JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love — she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness-except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny, flirtatious, and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back.

There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker, Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?

Written by the author of the wildly successful Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda, The Upside of Unrequited is a sweet story about a young girl who has always had crushes but never boyfriends. Her closest relationships have always been with her sister and her two mums, but now there are two boys in her life who appear to be interested in her. This is new territory for her.

The Upside of Unrequited explores love, loss, family, friendship and growing up. It’s a coming of age story for someone who already appears to have everything in order. Because whilst Molly is strong, smart and beautiful, she’s at times insecure and worried and she lacks confidence.

Not all readers are going to relate to Molly in the same way. Some readers may not be as interested in the romantic side of the book as others, but there are a lot of other elements to this book that are really important for readers. Yes, a huge part of the novel may be about Molly trying to get a boyfriend (which in itself is a little bit frustrating because it tries to highlight that a girl can only have self-worth if she finds herself a boyfriend). But it also symbolises how hard it can be for a teenager if he/she feels like everyone else has accomplished something and you’re the one falling apart. Molly feels like everyone else has finished the race and yet she’s still at the starting line.

This book is also about growing up, and at times, growing apart. Once Molly’s sister Cassie gets a girlfriend, Molly starts to feel like she’s being cast aside. Like she’s not as important to Cassie anymore. She doesn’t quite realise that as you get older, you’re going to have to share the people in your life once they start forming relationships. The Upside of Unrequited teaches us that growing up can be tiring and overwhelming, and that not everything is always going to be easy.

“And now Cassie’s being mysterious, and it’s really fucking weird. Normally, when she hooks up with someone, she’s bursting with the details. She’s a kiss-and-teller. Maybe that’s awful, but it’s just a part of the hookup process for her. She told me once that a kiss isn’t a kiss until she tells me about it. Me, specifically.”

I personally liked Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda better, but this is still an enjoyable read. It’s also a quick read, for those of you looking for something relatively short and fast-paced. This book also teaches readers that sometimes the guy you least expect is the one who is the most suited to you. Sometimes being friends first helps you build that foundation that can lead to a relationship. Sometimes being friends first means you will be dating the person that you have the most things in common with. And for those of you who are also fans of Becky’s first novel, you should know that Simon DOES make a small cameo in this book!

If I had to point out anything about the book that I didn’t like, it would be the dialogue between Molly’s mums, Patty and Nadine. Yes, it was hilarious, witty, funny and wonderful, but it felt young. Their mums often sounded like teenagers themselves and so sometimes I felt like Becky didn’t fully capture their age in their dialogue.

“Dude, no,” Nadine tells him. “Banana’s gone. You’re SOL.”

“Hey,” pipes Nadine, “don’t let her bring that Schulmeister kid. They’re still broken up, right? Because I do not need my doorstep darkened by that little shitwiper on my wedding day. Nope to the nope.”

Despite this, I did love how present Nadine and Patty were in the novel. In a lot of young adult novels, parents are either dead, missing, or have run away and abandoned their children. It was nice to read a young adult novel where the parents had such a strong presence in Molly’s life.

One other aspect of the book that I didn’t necessarily agree with was this idea that you need to have a boyfriend to be happy, or that you need to have a boyfriend to be like everyone else. It made Molly appear quite self-absorbed at times, which I didn’t like. I would’ve liked it better if Molly realised that she can be happy alone or happy in a relationship and that she didn’t need one or the other to truly be herself.

I recommend this book to young adult lovers. It’s quite cute and sweet, and so if you’re not a regular young adult reader this may not be the book for you. However, if you’re looking for a quick read with a great romance and a great family dynamic, then this is a book you should pick up when you next go to the bookstore.

The Upside of Unrequited
Becky Albertalli
April 2017
Penguin Teen Australia

Stars Across the Ocean by Kimberley Freeman

1874: Only days before she is to leave the foundling home where she grew up, Agnes Resolute discovers that, as a baby, she had been abandoned with a small token of her mother: a unicorn button.

