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literary_kel's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rosalynnaustin's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jennamorrison's review
5.0
I really loved A Boy Made of Blocks and wasn’t sure if Keith Stuart could follow it up with an equally moving story. He most definitely has.
The story is split between Tom and his daughter Hannah, who has a serious heart condition, and I loved them instantly. Keith has captured their relationship beautifully. Hannah’s chapters are especially well done as she goes through everyday teenage issues, but with the added pressure of her condition looming over her.
The supporting cast of characters are fantastic too, especially the theatre group and their adventures. There is a lot of comedy throughout what is at times a very emotional story.
I highly recommend this wonderful, magical book to everyone!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.
The story is split between Tom and his daughter Hannah, who has a serious heart condition, and I loved them instantly. Keith has captured their relationship beautifully. Hannah’s chapters are especially well done as she goes through everyday teenage issues, but with the added pressure of her condition looming over her.
The supporting cast of characters are fantastic too, especially the theatre group and their adventures. There is a lot of comedy throughout what is at times a very emotional story.
I highly recommend this wonderful, magical book to everyone!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.
urbansapphire's review
4.0
Following on from his wonderful debut "A Boy Made of Blocks", Keith Stuart has managed to produce another heartrending and poignant book in "Days of Wonder";
a beautifully written and moving tale.
Tom has been bringing up his 15 year old daughter Hannah alone since his wife walked out on them over ten years previously. Hannah was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy - a degenerative heart disease - at age 4 and her future, if she had one at all, was filled with uncertainty. Tom has dealt with this devastating curve ball as best he can and is understandably quite overprotective of Hannah, a fact that causes Hannah much chagrin as she is feisty and independent, and realising that she might not have as long to live as others, she wants to fit as much into the time she has left as she possibly can. Tom runs a small local theatre - The Willow Tree - and Hannah has pretty much been brought up there amongst the cast and crew - a somewhat ramshackle, but caring family of friends. They've rubbed along together quite nicely, but now it seems that Hannah's health is taking a turn for the worse.
Narrated by Tom and Hannah alternatively, and interspersed with letters to the unknown 'Willow', the tone changes between the two viewpoints - Tom's harassed, well-meaning but awkward attempts to look after his little girl, and his teenage daughter's irritation at his interfering. 'Hannah's' writing really does read like a teenager. All overdramatic. It's a clever way of relaying the story to the reader because it shows how different the same event can seem depending on the perspective you are viewing it from - it also adds some (often dark) humour.
As with both of Keith Stuart's books, there is a lot of emotive writing, and in my opinion it is this area that the author excels in. There are laugh out loud moments as we follow Tom on various Internet dates (one involving a pizza is my particular favourite) and there are times when the interaction between Hannah and her best friend, 81 year old actress Margaret can bring a lump to your throat.
This book is brave, evocative and honest. There was a scene with Margaret that I felt was really quite over the top but it added brevity to a difficult subject and actually set up some scenes further along.
The epilogue is beautiful and moving and brought tears to my eyes. There was an 'aaaaah' moment which was perfectly played out and the ending was just…beautiful. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read.
a beautifully written and moving tale.
Tom has been bringing up his 15 year old daughter Hannah alone since his wife walked out on them over ten years previously. Hannah was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy - a degenerative heart disease - at age 4 and her future, if she had one at all, was filled with uncertainty. Tom has dealt with this devastating curve ball as best he can and is understandably quite overprotective of Hannah, a fact that causes Hannah much chagrin as she is feisty and independent, and realising that she might not have as long to live as others, she wants to fit as much into the time she has left as she possibly can. Tom runs a small local theatre - The Willow Tree - and Hannah has pretty much been brought up there amongst the cast and crew - a somewhat ramshackle, but caring family of friends. They've rubbed along together quite nicely, but now it seems that Hannah's health is taking a turn for the worse.
Narrated by Tom and Hannah alternatively, and interspersed with letters to the unknown 'Willow', the tone changes between the two viewpoints - Tom's harassed, well-meaning but awkward attempts to look after his little girl, and his teenage daughter's irritation at his interfering. 'Hannah's' writing really does read like a teenager. All overdramatic. It's a clever way of relaying the story to the reader because it shows how different the same event can seem depending on the perspective you are viewing it from - it also adds some (often dark) humour.
