The Deliberations Of Isabella M Smugge by Ruth Leigh

Sep28

The Journey Ends

The Deliberations Of Isabella M Smugge by Ruth Leigh is the fifth and final book in the delightful Isabella M Smugge series.

I have been with Isabella Smugge since the beginning and am gutted that her bookish journey has ended. Maybe when she becomes a grandparent, I am hopeful that she may have more to say – pretty please, Ruth Leigh.

Isabella Smugge journey as an influencer has seen her move from London to the Suffolk countryside; from self-absorbed and image conscious to a far more ‘real’ portrayal; and from a new Christian dipping her toes in the water to a fully fledged Christian who is muddling through life just like the rest of us. It has been a wonderful journey to witness.

Isabella Smugge is an extremely likable, believable and kind person. I love her views on life. She tells it as she sees it. She navigates through single parenting of four children; deals with a selfish ex-husband; an overbearing agent; and playground bullies (the parents).

As the books have progressed, Isabella Smugge’s faith in God has emerged. “It would be helpful if God could just reply immediately… A kind of spiritual WhatsApp conversation… If I got it right, He would give me a thumbs up.” She notes “I’ve been going to church… and chatting with the good Lord (who I have to say, is a lot more approachable than I had previously thought). Her faith walk with God is authentic. What you see is what you get. She talks to God very naturally, but ends her prayers “Thank you again and kindest regards.”

Her reaction to having her prayers answered: “Hello again, it’s me… Listen, that was impressive! I asked for a DM and a sigh, and You sent me one. I feel like a proper religious person now.”

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The Baby In Her Arms by Suzanne Goldring

Sep28

Letters From The Lost

The Baby In Her Arms by Suzanne Goldring is a powerful and heartbreaking dual timeline novel that I never wanted to end.

The action is set in Paris during World War II and in 2024 in England. Nazi-occupied Paris was a terrible place to be. We witness a young Jewish mother make the ultimate sacrifice – leaving her newborn baby at the mercy of a stranger finding and caring for her, during a random round-up. We see the appalling treatment and are horrified. In contrast, we applaud the mother’s decision based on sacrificial love, to give her baby a chance of life.

There are strong women throughout the novel. They are prepared to stand up and be counted. Where they see injustice, they seek to right it. They do what they can, when they can, in whatever way they can.

Letters thrown from trains departing eastwards are found and delivered if they have addresses, or ultimately published in the hope that someone will read the letters from the lost.

A grandmother in present day is searching for her roots. She wants to know where she came from – and what she uncovers is amazing. Finally, the jigsaw pieces fit, and she can celebrate where she comes from, and who she is.

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The Songs That Find Us by Andrea Darby

Sep25

Melodies & Memories

The Songs That Find Us by Andrea Darby is a beautiful contemporary novel that I never wanted to end.

The novel follows a family through an early dementia diagnosis. We ‘hear’ the action in the first person alternating between Dad Ed, Mum Lizzie and daughter Beck. Each one copes in different ways as the past catches up with the present.

There is power in music. “Music’s amazing… How it drops you right into a memory.” Music makes the years fall away, dropping us into a moment in time. Music helps people with brain injuries or impairments. Sufferers benefit from singing as we witness in the Melodies & Memories café sessions. Music lifts people beyond themselves. This resonates with me as my beautiful and dearly departed, Dad suffered a head trauma earlier this year. He could hardly string a sentence together but lay in his hospital bed singing, and with his fingers tapping out the melody on the table as if it were a keyboard.

Everyone in the family is struggling with something. Beck, as an adopted daughter wonders about finding her birth mum. She struggles with her father’s diagnosis. “What if one day I see Dad, like I have a million times before, and someone I don’t know looks back at me?” No one wants their dad to change. Beck is also dissatisfied with her life. She wants new ventures.

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Baby Love by Jacqueline Wilson

Sep24

Nothing Wrong

Baby Love by Jacqueline Wilson is a powerful and heart-wrenching YA historical novel that I just could not put down. I greedily devoured it and was emotionally invested in the lead character.

The novel is set in 1959 and moves into 1960. It surrounds lead character fourteen-year-old Laura. We see all the action through her eyes and in the first person.

Laura is incredibly likable. She has a huge heart, looking out for those who are marginalised as she has walked in their shoes.

Laura earnt a scholarship to the Grammar School. Her parents, though poor and living in a prefab, are also proud and don’t want hand-outs. They like to try to pay their way.

Laura has struggled to fit in, and recognises herself in eleven-year-old Moira, who has just started at the Grammar School. Moira has a kind heart too. Her friendship is pure, and contrasts sharply with Nina, the local G.P’s daughter who uses her ‘power’ in a ‘friendship’ with Laura. As she dangles the carrot of friendship, Nina can also be rather cruel.

Laura’s innocence is taken advantage of by an older French exchange student. All the blame lies firmly at the feet of Laura. She is not the only girl to end up in a mother and baby home for young girls, after males in authority have abused their positions. It is always the girls who are cast off. The men get away scot-free.

Attitudes to single girls and their babies in 1960 were appalling. The girls were shamed and their babies taken from them to be adopted into ‘good’ families. Identities of the babies were hidden, meaning there was no chance of re-unions in later life. A whole generation of babies never knew their mothers. The modern reader is horrified. We see the damage inflicted on those poor girls whose babies were ripped from their arms.

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