What an amazing book. Informative and candid, it shows both how living with heart disease and parenting can be done. I ended this book feeling not only better informed but also that I could learn from it how to live life a little better.
What an amazing book. I loved A Boy Made of Blocks and this is possibly even better. Informative and candid, it shows how living with heart disease can be done. And also how parenting can be done. The father-daughter relationship portrayed is so realistic, it's inspirational in making you want to work a little harder at your own. I ended this book feeling not only better informed but also that I could learn from it how to live life a little better.
It made me laugh out loud, it moved me to tears – best book I’ve read in years!
Tom is a single dad to fifteen-year-old Hannah who has a serious heart condition. He manages a local theatre in Somerset and each year, he is putting on mind-blowing productions for his daughter’s birthday, helped by all the people who are also involved in theatre life.
They know that Hannah’s has got a life-limiting condition and both find ways to deal with this as well as with lots of other problems – together and with the help of their great circle of friends.
Keith Stuart depicts a wonderful father/daughter relationship which is funny, tragic, magical, wonderful, sad and incredibly special. He is a master of bringing to life colourful characters that you cannot but fall in love with as a reader. I cannot wait to read his next book!
A wonderful, emotional rollercoaster of a book. Have tissues at the ready and a free couple of days as you won't want to put this down!
This book is a real tear-jerker have a box of tissues at the ready! The novel is based around a father (Tom) and his daughter Hannah. Hannah has an underlying heart condition which will essentially end her life prematurely. Both Tom and Hannah are very conscious of this and determined to make the most of the time they have left. Tom is protective whilst Hannah wants to get out there and experience what life has to offer. Tom is the manager of a local theatre which has consumed both their lives, and they both consider the cast of actors their family.
The story is about the threat of closure of the theatre, Hannah's concern about Tom being alone once she is gone, and Tom's concern about saving the theatre and his passion. Add into the mix some rather quirky characters both in the theatre and outside and you have a huge rollercoaster of emotions being portrayed.
The descriptions and simple but poignant wording had me in tears several times during the book, but at the same time I couldn't put it down and I read it in two days. The chapters changing from Tom to Hannah's character makes it interesting putting a different perspective on to their every day lives.
Definitely a recommended book and I will look out for other novels from this author.
An emotional story that moves your heart and makes you think that life is just too short and you have to live each day as if it counts.
This story is told through two points of view, from Hannah and her Dad Tom. When she is four Hannah is diagnosed with a heart condition which affects both their lives on a daily basis. Tom manages a local theatre and on each of her birthdays he puts on a show. Unfortunately, the council is threatening to close the theatre.
Having read A Boy Made From Blocks, I didn't find this one as good. Though it was sad and full of emotion as you would expect I found it dragged a bit in the middle and didn't leave me wanting more. Having said that it is well written and I may well have enjoyed it more if I hadnt read other Keith Stuart books.