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jo_bookworm's review against another edition
5.0
Imagine your daughter taking a year out and going to travel, finding she likes China and decides to stay longer.
Your contact is through the wonders of technology, Skype, email, scant phone calls and watching what she writes on her blog.
Then the contact stops. The emails stop, the phone just rings, the blog posts cease. You know the exact date and time you last heard anything.
How long before you do anything?
Lori is the daughter and Jo her mother, Tom her father, long since divorced in Cath Staincliffe's new novel which is so wrought with tension and emotion, I read it within two days. Something about the storyline, the characters and the vivid writing drew me right in. I was learning something new at every page as I tried to make sense of what was happening to Jo and Tom as they are half the world away from their daughter.
Travelling to China seems to be the only way to further the progress of making contact with Lori. Jo now has to make a choice, as she will now be half the world away from her two younger children and Nick her husband. She leaves at a crucial point in their marriage and family life.
It is now Jo who is making all the contact through the wonders of technology. How can she possibly spilt herself in two?
In China, Jo and Tom face suspicion and antipathy about their cause. The police seem to be doing nothing, the consulate the channel through which to communicate, just tells them to wait and see. The waiting is becoming unbearable, the system so different from the west, the language, the culture, the heat, the smells, the landscape, the understanding of a new world.
Despite all this Jo and Tom come to a decision and create their own destiny. Their only aim to find their daughter.
To say any more will stop you going and reading this book, of which you must read. It was a fascinating read, and had me wrung out emotionally by the end. What made it all the more fascinating, was the unknown, we shared reading Lori's blog posts and just as Jo and Tom did, they abruptly stop.
As readers we simply have no idea what has happened. There are no clues. And what made this more interesting, the book did not finish at the end. A concept difficult to explain without having actually read it, but you get to see the whole circle and whilst the actual end leaves you with more questions that answers, it gave me one clear answer. You can actually be half the world away from someone even if you are in the same continent, country, county, town, street or home.
Simply read this book.
Your contact is through the wonders of technology, Skype, email, scant phone calls and watching what she writes on her blog.
Then the contact stops. The emails stop, the phone just rings, the blog posts cease. You know the exact date and time you last heard anything.
How long before you do anything?
Lori is the daughter and Jo her mother, Tom her father, long since divorced in Cath Staincliffe's new novel which is so wrought with tension and emotion, I read it within two days. Something about the storyline, the characters and the vivid writing drew me right in. I was learning something new at every page as I tried to make sense of what was happening to Jo and Tom as they are half the world away from their daughter.
Travelling to China seems to be the only way to further the progress of making contact with Lori. Jo now has to make a choice, as she will now be half the world away from her two younger children and Nick her husband. She leaves at a crucial point in their marriage and family life.
It is now Jo who is making all the contact through the wonders of technology. How can she possibly spilt herself in two?
In China, Jo and Tom face suspicion and antipathy about their cause. The police seem to be doing nothing, the consulate the channel through which to communicate, just tells them to wait and see. The waiting is becoming unbearable, the system so different from the west, the language, the culture, the heat, the smells, the landscape, the understanding of a new world.
Despite all this Jo and Tom come to a decision and create their own destiny. Their only aim to find their daughter.
To say any more will stop you going and reading this book, of which you must read. It was a fascinating read, and had me wrung out emotionally by the end. What made it all the more fascinating, was the unknown, we shared reading Lori's blog posts and just as Jo and Tom did, they abruptly stop.
As readers we simply have no idea what has happened. There are no clues. And what made this more interesting, the book did not finish at the end. A concept difficult to explain without having actually read it, but you get to see the whole circle and whilst the actual end leaves you with more questions that answers, it gave me one clear answer. You can actually be half the world away from someone even if you are in the same continent, country, county, town, street or home.
Simply read this book.
portybelle's review against another edition
5.0
I have read many of Cath Staincliffe's standalone novels before and found them to be thought-provoking reads, often making me question what I would do if I found myself in the same situation. The situation in Half A World Away, where Jo's daughter has gone missing overseas, really is every parent's nightmare. It would be horrendous enough for your child to go missing at home, but for it to happen in a country thousands of miles away in distance and in a country very different to ours culturally must be even worse. Jo's situation particularly resonated with me as we share almost the same name and the same year of birth and I have teenage daughters, though not quite at the gap year stage yet. I imagined how I would feel in her position and could really empathise with the anguish, fear and dread she was experiencing.
