I absolutely loved this book. The narrator is telling the story of her life to her mother, retelling her the story of them. There is a conversational tone to the narration, and the tumultuous relationship between the narrator and her mother shines through. Dido, the narrator, is a very real character and I often found myself empathizing with her. I could see someone I have known in my life in nearly every character in Dido's life. It is a poignant look at relationships, about growing up, about the grass being greener on the other side, and about the struggle we face when we want to be nothing like our parents but still love them.

I quite enjoyed Joanna Nadin's prose. It is very easy to read, and paints a vivid picture of personalities and settings. Would read this book again, and will definitely recommend to friends.

I received an advanced copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

To be honest I don't really know where to start. This was a coming of age tale starring Dido, her dysfunctional mother, Evie, and the side characters of David, Angela, Harry, and Tom. It starts when Dido is 6 and follows her life until she's well into her 30's. It reads like a very long letter to her mother and speaks of their mother/daughter relationship and all of their ups and downs. It's almost like Dido's confession in a sense. Every chapter is named after a famous work of fiction which I loved; it made me more conscious of what to look for in the chapter.

I really enjoyed the story itself. It's a well balanced combination of love, anger, frustration, devastation, hope, and fun. The author's use of description and language is fantastic. The comparisons she makes, like Narnia and Harry's house/garden, help me to settle into the book a bit more because I could actually envision what the author wanted to describe. The time periods and imagery she used were so relatable. I loved that I could reflect and be reminded of things that happened during my own childhood. I had a few aha! moments with these reminders as well. I adored the characters, in particular Dido. I felt such a strong emotional attachment to all of them actually, but I was really rooting for Dido.

I enjoyed it. It went on just a touch too long for me but I think it may have been necessary to squeeze in all of that information. It was well done and I'd read more by this author

Great idea for a book and really well executed. A thoroughly good read. Highly recommended. .