Agnes always believed her mother had been too poor to keep her, but after working as a laundress in the home she recognises the button as belonging to Genevieve Breckby, the beautiful and headstrong daughter of a local noble family. Agnes had seen Genevieve once, in the local village, and had never forgotten her.

Despite having no money, Agnes will risk everything in a quest that will take her from the bleak moors of northern England to the harsh streets of London, then on to Paris and Ceylon. As Agnes follows her mother’s trail, she makes choices that could cost her dearly. Finally, in Australia, she tracks Genevieve down. But is Genevieve capable of being the mother Agnes hopes she will be?

This historical fiction novel by Kimberley Freeman moves between past and present. The book opens in the present (no specific year mentioned) with a young woman named Victoria travelling from Australia to England to assist her ill mother, who has had an accident at work and is currently in recovery. Victoria helps her mother recover some documents from her workplace and then she finds a letter from the 19th century. It’s a letter from an unknown woman to her child that she gave away. Victoria reads the letter and becomes enthralled in the circumstances surrounding it.

The letter then abruptly cuts off and the novel takes us back to Agnes Resolute’s story in the mid 19th century. She is on a desperate search to find her birth mother and this search takes her to London, Paris, Ceylon and then on to Australia. It’s a novel about loss, love, identity and family.

Even though Harriet adored me, even though she didn’t believe women should be so constrained as we are, she used all the words I expected. ‘Improper’ and ‘unsuitable’: even ‘shocking’ and ‘indecent’.
‘Emile Venson is a carpenter,’ she said to me at the end. ‘You cannot fall in love with a carpenter.’

Kimberley Freeman has crafted an enjoyable historical fiction novel. The transition between past and present is smooth and not confusing at all, and the writing is effortless. The storyline keeps readers on their toes and eager to find out more, and the huge cast of characters are interesting to read and engaging for the reader.

Agnes spends almost the entire novel following Genevieve Breckby, an allusive woman that Agnes believes is her mother. Genevieve is hard to track down. First, Agnes travels to London and works for a time with Genevieve’s sister Marianna and Genevieve’s son Julius. And then she continues to follow the woman’s trail all the way to Australia. Kimberley Freeman constantly flicks between past and present as Victoria finds out more information about the illusive woman who has written this letter. The reader then finds out all the circumstances of the birth because the actual story is being detailed intermittently as well.

Agnes’ heart fell all the way to her toes. This house did not look inhabited, just like the house in Colombo. That meant she was miles and miles from anywhere, without means to return to the village — and, quite honestly, barely any idea which way the village lay — and evening was approaching.

I felt like Agnes wasn’t a hugely likeable protagonist. She came across extremely naive and there were a few parts in the novel where I could sense exactly what was going to happen. When she decides to sleep at the abandoned train station, I knew she was going to wake up to find that her suitcase had been stolen. And when she arrives in London and is accommodated by Madame Beaulieu, I could tell that Beaulieu was a running a brothel and would no doubt be an antagonist in the novel. Everyone seemed to know it but Agnes, and when Madame Beaulieu took her purse and wouldn’t give her back her money, I was not at all surprised.

“After her encounter with Monsieur Valois, she was more certain than ever that she would not sell her body as Madame Beaulieu wanted her to, and no amount of vile menial work would have her change her mind. She could endure it; it wasn’t forever.”

I know that Agnes is supposed to be in her late teens, but Kimberley dropped a lot of hints and things then became a little predictable. Agnes’ nativity became a little exhausting, thus making her an unlikable character. The ending to the novel, which I won’t give away in this review, was also something that I found predictable. I picked the ‘twist’ about 100 pages into the book, feeling like Kimberley made it too easy for the reader and that there were a lot of hints and comments that gave away the ending.