The book was fraught with tension throughout and Cath Staincliffe wrote totally convincingly of the helplessness and frustration felt by Jo and Tom, Lori's father. They soon find that many of the Chinese people don't want to be involved in trying to find their lost daughter as they fear bad luck. The expat community are more helpful but Jo and Tom don't feel the Chinese police and authorities are doing enough to find Lori. There is a very different way of doing things in China and eventually Jo and Tom take matters into their own hands. To make things worse, one of Jo's sons back home is rushed into hospital for an emergency operation. Everything seems to keep getting worse and I could really sense Jo's increasing desperation.
This was such an emotional read and completely absorbing. Cath Staincliffe has created yet another gripping and moving story. Although I felt completely drained emotionally by the end, I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown UK for the opportunity to read and review this book.
The book was fraught with tension throughout and Cath Staincliffe wrote totally convincingly of the helplessness and frustration felt by Jo and Tom, Lori's father. They soon find that many of the Chinese people don't want to be involved in trying to find their lost daughter as they fear bad luck. The expat community are more helpful but Jo and Tom don't feel the Chinese police and authorities are doing enough to find Lori. There is a very different way of doing things in China and eventually Jo and Tom take matters into their own hands. To make things worse, one of Jo's sons back home is rushed into hospital for an emergency operation. Everything seems to keep getting worse and I could really sense Jo's increasing desperation.
This was such an emotional read and completely absorbing. Cath Staincliffe has created yet another gripping and moving story. Although I felt completely drained emotionally by the end, I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown UK for the opportunity to read and review this book.
clairereviews's review against another edition
5.0
Review: Half the World Away by Cath Staincliffe Published by: Constable (4th June 2015), hardcover edition: ISBN-13: 9781472117977
Source: Copy provided by publisher, via NetGalley, in return for my unbiased review
Synopsis:
Newly graduated photography student Lori Maddox spends the year after university travelling and visits China where she finds work as a private English tutor. Back in Manchester, her parents Jo and Tom, who separated when Lori was a toddler, follow her adventures on her blog, 'Lori In The Orient'.
Suddenly communication stops and when the silence persists a frantic Jo and Tom report her missing. It is impossible to find out anything from 5,000 miles away so they travel out to Chengdu, a city in the south-western province of Sichuan, to search for their daughter.
Landing in a totally unfamiliar country, with no knowledge of the customs or language, and receiving scant help from the local authorities, Jo and Tom are forced to turn detective, following in their daughter's footsteps, tracing the people she mentioned in her posts, interviewing her friends, colleagues and students. It's an unbearably difficult challenge and, as the days pass, the fear that Lori is lost for good grows ever larger.
My Review:
Having previously read several books by the same author,I was delighted when this title became available on NetGalley.
I've just finished reading and I'm in awe - this book is breathtakingly crafted. From the very beginning, as we are introduced to Lori and her family, to the bittersweet conclusion, I was utterly enthralled. The plot is like a guitar string being wound ever tighter, the tension increasing with every turn. I simply couldn't stop reading.
It is shocking and suspenseful, with developed characters you take to your heart from the outset. Intelligently written and simply unputdownable.
Source: Copy provided by publisher, via NetGalley, in return for my unbiased review
Synopsis:
Newly graduated photography student Lori Maddox spends the year after university travelling and visits China where she finds work as a private English tutor. Back in Manchester, her parents Jo and Tom, who separated when Lori was a toddler, follow her adventures on her blog, 'Lori In The Orient'.
Suddenly communication stops and when the silence persists a frantic Jo and Tom report her missing. It is impossible to find out anything from 5,000 miles away so they travel out to Chengdu, a city in the south-western province of Sichuan, to search for their daughter.
Landing in a totally unfamiliar country, with no knowledge of the customs or language, and receiving scant help from the local authorities, Jo and Tom are forced to turn detective, following in their daughter's footsteps, tracing the people she mentioned in her posts, interviewing her friends, colleagues and students. It's an unbearably difficult challenge and, as the days pass, the fear that Lori is lost for good grows ever larger.