As with both of Keith Stuart's books, there is a lot of emotive writing, and in my opinion it is this area that the author excels in. There are laugh out loud moments as we follow Tom on various Internet dates (one involving a pizza is my particular favourite) and there are times when the interaction between Hannah and her best friend, 81 year old actress Margaret can bring a lump to your throat.
This book is brave, evocative and honest. There was a scene with Margaret that I felt was really quite over the top but it added brevity to a difficult subject and actually set up some scenes further along.
The epilogue is beautiful and moving and brought tears to my eyes. There was an 'aaaaah' moment which was perfectly played out and the ending was just…beautiful. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read.
katheastman's review
5.0
The magical title and gorgeous cover held out the promise of recapturing some of the wonder I felt while reading Pamela Brown’s Swish of the Curtain theatre stories in my teens. And, while a young girl with a terminal heart condition might not sound like the basis for an uplifting story, I knew that Keith Stuart could conjure one up having read his debut novel A Boy Made of Blocks.
Tom is doing his best to navigate his daughter’s teenage years of exams and relationships and a growing need for privacy and independence with the competing demands of managing his daughter’s condition which requires constant vigilance and keeping the struggling local theatre open. Hannah wants to be as normal a teenager as possible while health setbacks remind her she isn’t and that her future is uncertain and limited. They’re characters I came to know well and really felt for, as the story progressed. The heart of the book is the tender father-daughter relationship and it feels true here; there is humour and affection alongside the secrets they keep and disagreements they have. I enjoyed the dynamic between these two.
Days of Wonder may well be a moving father-daughter story but there is an entire cast of characters with layers of relationships, all of which lift the novel, making it into something truly special. There are friends and family (more theatrical than biological) and then the wider community within which the theatre operates. Of these, I most enjoyed the intergenerational friendship between Hannah and Margaret, and was positively willing Margaret’s outrageous stories to be true.
I cried when I wasn’t expecting to, and loved how this wasn’t a sappy story about a delicate helpless princess-type but instead of which a modern-day teenage girl facing an extraordinary contemporary curse with attitude and spirit, the loving care of her Dad and her motley theatre family and friends. Days of Wonder isn’t a fairytale story of how one girl is saved (even if there are fairies within its pages).
It’s the story of that more everyday magic when people are there for each other, sharing the wonder and joy, no matter what life’s throwing at them. Days of Wonder is a story with a great deal of heart, and I loved it for that. I’d give it to everyone I know, if I could.
Tom is doing his best to navigate his daughter’s teenage years of exams and relationships and a growing need for privacy and independence with the competing demands of managing his daughter’s condition which requires constant vigilance and keeping the struggling local theatre open. Hannah wants to be as normal a teenager as possible while health setbacks remind her she isn’t and that her future is uncertain and limited. They’re characters I came to know well and really felt for, as the story progressed. The heart of the book is the tender father-daughter relationship and it feels true here; there is humour and affection alongside the secrets they keep and disagreements they have. I enjoyed the dynamic between these two.
Days of Wonder may well be a moving father-daughter story but there is an entire cast of characters with layers of relationships, all of which lift the novel, making it into something truly special. There are friends and family (more theatrical than biological) and then the wider community within which the theatre operates. Of these, I most enjoyed the intergenerational friendship between Hannah and Margaret, and was positively willing Margaret’s outrageous stories to be true.
I cried when I wasn’t expecting to, and loved how this wasn’t a sappy story about a delicate helpless princess-type but instead of which a modern-day teenage girl facing an extraordinary contemporary curse with attitude and spirit, the loving care of her Dad and her motley theatre family and friends. Days of Wonder isn’t a fairytale story of how one girl is saved (even if there are fairies within its pages).
It’s the story of that more everyday magic when people are there for each other, sharing the wonder and joy, no matter what life’s throwing at them. Days of Wonder is a story with a great deal of heart, and I loved it for that. I’d give it to everyone I know, if I could.
booklady72's review
4.0
This is a story about a single father who is trying to save his daughter through stories and fairy tales. Hannah has a life threatening heart condition and she can’t bear the thought of her dad being on his own when she has gone so she decides to find a partner for her dad so he won’t be left alone.
