If you have been around here a while then you know I am already a fan of Clare Pooley so when this proof copy of her newest novel landed on my doorstep I was over the moon. First of all, although we do not judge books by their cover, of course, the cover of this book is absolutely stunning and should make you all want to read it. But you should also all want to read it because, to put it bluntly, it is a fabulous book.
This is a book full of colourful characters, of capers, and simply of pure joy from beginning to end, and it was a book that just made you feel good when you picked it up to read it. In fact, I stayed up past my bedtime to finish reading it because, although I did not want it to end, I also had to know what was going to happen to this unlikely group of friends.
As with all of Clare Pooley’s novels, this is a book about community and friendship; this time, it is centred around a community centre, which is a lifeline for the locals and for the characters in our book. Our main focus is the newly formed group for the older members of the community, giving them somewhere to socialise (and keep warm), but not one of them is ready to settle for a few board games and a cup of tea. They are all ready to keep having adventures, and have some pasts that they need to deal with. And, for Ziggy, it provides the nursery he can take his little girl to, which means he may be able to finish his A-Levels and get to uni as he had always hoped.
When this community centre is under threat, however, it brings the young and old of the community together to do whatever they can to ensure it has a future. And, as you would expect with the novels of Clare Pooley, there are many laughs along the way as well as some tender moments that will no doubt bring a tear to your eye.
I absolutely adored this book and will be recommending it to anyone who will listen. This is a book with a heart and is a book that shows that getting older does not mean that you need to give up on life – in fact, you can have just as much fun as you may have done in your younger years. I think it is great that there are always inter-generational friendships in Clare Pooley’s books, which I think are so important because we should not let those who came before us become forgotten.
So, to conclude: Clare Pooley is one of my favourite authors, her books simply bring me joy, and I will be raving about this book for quite some time to come.