My Review:
Having previously read several books by the same author,I was delighted when this title became available on NetGalley.
I've just finished reading and I'm in awe - this book is breathtakingly crafted. From the very beginning, as we are introduced to Lori and her family, to the bittersweet conclusion, I was utterly enthralled. The plot is like a guitar string being wound ever tighter, the tension increasing with every turn. I simply couldn't stop reading.
It is shocking and suspenseful, with developed characters you take to your heart from the outset. Intelligently written and simply unputdownable.
luellen1990's review against another edition
5.0
Half The World Away by Cath Staincliffe
Title - Half The World Away
Author - Cath Staincliffe
Published - July '16
Publisher - Constable
Genre - #Mystery #Suspense
Pages - 336
Price on Amazon - Paperback - £7.99 Kindle - £0.99
ISBN - 1472117980
After graduating, photography enthusiast Lori Maddox sets off to do some travelling, she ends up in China where she decides to become a private English teacher. Her parents Tom and Jo follow her adventures through a blog Lori is keeping online. When a few days go by and Lori doesn't update her blog or reply to any e-mails or phone calls from her parents Jo and Tom decide to report her missing to the Manchester police, who involve the Chinese police. After a week of not hearing anything, Jo and Tom decide its time to fly to China to join the search for their daughter. Can they find her in time?
This is the second book I have read by Cath Staincliffe now and I must say I am now hooked on her books, I have become one of her biggest fans. This story really tugs at your heartstrings. You really feel for Tom and Jo and you find yourself getting really frustrated with the Chinese police for not doing a very good job and then even more so when Jo and Tom are arrested.
I found I didn't like Nick as a character and would have prefered to see Jo and Tom reconcile. I felt Nick was a rather selfish man, only thinking of himself when Jo's daughter is missing in a foreign country. I didn't think he was very supportive at all. Although I did feel sorry for him when Jo and Tom slept together behind his back.
I thought Lori was a wonderful character, strong and quirky and in many ways, she reminded me of myself, I found I could relate to her a lot which made for a good read.
I really did enjoy this book. I listened to the audiobook and found I was taking every opportunity to listen to it, at bedtime, while doing the housework, in the shower. Whenever I could listen I would.
Praise yet again for Cath Staincliffe.
Rating - 5 *
Would I Read Again? - Yes
Would I Recommend? - Yes
Would I read other books by the same author? - Definitely
Reviews for this book can be found on:
Amazon (UK) under Lu's Reviews
Goodreads,
Net Galley (If a NetGalley Book)
My Blogs at http://www.readingbeyondobsession.co.uk/
www.lusreviewsblog.wordpress.com
Links to this review can be found at:
Twitter: @lusreviews
Facebook: @lusreviews
Instagram: lusreviews
Title - Half The World Away
Author - Cath Staincliffe
Published - July '16
Publisher - Constable
Genre - #Mystery #Suspense
Pages - 336
Price on Amazon - Paperback - £7.99 Kindle - £0.99
ISBN - 1472117980
After graduating, photography enthusiast Lori Maddox sets off to do some travelling, she ends up in China where she decides to become a private English teacher. Her parents Tom and Jo follow her adventures through a blog Lori is keeping online. When a few days go by and Lori doesn't update her blog or reply to any e-mails or phone calls from her parents Jo and Tom decide to report her missing to the Manchester police, who involve the Chinese police. After a week of not hearing anything, Jo and Tom decide its time to fly to China to join the search for their daughter. Can they find her in time?
This is the second book I have read by Cath Staincliffe now and I must say I am now hooked on her books, I have become one of her biggest fans. This story really tugs at your heartstrings. You really feel for Tom and Jo and you find yourself getting really frustrated with the Chinese police for not doing a very good job and then even more so when Jo and Tom are arrested.
I found I didn't like Nick as a character and would have prefered to see Jo and Tom reconcile. I felt Nick was a rather selfish man, only thinking of himself when Jo's daughter is missing in a foreign country. I didn't think he was very supportive at all. Although I did feel sorry for him when Jo and Tom slept together behind his back.
