Gosh. This book! It had me feeling ALL the emotions – and that’s what I absolutely adored about it. Start to finish… what a journey.
We’ve all seen those reality TV programmes, about various people who for various reasons, well, things get too much at home and one thing leads to another. The dishes get forgotten, washing piles up, newspapers pile up until the owner no longer really sees it, and/or the job has become too big to handle. And then there are also people who are hoarders. They desperately have the very real need to not only keep hold of absolutely everything, but to constantly add to it, whether it’s needed or not. Those piles just keep growing, and growing, and growing.
Welcome to the world of teenager, Ro.
She prefers to fly under the radar. No friends, no parties, no social life and definitely no visitors to her house. If they knew where she lived, if just saw the outside of her house – let alone the inside – her secret would be out. And where would that leave her? If Social Services discover the extent of Mum’s hoarding and the constant, desperate struggle to make ends meet (which Ro has to manage), Ro fears that she will be taken away.
Mum’s hoarding of anything paper related, is out of control.
Piles line the stairs, the hallway and the landing where there’s only just enough room to squeeze past. The only room where the carpet can be seen? That’s Ro’s bedroom. And she’s learnt the hard way to put a padlock on it… or the paper piles will find their way in.
Despite her best efforts at school, Ro inadvertently catches the attention of a would-be friend who just won’t be shrugged off. Tanvi Shah envelopes Ro in an unconditional friendship that Ro just doesn’t know what to do with.
With Mum’s apathy and Dad’s focus diverted towards his shiny new family, Ro knows that she must do what she can to follow her own dream. To sing.
What could possibly stand in her way?!
The voice of Lisa Williamson’s character is wonderfully real and absorbing. She pushes her character through a tumultuous journey that will have you grimacing with annoyance at the so-called adults in her life, whilst you’ll be urging Ro on to achieve what she so desperately deserves. The twists and turns in this novel, are real page turners.
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