Today is my stop on the Blog Tour Wishbones, Virginia Macgregor's latest book and her first YA book. And not only is she stopping by to answer all my bookish questions, but I'm also reviewing this special story: 

Title: Wishbones

Author: Virginia Macgregor

Published: May 18th 2017 by HQ Stories

Amazon | Amazon UK

Blurb: Feather Tucker has two wishes:

1)To get her mum healthy again

2) To win the Junior UK swimming championships

When Feather comes home on New Year’s Eve to find her mother – one of Britain’s most obese women- in a diabetic coma, she realises something has to be done to save her mum’s life. But when her Mum refuses to co-operate Feather realises that the problem run deeper than just her mum’s unhealthy appetite.

Over time, Feather’s mission to help her Mum becomes an investigation. With the help of friends old and new, and the hindrance of runaway pet goat Houdini, Feather’s starting to uncover when her mum’s life began to spiral out of control and why. But can Feather fix it in time for her mum to watch her swim to victory? And can she save her family for good?

Review: I had read Virginia Macgregor's previous books, so I knew her style was something special, with thought-provoking topics and very complex characters but this time the story is intended for the YA audience. I have been reading this genre a lot lately, so I was very curious to see how this author handled it. 

The first difference I noticed from her previous books is that this one is narrated only by one character, Feather. We only get her point of view in the story and as everyone is adamant of keeping secrets from her, we don't know what is going on until we have read quite a lot of the story. I think that this worked well though. It really helped me to get Feather and her frustration at not being told about "adult problems". 

Feather is a really determined and stubborn teen. As it says in the blurb, she has two wishes, to make her mum lose weight and get healthy and to win a swimming championship, and she will stop at nothing to get these wishes. It was both inspiring and heart-breaking to read about her. Especially heart-breaking because all her efforts were not really well received by her parents. This annoyed me quite a bit at the beginning as I didn't understand how her parents could be so irresponsible and careless. But as we got to know them too and we slowly discovered all their secrets, I started understanding everything and I ended up caring a lot for them.

This story handles really heavy topics, focusing especially in eating disorders, but also loneliness, mental health and immigration. The main message I got from the story is a really strong one, how these illnesses can touch anybody and how important it is to have the support of your family and friends. But also it talks about how important it is to feel good with oneself, no matter how you look, how you dress, how "different" you are. 

Feather and her parents are not the only characters in this story though, from their goat pet to the new boy who has just moved from NYC, this book is full of unique people (and animals) that will touch many hearts. As I said, it took me a while to get into this story but once it got going, it was completely worth it. A very special novel that will resonate with many readers. 

Rating: 4 stars

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.

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Blurb: One ordinary morning, Norah walked out of her house on Willoughby Street and never looked back. Six years later, she returns to the home she walked away from only to find another woman in her place. Fay held Norah's family together after she disappeared, she shares a bed with Norah's husband and Norah's youngest daughter calls Fay 'Mummy'.

Now that Norah has returned, everyone has questions. Where has she been? Why did she leave? And why is she back? As each member of the family tries to find the answers they each need, they must also face up to the most pressing question of all - what happens to The Mother Who Stayed when The Mother Who Left comes back? 

From the author of What Milo Saw, comes this powerful, emotional and perceptive novel about what it takes to hold a family together and what you're willing to sacrifice for the ones you love.

First of all I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: When I read Virginia Macgregor's first book, What Milo Saw, I fell completely in love with her simple but truthful writing and her quirky characters. I found that book really special, with the right balance between reality and tale. But with this one I think this balance has been lost a bit and what started like an interesting story full of potential turned out to be to unrealistic and even a bit absurd at the end. 

The novel has more or less the same structure as What Milo Saw, short chapters from different points of views. That is something I liked, this way you feel like you know better all the characters involved and understand their actions better. Plus, the author's style was once more, flawless and simple but full of emotions. My main problem with the story was I guess that I didn't get the main two characters, The Mother Who Stayed and The Mother Who Left. I couldn't really connect with them nor did I understand their motives. It's true that as the story unfolded and some truths were uncovered, it changed a bit my conception of these two women but there was something bothering me all the time, why would a mother abandon her family and then expect that coming back 6 years later would be seen as completely normal and everyone would be exactly the same? 

There were also some story lines surrounding this main one, like the older daughter running a twitter campaign to find her mother which I found quite interesting. Through her tweets we could easily see how she was feeling and I thing this sub plot was well handled. And then there was the younger daughter and her obsession with foxes, which I didn't really get. 

My favourite character in the story was the older daughter's boyfriend. He probably was the only one who understood the situation and was trying to help. He had his own little story and I found his little parts very engaging. 

All in all, The Astonishing Return of Norah Wells didn't work for me. I did enjoy it and found some parts very touching and especial. And as I said the writing was beautiful and made me want to keep reading but my problems with the main plot and their main characters were too much to ignore and at the end this novel didn't deliver as much as I had hoped. 

Rating: 

Blurb: A big story about a small boy who sees the world a little differently.

Milo curled his thumb and forefinger together to make a small hole and held his fingers up to Al's eyes. "Look through here. That's what I see. Kind of, only worse." "Wow, that must be amazing." Milo shrugged. "Not really." "I mean, it makes you focus, doesn't it? I bet you see all kinds of stuff that other people miss." 