I would recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction — while it has some flaws, it is interesting and enjoyable. Kimberley has illustrated all of the different settings so well; she has captured the feel and atmosphere of each location with great skill. And as far as historical fiction goes, Stars Across the Ocean is intriguing and engaging and you’ll want to read until the end.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Stars Across the Ocean
Kimberley Freeman
May 2017
Hachette Publishers

Troubadour by Isolde Martyn

Forced to flee the English court after the lecherous King John attacks her, Adela, the queen’s hairbraider, finds employment in the entourage of Lady Alys. Alys is on her way to marry the Lord of Mirascon, a fiefdom in southern France. However, the south is under threat from Pope Innocent III’s military crusade against the heretics.

After trying in vain to rally his fellow lords against invasion, Richart, Vicomte de Mirascon, makes an alliance with King John. A political marriage to the Lady Alys – the king’s discarded mistress – will allow Richart to safeguard his people from a merciless land grab and cruel slaughter.

When the bridal party is ambushed, Adela is mistaken for her dead mistress by the people of Mirascon. Adela knows she must tell Richart that she is not his betrothed, but as she is dragged deeper into the deception, she is also powerfully drawn to the beleaguered man trying to protect his people and his culture. As the savage army marches south, can Richart and Adela overcome a web of deceit and treachery and evade the bonfires of the crusaders, or will their land of troubadours and tolerance be destroyed forever?

At first, this novel is a case of mistaken identity. Adela is mistaken for the dead Lady Alys and finds herself engaged to the one man she’s been hoping to unite with since she met him at the English court: Richart. She’s happy she’s with him, but she desperately wants to tell him the truth. And then quite early on in the novel, Richart finds out for himself. The two are separated. And then it becomes a novel about survival and uncovering betrayal.

Adela is a strong, resilient character, capable of surviving even in the most dire of times. Isolde Martyn has crafted a fantastic protagonist for this book, drawing us in with her plight and her dimensional construct.

“After she had scrubbed the first of Lady Alys’ underskirts, she sat back and drew her hand across her perspiring brow. Her presence had disturbed the stream’s tiny dwellers but now a damselfly clad in iridescent armour returned, then a trio of water skaters came skimming back, anxious to reclaim their manor.”

Troubadour is a lengthy book with plenty of action and plot and underpinned by truly wonderful characters that I loved reading about. I was enthralled throughout the book, eagerly turning each page to keep reading and thoroughly enjoying every chapter. The book is filled with historical information and an engaging cast of characters. This novel has betrayal, love, trickery, and gutsy courage – everything you could want in a historical fiction novel.

Adela and Richart are star characters, as are Maud and the hilarious Derwent. Right from the beginning, you’re backing Adela. You want her to succeed and flourish and you want her to survive. She’s young and naive, but she’s also strong and intelligent and compassionate.

“Adela received him courteously, but she would have preferred to swim a filthy moat rather than describe the massacre again.”

There were a few times in the book that were heavy with historical information and I felt like it was hard to grasp. A lot of the book is based on actual events and so a lot of explaining and information dumping was needed in order for the reader to get the historical significance of what was happening. I did, at times, feel like Isolde could’ve woven the historical information into the book a little more seamlessly so that it wasn’t as confusing and heavy for the reader to understand.

What I loved most about this book is that it’s a standalone, unlike a lot of other epic fantasy books where there are a minimum of six books in the series and it’s a huge investment to keep going. This novel had perfect pacing and was the perfect length to keep me entertained, and the conclusion to the novel was satisfying and engaging. I loved that this was just one novel and not a long-winded series that you had to read to find out the fate of the characters.

I recommend this to fantasy lovers and those of you who love Game of Thrones, but I also recommend this to readers who are perhaps looking to dabble in a bit of fantasy and don’t want to commit to something too heavy. This is a really enjoyable read, and I would highly recommend Isolde Martyn.

