, covering such EPIC proportions. Epic is definitely how I would describe this book.
I think this book would make an amazing TV series. Kit de Wall's writing is so immersive, I was imagining it playing out as a TV drama while reading.

Another stunner! Thoroughly recommend.
(PS - the audio book is also stunning!!)

Paulette knows what she wants, a family with her man Denton. Then Denton dies and suddenly Paulette's future is not the same. She starts a relationship with Garfield but despite having a son realises he is not the man for her so her love is poured into Bird. She also comes into contact with Frank, the man who killed Denton, a lost soul caring for his grandson Nellie. As Bird and Nellie grow up, Paulette learns that love has many different forms.
This is a lovely book that wraps itself around the reader like a great big hug. Paulette is a wonderful character and it was great to read of her redemption at the end. There are so many really strong strands to the story, not least the immigrant experience in the 1970s and 1980s, but also mental health and bereavement in many forms. Despite this, the story is life-affirming and the writing tender and heartfelt.

Paulette is a wonderful character: complex, conflicted and convincing.

The Best of Everything is tragic in many ways, as Paulette loses Denton in a terrible car accident that has surprising consequences. Well plotted, with a good pace and a perceptive exploration of relationships by tge author.

Themes of grief, motherhood, betrayal, guilt and kindness.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

When I saw a new Kit de Waal book on Netgalley I jumped at the chance as I absolutely adored My Name Is Leon. From the start I really felt for Paulette and the other characters despite their flaws and my heart broke and was mended many times. It made me think about the different ways family can be and was a great depiction of British working class life at points in time. I hope it does really well.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Kit de Waal is an author who never fails to reduce a reader to tears, with genuinely moving stories about believable characters. Decades of working in social services has given her a deep understanding of people and of their problems, and give her work an authenticity that no amount of careful research could replicate. In this novel, the viewpoint character is Paulette, a hardworking nursing auxiliary in 1970s Britain, originally from St Kitts. Her world revolves initially around her boyfriend, and then later around her son, whom she is determined to give a good life. But she is haunted by a tragedy that changed the course of her life, and by a boy about her son's age living nearby in clearly inadequate circumstances. Paulette's instinct to help the child will have consequences for her and her own son that echo through years to come.

Paulette is a likeable character, albeit with terrible taste in men. She makes some bad decisions in the book, but so do real people, and she never loses her natural kindness and urge to help people. The story didn't turn out the way I expected either. De Waal's style is easy to read and her dialogue flows well. She manages to get the balance between grimness and hope just about right - the story isn't gratuitously miserable, but it's not rose-tinted either. Bad things happen, and good things do too, and it's up to the reader to decide if they balance out or not.

I didn't find the story as deeply tear-jerking as 'My Name is Leon', but it was more cheerful than 'The Trick to Time'. There is certainly an emotional payoff at the end but it didn't leave me sobbing. I suppose I expected there to be more of a crisis, a peak of drama towards the end. If I had to draw a line of the highs and lows of the plot, it would be fairly flat. I felt the story petered out somewhat, rather than ending with a bang. That's the reason it doesn't get a full five stars.

If you like well written fiction about ordinary people, this is a great choice. I looked forwards to reading it, I liked the characters, and I wanted to know how everything will turn out.

Paulette only allows herself to dream sometimes, and a poignant early moment has her in a shop, stroking a beautiful cot that turns into a bed and letting the assistant think she, too, is pregnant. But one day, her lover, Denton doesn't come back and it's his best friend Garfield who works his way into her life and her bed as they both grieve.

When baby Bird comes along, her life is complete (in fact, she doesn't need Garfield: whether his "revenge" starts at that point is debatable, with our unreliable narrator thinking so when her life dips badly). She's determined to raise him good, clever and kind, but why does her mind keep running in two directions: back to St Kitts, where she was raised and across the estate to Cornelius, a deprived-looking child living with the very man who took Denton away from her life.