This is narrated alternatively between Tom (dad) and Hannah (daughter). It is very easy to follow and these characters were very likeable. This was a very good story, one that I would recommend highly.
Many thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read a copy for my honest review.
This is narrated alternatively between Tom (dad) and Hannah (daughter). It is very easy to follow and these characters were very likeable. This was a very good story, one that I would recommend highly.
Many thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read a copy for my honest review.
josephinereadsbooks's review
5.0
I read Keith Stuart’s debut novel A Boy Made of Blocks last year (I talk about it here) and I absolutely loved it, so when Sphere got in touch earlier this year and tempted me with a copy of his new book, Days of Wonder, I pretty much bit their hand off. This has been one of my most anticipated books of the year and you cannot imagine how happy I am to sit here and say it does not disappoint.
I loved it.
I loved it as much as I loved A Boy Made of Blocks.
I may have loved it more. I already want to read it again.
I’m going to tell you why.
It’s about this guy called Tom, who is the manager of a small local theatre (hello my theatre loving heart. Also my bestie is on the committee of our local theatre so you know, relatability) and a single father to Hannah who was diagnosed aged 5 with a heart condition that threatens to kill her. Hannah’s almost 16 now and she’s this gorgeous gorgeous creature who refuses to let a life-limiting condition limit her life. You’ll fall in love with Hannah, I promise, she’s delicious.
So we have Tom who is trying to be all things to all people but honestly – he’s struggling: Hannah is sick and the theatre is under threat of closure and he’s carrying all this weight on his shoulders and he’s on his own and trying to put a brave face on it and we have Hannah, who is so aware of her own mortality, more than any of us should be at 15, and who’s major worry is that her Dad will be alone when she’s gone and wow but doesn’t that break your heart? Well yes, actually, it absolutely does, but then it also mends it – the bond between Hannah and Tom even when she is so sick of him is a pleasure to behold and her attempts at matchmaking are the best. As is watching her navigate the waters of first love for herself. Oh, and don’t get me started on Hannah’s best friend because my heart cannot take it – I’m telling you nothing about her; you can go and meet her yourself. It’s an emotional rollercoaster this book and I LOVE it. I love Tom and Hannah and every single member of the supporting cast; I loved the way it was written with the flashbacks and the fairy stories and the comics and all of it, I didn’t even care about how it made me want to cry because on the next page it made me laugh and the whole way through I just felt….warm. You expect it to be sad but in actuality it’s the opposite. It’s just so….so…uplifting. I felt better for reading it.
This is a story of love and loss and laughter, of learning to make the most of what you have and how family isn’t always blood, it’s about Dads and daughters and the wonder of imagination and fairy tales.
It’s a beautifully written, sensitive book and I didn’t want it to end. You know when you want to climb inside the pages and just live in a book? This was that for me. It’s the book, actually, that book hangovers are made of. I finished this and I couldn’t let go. I WAS JUST SO IMMERSED. I finished it a while ago and I still miss these characters.
It’s one of my reads of the year for sure and if you’re going on holiday this summer and need a book to lose yourself in then this should be it. I know I’ll be shoving it under the nose of everybody I know anyhow.
I loved it.
I loved it as much as I loved A Boy Made of Blocks.
I may have loved it more. I already want to read it again.
I’m going to tell you why.
It’s about this guy called Tom, who is the manager of a small local theatre (hello my theatre loving heart. Also my bestie is on the committee of our local theatre so you know, relatability) and a single father to Hannah who was diagnosed aged 5 with a heart condition that threatens to kill her. Hannah’s almost 16 now and she’s this gorgeous gorgeous creature who refuses to let a life-limiting condition limit her life. You’ll fall in love with Hannah, I promise, she’s delicious.