I received a copy of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Troubadour
Isolde Martyn
March 2017
Harlequin Publishers

Begin End Begin: A LoveOzYA Anthology by Danielle Binks

Bestsellers. Award-winners. Superstars. This anthology has them all. With brilliantly entertaining short stories from beloved young adult authors Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer, Lili Wilkinson and Danielle Binks, this all-new collection will show the world exactly how much there is to love about Aussie YA.

I love this anthology! All of the stories (and the chosen writers) gel really well together and it’s really nice to see a focus on Australian young adult fiction. This anthology features some really well-loved Aussie writers, well-known for their novels and their trilogies. I would’ve liked for it to feature perhaps one more debut writer (in addition to Danielle Binks) because this anthology would’ve really helped them kickstart their writing career and would be a great way to introduce YA readers to another fresh, unpublished voice.

“LoveOzYA was born from readers and writers and all who love Australia’s national youth literature. It was not born out of patriotism or a rejection of international voices — far from it. LoveOzYA has been about the inclusion of voices. And it has been a movement, as the name suggests, about love.”
-DANIELLE BINKS, anthology editor

I’ve broken down my review and posted about each individual story in the order in which they appear in the book.

One Small Step by Amie Kaufman
This is a sweet story set on Mars, about a young girl whose parents are encouraging her to continue her school education on Earth at any one of the prestigious universities who have recently offered her a place. She’s not sure what she wants to do, so she hasn’t made a decision yet. Also, she happens to be in love with her best friend and doesn’t know if she should tell her. She doesn’t know if her friend feels the same way.

“Keiko’s the only one who doesn’t care who or what I am, apart from just being me. She’s been around way too long to be impressed. You’d think things would be simple around Keiko, right? They’re not.”

This short story is really well-paced and quite enjoyable. The characters are really relatable and the romance between the two girls is really sweet. I must admit, it did feel a little self-contained for a short story. I got to the end of the story and felt like a lot of things were wrapped up, and I didn’t have any burning questions (which is something I thought short stories usually encourage?).

I also thought that the story should’ve been a bit longer. So much happens in the story (plot-wise and character-wise) that I felt like a higher word count was needed to really give the story more room. It’s really well-written though, and I enjoyed reading it. I think fans of Amie Kaufman will love it for its setting and also for the high-action plot.

I Can See The Ending by Will Kostakis
This story has such an adorable concept! It’s about a boy called Adam who gets glimpses of the future and can sense how things will play out. Once day, when hanging out with his colleague Nina, he foresees that the two of them will get married but will then later get divorced. Adam thinks that he should perhaps change fate. Perhaps he should not get into a relationship with her at all if it’s just going to end in heartbreak? Adam really struggles to understand how he’s supposed to use this gift he has.

“Time bends. I feel the hot rage before I see her. We’re standing on some street. She’s shouting, spitting, all rage, too. She’s older, we both are. I can tell without a mirror. I know the difference in my joints, my body seems less cooperative as I amble towards her. She raises a hand and throws smoothing at my chest. I catch it, almost fumble. She leaves. I hold a ring.”

This short story is the perfect length. It’s enjoyable, and it’s the perfect balance of character-driven and plot-driven. There’s fantastic character development and the premise is really unique and engaging. The story still leaves plenty of things open so that you are left wondering — you want to keep reading about these characters. I Can See the Ending also provides enough information to keep you entertained. I loved this!

In A Heartbeat by Alice Pung
This was probably one of my favourite stories in the anthology. It’s written in second person and is written like a letter from a pregnant teenage girl named Kim to her unborn child. It’s a very empowering story because in a way, Kim’s story parallels with her mother’s story — Kim’s father has left them and since then, her mother has raised Kim on her own. In A Heartbeat illustrates that you don’t need a man in your life to succeed, and that there are women out there who are strong, resilient and inspiring, and they’re single mothers too. Kim learns that the baby’s father Luis (and his parents) don’t want to be in the child’s life because it might harm his career. And then Kim comes to the realisation that she really doesn’t need him anyway.