I thought Lori was a wonderful character, strong and quirky and in many ways, she reminded me of myself, I found I could relate to her a lot which made for a good read.
I really did enjoy this book. I listened to the audiobook and found I was taking every opportunity to listen to it, at bedtime, while doing the housework, in the shower. Whenever I could listen I would.
Praise yet again for Cath Staincliffe.
Rating - 5 *
Would I Read Again? - Yes
Would I Recommend? - Yes
Would I read other books by the same author? - Definitely
Reviews for this book can be found on:
Amazon (UK) under Lu's Reviews
Goodreads,
Net Galley (If a NetGalley Book)
My Blogs at http://www.readingbeyondobsession.co.uk/
www.lusreviewsblog.wordpress.com
Links to this review can be found at:
Twitter: @lusreviews
Facebook: @lusreviews
Instagram: lusreviews
anniekenway's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Started slow but picked up. Easy read but believable emotionally.
steph1rothwell's review against another edition
4.0
Half a World Away was a great reintroduction to Cath Staincliffe's novels. The book is about new graduate Lorelei who goes on holiday to China. She sets up a blog and posts regular diary posts with photographs and emails her family regularly. And then it all stops. The blog isn't updated, phone calls go to voicemail and emails remain unanswered. When her parents feel they are not getting enough answers they fly over to try and find her.
The biggest thing for me with this novel was how different life was in China to how it is here. No freedom of speech, people afraid to get involved in case the police or people with power became aware of it. Jo and Tom are being controlled by the Chinese police, they are held back repeatedly as they try and search for their daughter. Jo also has problems at home to deal with as well. Her husband has been made redundant, and her youngest child has mood swings.
I found this a quick fascinating read, I wanted to know what had happened to her and also because I was learning about a country that I knew nothing about. Despite the police, the food and the climate its appeal was still there. I didn't really think of it as a crime novel. It is a crime investigation but mostly it is about the desperation felt by a parent in finding their daughter.
Thanks to the publisher and the author for the copy via netgalley.
The biggest thing for me with this novel was how different life was in China to how it is here. No freedom of speech, people afraid to get involved in case the police or people with power became aware of it. Jo and Tom are being controlled by the Chinese police, they are held back repeatedly as they try and search for their daughter. Jo also has problems at home to deal with as well. Her husband has been made redundant, and her youngest child has mood swings.
I found this a quick fascinating read, I wanted to know what had happened to her and also because I was learning about a country that I knew nothing about. Despite the police, the food and the climate its appeal was still there. I didn't really think of it as a crime novel. It is a crime investigation but mostly it is about the desperation felt by a parent in finding their daughter.
Thanks to the publisher and the author for the copy via netgalley.
ashak's review against another edition
4.0
A story that you can relate to.
https://onerightword.blogspot.com/2019/01/half-world-away-cath-staincliff.html
https://onerightword.blogspot.com/2019/01/half-world-away-cath-staincliff.html
mandyl45's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
skruetny's review against another edition
3.0
Felt a little slow in the beginning, but it picked up a lot in the 120 page mark (about halfway) and I read 200 pages in the span of two days quite easily (To be fair, that *is* how books work with the slow build-up leading up to the climax).
I thought the idea for the story was unique, and I enjoyed seeing Jo and Tom play detective. The final reveal of it being Bradley was predictable, but in a good way? It wasn't predictable as in a, "Ugh, I saw this coming. Booring." but in a, "Wow, I saw this coming! Cool." since evidence was established pretty early on against Bradley. The reveal made sense, which I think beats having a contrived plot twist be randomly injected purely for shock value or whatever. It was a little jarring finding out what Bradley had done, when compared to how he had acted with Jo and Tom; how nice and inviting he was. I guess, that's exactly what the author wanted however, since you really never expect anyone's capable of such things.