So we have Tom who is trying to be all things to all people but honestly – he’s struggling: Hannah is sick and the theatre is under threat of closure and he’s carrying all this weight on his shoulders and he’s on his own and trying to put a brave face on it and we have Hannah, who is so aware of her own mortality, more than any of us should be at 15, and who’s major worry is that her Dad will be alone when she’s gone and wow but doesn’t that break your heart? Well yes, actually, it absolutely does, but then it also mends it – the bond between Hannah and Tom even when she is so sick of him is a pleasure to behold and her attempts at matchmaking are the best. As is watching her navigate the waters of first love for herself. Oh, and don’t get me started on Hannah’s best friend because my heart cannot take it – I’m telling you nothing about her; you can go and meet her yourself. It’s an emotional rollercoaster this book and I LOVE it. I love Tom and Hannah and every single member of the supporting cast; I loved the way it was written with the flashbacks and the fairy stories and the comics and all of it, I didn’t even care about how it made me want to cry because on the next page it made me laugh and the whole way through I just felt….warm. You expect it to be sad but in actuality it’s the opposite. It’s just so….so…uplifting. I felt better for reading it.
This is a story of love and loss and laughter, of learning to make the most of what you have and how family isn’t always blood, it’s about Dads and daughters and the wonder of imagination and fairy tales.
It’s a beautifully written, sensitive book and I didn’t want it to end. You know when you want to climb inside the pages and just live in a book? This was that for me. It’s the book, actually, that book hangovers are made of. I finished this and I couldn’t let go. I WAS JUST SO IMMERSED. I finished it a while ago and I still miss these characters.
It’s one of my reads of the year for sure and if you’re going on holiday this summer and need a book to lose yourself in then this should be it. I know I’ll be shoving it under the nose of everybody I know anyhow.
laurentess_xo's review
5.0
What a deeply moving, beautiful book. I didn’t think Keith’s novel A boy made of blocks could be topped, but he’s done it.
Days of Wonder is a novel about love, life and magic and one in which Keith has again, provided us with a story based on his love of the theatre, he thought this would be an interesting and supportive place for his protagonist Hannah.
Tom, single father to Hannah, comes across as an overprotective father, he manages the local theatre where Hannah grows up.
During Hannah’s early childhood, she is diagnosed with a heart condition which will end her life early – Dilated Cardiomyopathy which affects the walls of heart, her heart beat is irregular and the blood isn’t pumped very efficiently.
On the same day every year (usually Hannah’s birthday) Tom and the cast of Willow Tree theatre put on a production for Hannah.
In this moving book, Hannah and Tom have more than one fight on their hands, not just Hannah and her illness but the theatre is also threatened with closure. This book is told from both Tom and Hannah’s perspectives. I got a lot from this book and I’m sure you all will too.
Will the theatre close? What will happen to Hannah? You can find out by purchasing the book from all good bookshops or via the link below:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Days-Wonder-most-magical-moving-ebook/dp/B06VVH559Z/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528396006&sr=8-1&keywords=days+of+wonder+keith+stuart
Days of Wonder is a novel about love, life and magic and one in which Keith has again, provided us with a story based on his love of the theatre, he thought this would be an interesting and supportive place for his protagonist Hannah.
Tom, single father to Hannah, comes across as an overprotective father, he manages the local theatre where Hannah grows up.
During Hannah’s early childhood, she is diagnosed with a heart condition which will end her life early – Dilated Cardiomyopathy which affects the walls of heart, her heart beat is irregular and the blood isn’t pumped very efficiently.
On the same day every year (usually Hannah’s birthday) Tom and the cast of Willow Tree theatre put on a production for Hannah.
In this moving book, Hannah and Tom have more than one fight on their hands, not just Hannah and her illness but the theatre is also threatened with closure. This book is told from both Tom and Hannah’s perspectives. I got a lot from this book and I’m sure you all will too.
Will the theatre close? What will happen to Hannah? You can find out by purchasing the book from all good bookshops or via the link below:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Days-Wonder-most-magical-moving-ebook/dp/B06VVH559Z/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528396006&sr=8-1&keywords=days+of+wonder+keith+stuart
annarella's review
5.0
A wonderful books that get in touch with both your brain and your emotions. A wonderful group of characters, a very gripping plot, and a great style of writing.
One of the best books this year.
Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the ARC
One of the best books this year.
Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the ARC