“We’d been through this already. All the bloody adults counselling me, asking me if this is what I really wanted, did I understand the responsibilities of having a child, yadda yadda yadda. Of course I did, which was why I was so depressed and miserable.”

In A Heartbeat also illustrates how courageous and brave Kim is, and how much her mother loves her and supports her (despite how disappointed she is in Kim for the unplanned pregnancy). Kim is constantly being told what she can and can’t do and yet she’s strong enough to know that she can make her own decisions, despite the fact that the odds are stacked together. We also realise that if someone lets you down or isn’t there for you, then maybe it’s better that you let them leave rather than forcing them to stay.

I felt like there was only one flaw in the story, and that was the interwoven switch between past and present. Kim often tells stories about the past and the transition between past and present was a bit clunky. I often found myself a little confused because the constant switch between tense, along with the piece being written in second person, made the story a little jarring at times. But overall, I really really loved this piece and thought it was brilliant.

First Casualty by Michael Pryor
This is a suspenseful short story about a holiday trip (in space) that goes horribly wrong. It’s an interesting concept and I didn’t mind it. It may not have been my favourite story of the anthology, but I found it quite enjoyable to read.

“There’s nothing like being tagged ‘adequate’ to get your day off to a good start.”

The writing is great – engaging, entertaining and at times witty. The characters are fun to read and the story is quite plot-driven. There’s a lot happening in the story and it keeps the reader interested. In the middle of the story, I did feel like the pace dropped off a little bit (and it felt a little dry at times), but it picked up again towards the end.

Sundays by Melissa Keil
Melissa’s story is about a group of teenagers at a party that stretches over one long night. The main character, Gabrielle, seems to be clinging to her best friends because her home life isn’t that great at the moment. Her two friends Cameron and Claire have been dating for years — since primary school. But at the party, Claire tells them that they’ve broken up, and then Cam is seen kissing someone else. But Claire is happy, and she’s ready to move on. Although, it appears Gabrielle and their other friends aren’t quite ready yet.

“No, no, no. This wasn’t part of our plan. For four years it’s been Claire and Cameron, ever since they hooked up at Tommy’s fourteenth birthday party. Yeah, so maybe we are a wee bit invested. But, man, with the rest of our shitty, messy lives? Claire and Cam are the closest thing any of us have to a gravitational centre.”

This has quite the unique premise because it’s not the usual characters or storyline — it’s an interesting take on teenage relations. It speaks about relationships that perhaps still exist not because it’s right, but because it’s always been that way. Sundays will resonate with teenagers because it allows them to let go of the past and let go of what they’re desperately clutching to and embracing. It’s important to note that not everything is set in stone. This was written really well, with hilarious characters and plenty of wit and humour.

Missing Persons by Ellie Marney
This is about a young girl — Rachel — who moves from the country to Melbourne with her family. Missing Persons spans a number of weeks, allowing us to read about Rachel experiencing the first few weeks of school and making friends. It’s like a coming of age story and a story about a teenager trying to fit in to her new and unknown surroundings.

“The upsides of going home are that first, I get to go home. Second, I get to ride the tram. The city looks different out the tram window; more contained, almost manageable.”

I thought this was a sweet short story, touching on something that I think a lot of teenagers experience: adapting to new surroundings and learning to make new friends. I felt like there should’ve been more development with her relationship with her parents and her brother. Besides that, I think Ellie did a fantastic job with the pacing of the story and the friendship between Rachel and Mycroft.

Oona Underground by Lili Wilkinson
Amazing. One of my favourite stories of the anthology. It’s about two young friends who venture underground to find a witch who can answer any burning questions they may have about their lives. It’s a little magical and a little real and together, Lili has moulded an amazing short story that is lyrical, poetic but also wildly entertaining and unique.

“Do you ever wonder if you’re already dead?” he asks. “And you just haven’t realised?”

Out of all the stories in this anthology, Oona Underground is the story that says the most, but also leaves the most out of it at the same time. It keeps the reader guessing — it keeps them engaged and interested and enraptured. This story is an exploration of love and hope and destiny, but it is also a little paranormal and magical. Loved it!