So in comes Nellie into their lives, and his grandfather, Shirt-and-Tie, and all seems well for a while in this odd little found family until the boys grow and the contrast between attitudes towards a a good Black boy and a tearaway White boy mean that Bird starts to get the blame for Nellie's misdemeanors.

With only her Irish single mum next door neighbour, Maggie, for company in the first place, when that relationship founders on some home truths said meanly, and Garfield extracts his "revenge", it's only to be expected that Paulette starts to dip and founder herself, even her beloved job as an auxilliary nurse threatened. Will Paulette manage to turn herself around in time to salvage her job and maybe a new future? Will Bird come back and will Nellie turn from the path he seemed set on?

Small acts of kindness light the way and you have to hope things will come out right. Kit de Waal is of course the master of all this, manipulating plot, characters and readers expertly, always in control, always warm and reminding us of those acts of kindness we choose to do. The book is suffused with Birmingham as well as St Kitts / Caribbean phrasing and references, which makes it even more special and engaging to local readers.

Superb and highly recommended.

Blog review 11 April https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2025/04/11/book-review-kit-de-waal-the-best-of-everything/

Kit de Waal always writes with great empathy for her characters and in The Best of Everything she achieves that once more with Paulette, a warm hearted auxiliary nurse who wants only the best for her son, Bird. After discovering that her lover, Denton, was married when he dies in a road accident, Paulette rebuilds her life, first by marrying then divorcing Garfield, Bird's father and Denton's best friend. But Paulette wants to know more about the accident that caused Denton's death and she tracks down the man directly involved. As a result she becomes attached to his son, Nellie as much as she is to Bird when the boys become best of friends. The main difference between the boys is the colour of their skin, which never weighs heavily in the narrative until both boys are arrested by the police. Here it becomes obvious that people of colour are treated very differently to white people. Paulette is a great character and her story illustrates love, forgiveness and compassion in spades. The Best of Everything is sure to win more fans to Ms de Waal's writing. Many thanks to NetGalley and Headline/Tinder Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

In this book we meet Paulette. Initially she is ticking along with her boyfriend Denton. Although her hopes of marriage and a family and the happy ever after always seem to fall on his deaf ears. He works away a lot and promises a lot, but appears to deliver notsomuch. But they tick along... until the day that his best friend and supposed housemate Garfield knocks her door to say that he has been hurt in a car accident and that, no, she can not go to the hospital cos, well, reasons... but also that he will not be coming back to her. Eventually, after chipping away with his support, Garfield is happy to take his place in her bed, also giving her the thing she mostly craves, a son, Bird. But although Garfield is a good substitute to Denton in most ways, she does not love him and eventually they break up...
Life goes on and Paulette becomes close to a rather dysfunctional family, Frank and his grandson Nellie... but I'll leave you to find out about them and how they fit in with Paulette's past and present for yourself...
As well as all this, we also go back in time to see how Paulette got from St Kitts to the UK with her Gran. These are wonderful vignettes and give colour and clarity to both the story and Paulette's character.
This is very much a character driven novel and the characters that the author has created are brilliantly complicated, and delightfully dysfunctional on occasion. I did find Paulette to be a bit too naive and trusting at times but I think overall she was a well created character who also developed well as the book progressed. She is lonely and feels alone even when with people who obviously care about her. I think we can all relate to that, I definitely can. But she is also feisty and determined and, well, you'll see...
And the story, which spans decades, is both interesting and intriguing. It's chock full of emotions too but never gets too heavy. It's about living and learning and connection with other people. Most of all, it's about being human and making mistakes and forgiveness, it's also about grief, for more than just lost people. And lost opportunities. And family who aren't blood... But mostly it's about kindness and hope. The hope that things will eventually work out if you just try your best to be kind... and you'll have to read the book to find out if they do...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

What an emotional read. Paulette absolutely develops from the beginning of the novel and seeps into your heart. She has such a warm character and is also so incredibly naive.

I loved reading about her life, the ups and the downs. She was so deliciously drawn. As a black woman in Britain, in the 70s at the start of the novel, through food, I feel like we are embraced into her world, as she shares her past and as she experiences her present.

