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A review by ruthie_the_librarian
Days of Wonder by Keith Stuart
4.0
I lurched towards the end of this book in the garden centre cafe, trying not to sob over my slice of caramel shortcake & coffee and failing miserably. It was one of those mind-grabbing reads, where all the characters began to feel very quickly like friends, and I didn't just want to know what would happen, I needed to know.
Although there is a lot of sadness within the story, there's also so much humour and love that it doesn't feel overwhelming, or too hard to read. And there is also, importantly, a wonderful sense of magic throughout. I was involved in various different drama performances and plays throughout my childhood, so I identified a lot with the ideas and themes being discussed. It brought back lots of happy memories. I loved the relationship between Hannah and her dad - even when it isn't working all that well, it's really well written, and felt very realistic.
There were a couple of reasons that this ended up being a 4 star review, rather than a 5 star review for me: the ending - I didn't need that final conclusion, and I would have felt happier without it, however much I knew what was ultimately to come for Hannah. I also wasn't entirely happy with the conversations between Hannah's parents...the will they/won't they felt a little jumbled at times, and I was never quite sure how I was supposed to feel about Hannah's mum (I didn't like her, but I think I was supposed to forgive her...but I didn't!) But apart from this, it's a really great book.
With thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
Although there is a lot of sadness within the story, there's also so much humour and love that it doesn't feel overwhelming, or too hard to read. And there is also, importantly, a wonderful sense of magic throughout. I was involved in various different drama performances and plays throughout my childhood, so I identified a lot with the ideas and themes being discussed. It brought back lots of happy memories. I loved the relationship between Hannah and her dad - even when it isn't working all that well, it's really well written, and felt very realistic.
There were a couple of reasons that this ended up being a 4 star review, rather than a 5 star review for me: the ending - I didn't need that final conclusion, and I would have felt happier without it, however much I knew what was ultimately to come for Hannah. I also wasn't entirely happy with the conversations between Hannah's parents...the will they/won't they felt a little jumbled at times, and I was never quite sure how I was supposed to feel about Hannah's mum (I didn't like her, but I think I was supposed to forgive her...but I didn't!) But apart from this, it's a really great book.
With thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.