The Feeling From Over Here by Gabrielle Tozer
This short story is about Lucy and Cameron, two young teenagers (with a complicated history) who both happen to be on the same bus ride from Canberra to Melbourne one night. They haven’t seen each other in years, not since Lucy and Cameron were at the same high school and they kissed each other at a party. And then Cameron became popular, and Lucy was bullied by Cameron’s friends.

“If they’re the bricks, then she’s the cement.”

The story takes place over one long bus ride between the two cities, where plenty of drama happens and many things force the two of them to acknowledge the other. We experience both Lucy and Cameron’s perspective and we come to understand how they feel about each other and about how things unfolded the last time they were together. That Feeling From Over Here touches on the hurdles of high school and how bullying can resonate with someone years later and how someone who doesn’t mean to can actually play a large part in the bullying.

I think there is one small flaw in the story, and that is the text messages that Lucy is sending her friends. Lucy messages her friends quite a few times in the story, but they don’t reply. The messages were a good way for the author to know how Lucy was feeling (at first, she sends her friends an SOS text when she realises that Cameron is on the same bus as her), but I think Gabrielle could’ve easily woven Lucy’s feelings into the prose of the story. I felt like the texts really weren’t necessary and probably could’ve been cut from the entire thing.

Last Night at the Mount Solemn Observatory by Danielle Binks
This was one of my unexpected highlights of the book — a touching story about siblings and their strong bond. Bowie is a fourteen-year-old girl who idolises her older brother King, and she’s quite sad that he’s about to leave their home town Orianna and travel the world. She follows him one night when he goes out to hang out with his friends. It’s actually his last night in the town, and she wants to be a part of it. He lets her come along with him and his friends as they go to to the Mount Solemn Observatory.

“I stay crouched by my window, where I’ve been since hearing King leave — the familiar sound of his feet hitting the floor, a creak on the staircase and the little bang of the back door…Off on some adventure on his last night in Orianna. And before I’ve even fully decided, I’m already pulling on jeans and a T-shirt, reaching for a pair of thongs.”

Last Night at the Mount Solemn Observatory is a fantastic short story and a really great snippet of a much longer piece. I felt like I wanted to know more about King — I would love to read a longer piece about his travels overseas and his adventures abroad. I think it would make a great YA novel.

Danielle’s short story captures that sibling relationship perfectly. On the one hand, your younger sibling can be quite the embarrassment when you’re around your friends. But on the other hand, you’re glad to have the company and there’s a closeness there that you relish in. The pacing was on point and the characters were so full of life and three dimensional. I loved reading about all of them!

Competition Entry #349 by Jaclyn Moriarty
What a quirky, hilarious, scrumptious short story! I’d read a lot of people’s reactions to this anthology before I picked it up, and a lot of people were stating that Jaclyn’s story was one of their favourites. And I’m so glad it is the story that ends the book, because it’s probably the most fun. What a way to conclude the anthology!

“A voice spoke up. A soft, low voice. The sort of voice that makes feathers slide up and down your spine, and fireflies zing around your stomach.”

In this story, a young girl enters a competition to win a time-travel package at the Time Travel Agency. Her answer, which is supposed to be twenty-five words or less, is actually about forty pages. As it turns out, she’s already been to the Time Travel Agency for school, and she feels like she needs to redo her experience.

Earlier that morning, she’d been there and instead of going back in time to the early 1900s like most of the kids in her class, she went back a few weeks to the time that she’d kissed Noah in her bedroom and then he’d left her house and never called her again. She wanted to know what she did wrong and why he had been pretending to ignore her since their kiss. It’s sweet, but this is also a truly hilarious story.

Jaclyn Moriarty is a wonderful writer, with poetic prose and lyrical writing and she somehow manages to mould together the most beautiful of sentences to make the perfect story. Reading her writing is always such a joy.