Nine-year-old Milo Moon has retinitis pigmentosa: his eyes are slowly failing and he will eventually go blind. But for now he sees the world through a pin hole and notices things other people don't. When Milo's beloved gran succumbs to dementia and moves into a nursing home, Milo soon realizes there's something wrong at the home. So with just Tripi, the nursing home's cook, and Hamlet, his pet pig, to help, Milo sets out on a mission to expose the nursing home and the sinister Nurse Thornhill. Insightful, wise, and surprising, What Milo Saw is filled with big ideas and simple truths. Milo sees the world in a very special way, and it will be impossible for you not to fall in love with him and then share his story with everyone you know.

First of all I would like to thank the publishers for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: When I first picked What Milo Saw I really didn't know what to expect. But soon I realised that this story was something like nothing else. What I love about reading is that once in a while you find a book so unique and unexpected that it takes you to a completely different world and you forget about your own life for a while. And that is exactly what happened to me with What Milo Saw. Once you meet this little fella and his clever and adorable pet, Hamlet, you can't stop reading about them. You become part of their story and once finished the book, you find yourself frequently going back to them.

Milo sees the world in a very different way. Due to retinitis pigmentosa, he no longer has his peripheral vision, it's like he sees everything through a pinhole. But soon we realise that it somehow allows him to see more that others see. He sees beyond what you expect to see and makes you wonder if we are all seeing the world in the wrong way. So it's no wonder that he is the first one to realise that his grandma's new care home is not what it should be. Here is when his quest to prove something is wrong there starts and when we start meeting the rest of the cast of this quirky story. 

We meet Trippi, a Syrian refugee who looks for his lost sister in the TV news. His is a story difficult to forget. He has been through so much but is still smiling and just wants to make everyone happier. A true lesson about life. I had tears in my eyes more than once. In the care home we also meet a bunch of old ladies who different to what everyone might think, still want to enjoy life, and a not so old man who hasn't closed the door to love.

The story is told through different points of view so he get to read about Milo's plans, Tripi's thoughts, Milo's grandma's worries and even about the frustrations of Milo's mother when she fails to comprehend her own child. I think this was very clever as it made me feel part of the story and had me glued to its pages from cover to cover, even if I found the pace of the story a bit slow sometimes. But I have to say that Virgina Macgregor showed her ability to embody such different characters perfectly, they all sounded genuine and each one of them was special in their own way, with their own story to tell. A beautiful and simple writing style and could say so much in so little.

As it says in the blurb What Milo Saw is filled with big ideas and simple truths, the author certainly makes you think a lot about yourself and this world we live in. We see what we want to see but what happens when we really look? A real gem of a book, I highly recommend it.

Rating: 

August is almost here and it looks like it is going to be another fantastic month for books. Here are the ones I am most excited about: 

Blurb: Appleby Farm is a charming, funny and romantic story for anyone looking for a feel-good, light-hearted read, from the author of bestselling Ivy Lane. 

Freya Moorcroft has wild red hair, mischievous green eyes, a warm smile and a heart of gold. She’s been happy working at the café round the corner from Ivy Lane allotments and her romance with her new boyfriend is going well, she thinks, but a part of her still misses the beautiful rolling hills of her Cumbrian childhood home: Appleby Farm.

Then a phone call out of the blue and a desperate plea for help change everything…

The farm is in financial trouble, and it’s taking its toll on the aunt and uncle who raised Freya. Heading home to lend a hand, Freya quickly learns that things are worse than she first thought. As she summons up all her creativity and determination to turn things around, Freya is surprised as her own dreams for the future begin to take shape.

Love makes the world go round, according to Freya. Not money. But will saving Appleby Farm and following her heart come at a price?

Blurb: There are many reasons to bake: to feed; to create; to impress; to nourish; to define ourselves; and, sometimes, it has to be said, to perfect. But often we bake to fill a hunger that would be better filled by a simple gesture from a dear one. We bake to love and be loved.

In 1966, Kathleen Eaden, cookery writer and wife of a supermarket magnate, published The Art of Baking, her guide to nurturing a family by creating the most exquisite pastries, biscuits and cakes.

Now, five amateur bakers are competing to become the New Mrs Eaden. There's Jenny, facing an empty nest now her family has flown; Claire, who has sacrificed her dreams for her daughter; Mike, trying to parent his two kids after his wife's death; Vicki, who has dropped everything to be at home with her baby boy; and Karen, perfect Karen, who knows what it's like to have nothing and is determined her façade shouldn't slip.

As unlikely alliances are forged and secrets rise to the surface, making the choicest choux bun seems the least of the contestants' problems. For they will learn - as Mrs Eaden did before them - that while perfection is possible in the kitchen, it's very much harder in life.

Blurb: Everything you’ve built your life on is a lie

Willow’s memories of her parents are sun-drenched and full of smiles, love and laughter. But a mysterious invitation to a photographic exhibition exposes a secret that’s been buried since a tragic accident years ago.

Willow is forced to question everything she knew about Charity, her late mother, and Hope, the aunt she’s lived with since she was a child.

How was the enigmatic photographer connected to Willow’s parents? Why will Hope not break her silence?

Willow cannot move forward in her life without answers. But who can she really trust? Because no one has been telling the truth for a very long time.

ADDICTIVE, GRIPPING and EMOTIONALLY POWERFUL, this is the perfect read for your summer holiday escape.

What Milo Saw by Virginia Macgregor - August 18th


Why so excited: I'm sure this one will be one of those special stories that will stay with me for a long time. It sounds amazing.