Without giving a plot breakdown, the story follows Paulette trying to find her place as a mum, that's what matters most and her journey may not be simple, but what a mum she becomes to the many in her life.

Life is complicated for Paulette and I dont think she always made the best decisions, but reading about her life was such an enjoyable experience, no matter what.

The Best of Everything by Kit de Waal

Paulette, a nursing auxiliary originally from St Kitts, has made a life for herself in England and wants to give her son Bird the best of everything, despite being separated from his father Garfield. But Nellie, a boy with no mother, and his grandfather Shirt and Tie, who is clearly struggling, have a long lasting and unpredictable impact on Paulette.

I have loved everything Kit de Waal has written and this is no exception - absolutely brilliant! The writing is beautiful and the world the author creates is so vivid - from the dreary council estate where Paulette lives to the amazing food that she cooks. The characters are so real, the way they talk and their mannerisms. Loved loved LOVED it! Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

this book is lovely. and must be read. and must be read and then you must give yourself time to think it all through long after you close the book. and you will both want to read on but also then need it to just last a little bit longer. do we really need to finish books we love so much?
these characters will stick with me, both the main and side. they all fit together perfectly.
mostly though Paulette has my whole heart. she is such a good human. but a real human. and that means we arent all perfect and we all have to live and often learn. and also sadly lose what we think we know and lose how we think we want to live.
this is definitely the case for Paulette and i felt so very sad for her. no spoilers but her dreams are well and truly shattered in all sorts of cruel ways. she wants the dream life with her boyfriend Denton. then the baby, then the life together as a family. but one night a knock at the door changes everything. no Denton...oh but after that night still very much a baby. juuuuust with a different man. but they both love their child. so what comes next is a healing,learning and figuring out of things. and when more complications come into Paulette's world what will this brilliant woman do next. read on. pleas everyone read on. this is a wonderful book. its depicts emotions and life with such talented words. the gift Kit has for giving those little witty and humorous moments to the pages is just brilliant.

The Best of Everything follows main character Paulette as she deals with fallout of a tragedy. She forms some new and unexpected friendships which will affect her life immeasurably, not necessarily positively.

Recommended if you like a character driven family drama.

I love Kit de Waals writing, I’ve read most of her books and they are all well written. She brings the characters to life and I feel like I know them.
The Best of Everything is a story of love and forgiveness. I felt for Paulette and Frank. The ending was perfect.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Paulette, a care worker, would like her boyfriend Denton, who she thinks works away on oil rigs to commit to her, have a lovely wedding and then the children she has dreamed of having. However, on evening Denton's best friend comes around to tell Paulette that Denton has died in a car accident and she dsicovers that Denton was married and has a family. Paulette's worls comes crashing down and as she recovers there is hope in new life and a connection she has made with the man who was driving the other car. This book is such a page turner. A very unusual tale, just brilliantly brought to life.

The Best of Everything is the amazing Kit de Waal at her best. Sometimes you read a book and realise that one of the characters will always have a little place in your heart. I felt like this about Paulette. She is flawed and damaged, but I liked her all the better for it. A nurse and a lover then a mother, Paulette is a woman who has had it hard, and who only wants her son to have a better life. Along the way she also improves the lives of others, even though she may do so reluctantly.
I sobbed in places and was cheering Paulette on in this emotional, realistic and surprising story. As Paulette's heart grew - so did mine. I totally recommend this moving novel and want to give a shout it to it being set in Birmingham! I hope it is dramtised for TV - it would be so good.

This is a book about loss in its many forms and how the human spirit adapts. The story is centred around Paulette who is in a relationship with Denton. She has dreams for how she wants things to go. Denton has his own ideas. Paulette's world is changed. She then has a child with someone who is not the love of her life. They both love their son. The rest of the story centres around how Paulette survives, exists, and eventually wants to thrive with the help of her support network.
What I really liked about this book was the sense of humour embedded in Paulette despite her issues. Really loved her and I had a very clear picture of all the characters.

Love, grief, other people's children. A tragedy brings two unusual families together for better or worse.
Heartbreaking and very real.