One thing I'd like to note is how I disliked the men in this book. Bradley, for obvious reasons. Nick, while he was okay at first, slowly spiralled into a character I couldn't like. He was immature, and refused to talk his issues out with Jo, instead choosing to turn a blind eye to them and play the victim card, blaming his alcoholism on her. Jo bothered me sometimes when she kept brushing things off as nothing. She's definitely not the confrontational type, but letting things simmer and assuming the best, cost her. I don't harbour any ill will towards her though, since after some time, she does eventually address the issues going on, and it's understandable with Nick how she'd *want* to believe everything's fine, especially after everything with Lori. Sure, she said some nasty things, but she was quick to realise her mistake and apologise, and while apologies certainly can't take back words said, at least she *apologised*, while Nick on the other hand, petulantly chose to stand his ground and pin the blame on her. I *am* upset however that Jo didn't come clean about sleeping with Tom, but I can't be too pissed either since I doubt being honest with Nick would've made anything better, and even if it did, I don't think I'd like for him to stay. Also, there was one sentence where Jo was wondering what was wrong with Isaac, and one of the possibilities she thought of was Nick had hit him and knocked him out? Hello? To have Jo even *consider* that was frightening.
I could sympathise with Tom more though. He isn't amazing, not by a long shot, and me having been in Jo's perspective during the book–who's spending her time alongside Tom–definitely put him in a good light. He was impulsive and rash, but I suppose at the end of the day he got shit done. He mirrored my frustrations towards the authorities, so that aided in his image. There was one scene that stuck with me however, of him putting his finger to Jo's lip angrily, and I was sitting there like..... uhm.
I liked how in the end, Tom ended up with Aphrodite because despite the brief physical comfort they found in each other, the couple would be unhealthy together. It felt realistic how that one night stayed one night. I mean, the couple got divorced for a reason, just because they banged one night doesn't magically heal all their past wounds.
Overall, I don't have anything bad to say about the book. It did what it did, and well. It wasn't something I'd rave for ages about though. Good book.
I thought the idea for the story was unique, and I enjoyed seeing Jo and Tom play detective. The final reveal of it being Bradley was predictable, but in a good way? It wasn't predictable as in a, "Ugh, I saw this coming. Booring." but in a, "Wow, I saw this coming! Cool." since evidence was established pretty early on against Bradley. The reveal made sense, which I think beats having a contrived plot twist be randomly injected purely for shock value or whatever. It was a little jarring finding out what Bradley had done, when compared to how he had acted with Jo and Tom; how nice and inviting he was. I guess, that's exactly what the author wanted however, since you really never expect anyone's capable of such things.
One thing I'd like to note is how I disliked the men in this book. Bradley, for obvious reasons. Nick, while he was okay at first, slowly spiralled into a character I couldn't like. He was immature, and refused to talk his issues out with Jo, instead choosing to turn a blind eye to them and play the victim card, blaming his alcoholism on her. Jo bothered me sometimes when she kept brushing things off as nothing. She's definitely not the confrontational type, but letting things simmer and assuming the best, cost her. I don't harbour any ill will towards her though, since after some time, she does eventually address the issues going on, and it's understandable with Nick how she'd *want* to believe everything's fine, especially after everything with Lori. Sure, she said some nasty things, but she was quick to realise her mistake and apologise, and while apologies certainly can't take back words said, at least she *apologised*, while Nick on the other hand, petulantly chose to stand his ground and pin the blame on her. I *am* upset however that Jo didn't come clean about sleeping with Tom, but I can't be too pissed either since I doubt being honest with Nick would've made anything better, and even if it did, I don't think I'd like for him to stay. Also, there was one sentence where Jo was wondering what was wrong with Isaac, and one of the possibilities she thought of was Nick had hit him and knocked him out? Hello? To have Jo even *consider* that was frightening.
I could sympathise with Tom more though. He isn't amazing, not by a long shot, and me having been in Jo's perspective during the book–who's spending her time alongside Tom–definitely put him in a good light. He was impulsive and rash, but I suppose at the end of the day he got shit done. He mirrored my frustrations towards the authorities, so that aided in his image. There was one scene that stuck with me however, of him putting his finger to Jo's lip angrily, and I was sitting there like..... uhm.
I liked how in the end, Tom ended up with Aphrodite because despite the brief physical comfort they found in each other, the couple would be unhealthy together. It felt realistic how that one night stayed one night. I mean, the couple got divorced for a reason, just because they banged one night doesn't magically heal all their past wounds.
Overall, I don't have anything bad to say about the book. It did what it did, and well. It wasn't something I'd rave for ages about though. Good book.
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