Begin End Begin: A #LOVEOZYA Anthology
Danielle Binks
May 2017
HarperCollins Publishers

Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson

In a tiny two-bed flat above a Turkish café on Neal Street lives Anna Treadway, a young dresser at the Galaxy Theatre.

When the American actress Iolanthe Green disappears after an evening’s performance at the Galaxy, the newspapers are wild with speculation about her fate. But as the news grows old and the case grows colder, it seems Anna is the only person left determined to find out the truth.

Her search for the missing actress will take her into an England she did not know existed: an England of jazz clubs and prison cells, backstreet doctors and seaside ghost towns, where her carefully calibrated existence will be upended by violence but also, perhaps, by love.

Set in London in the 1960s, Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars is mostly a mystery novel, with young dresser Anna Treadway taking it upon herself to search for the missing actress Lolanthe Green. It’s quite a clever novel, because it’s actually not just about the disappearance of Lolanthe, but it also an exploration about minorities in London and their experiences in the town.

“You’re sure she ran away?” Helen asked her.
“I have to believe it.”
“From what, though?”
“From us?” Anna shrugged. “I don’t know. Money trouble.”
“Men,” said Rachel.

Through Anna’s detective work, we meet all kinds of characters, including Brennan, Orla and their daughter Gracie. Anna intersects with Leonard, who is gay and is struggling to live with that because it’s illegal. Ottamar is a Turkish cafe owner who is overworked and overly worried about his daughter Samira. She seems to be disconnecting with the family and spending all of her time away from them, and Ottamar worries about what this could mean for the family. Finally, we meet Aloysius, who is well-spoken and is helpful to Anna in her quest to find Lolanthe, but he’s subjected to appalling racism and police brutality because of the colour of his skin.

“Ottmar’s mind drifted free of the assembled group and took him back to Melanippus’ vast living room in Nicosia with its marble floor and long dark leather seats. In a former life he’d written book reviews for a Greek magazine in his native Cyprus. The only Turk on the staff, he’d spent his evenings smoking cigarettes and talking about art and philosophy and life with all the other twenty-somethings who dreamed of flying away to a life of avant-garde delights in Paris or Berlin.”

Miranda has a talent for weaving lots of different characters together and moulding them in the one scene. The reader doesn’t feel confused or unsure of who is talking or who is the focus of the chapter — all the characters blend well together. Miranda has also taken us on a journey through the good and bad parts of history. We’re led through the streets of backdoor abortion and side street racism, but we’re also witnesses to the beautiful familial bond that some of the characters have, and the support that they have for each other. Some of the characters help Anna when she’s in need, and it’s great to see their friendships and relationships form.


“The police had beaten Aloysius and walked away from it. And somehow the overturning of one institution has cast all the rest into doubt. If the police were not what she supposed them to be, were the lawyers, were the priests, were the politicians?”

Miranda has done a wonderful job of capturing 1960s London, with the evocative description of the setting and the cultural relations between the characters. Set in London, we bear witness to the hopes and dreams of people in the arts. Some of them are past their prime and coming to terms with their ageing looks. Some are aware that their skin colour will probably always be a barrier for them in life and that their dreams may be farther than they thought.

“Look out into the darkness,” Lolanthe had told her. “Look out into the darkness and you’ll see them.”

Despite how lyrical and intriguing this story is, I did find my attention waning. I couldn’t help but feel like the story went on tangents and the origin of the novel and the reason we were drawn into the story (the disappearance of ‘Lanny’ Green) got a little lost along the way. Things became a little convoluted, and I got a little bit confused.

Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars is a novel about fitting in, in a city that’s not very forgiving to outsiders and is not welcoming for newcomers. It’s a tough decade for the characters, and finding Iolanthe Green has plenty of roadblocks. London is filled with casual racism, police brutality, immigration, loneliness and characters dreaming of more.

I received a copy of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars
Miranda Emmerson
January 2017
HarperCollins Publishers

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