Survival of the Ginnest by Aimee Horton was published by Velvet Morning Press on May 5, 2015.
Review copy courtesy of the author in exchange for my honest review.
What impressed me the most about Survival of the Ginnest was how fresh and original it felt. When Dottie Harris finds herself expecting her first baby, she begins to watch her social life wither away. Not one to accept that, Dottie finds a new way to keep everybody up-to-date with her life, she joins Facebook. The whole of this book is told via Dottie’s Facebook statuses and I loved this idea. Social media is the new way of keeping a diary – who wants to write things down in secret when you can broadcast them all over your blog, Facebook and Twitter? I wasn’t sure how well brief Facebook posts would transpire into a book but the author did a great job at developing Dottie’s character and I could really get a good picture of how her feelings were changing – when she was the most stressed she more often turned to the sanctuary of wine and gin and when she was enjoying being a mother the most, we’d see more of the funny experiences the chaos of having a child brings.
Dottie is the typical modern day mother and I thought her character was well-written and brought an accurate representation of some of the highlights and struggles many parents have. I think a lot of readers would be able to identify with Dottie and a lot of the things she experiences as a mother, from their kids’ cutest moments to the times when they’re being tested more than they even thought possible. Dottie was not afraid to share any of those moments and I loved her character – she made me laugh so many times with one-liners and the way she told her statuses. I’d much rather read Dottie’s Facebook feed than some of the drivel most people post because she’s full of character and humour and really easy to connect with. She relentlessly found herself in situations of complete chaos and what was tiresome for her, was perfect relaxing escapism for me.
There’s so much charm to this book and whether you’re a parent or not, you can really get to see how bringing up a child is such a wonderful experience day-to-day, even when they’re driving you up the wall. Being a social media diary, there are occasions when maybe a more emotional response from Dottie is lacking because people only share what they want to share on Facebook but I think that was to be expected from such a unique format. Also, Dottie turning to gin was kind of a signal for how she was feeling and I had to admit, I didn’t blame her! I found Survival of the Ginnest really quick to read, just one more status was never enough and the ending left me eager to read more from Dottie and see where motherhood would take her next. I love it when an author tries something different and through Facebook, Aimee Horton has introduced us to a character in Dottie that I can’t wait to read more from.
Survival of the Ginnest is a brave, witty and realistic portrayal of modern day pregnancy and motherhood, original and well-delivered.
Firstly loving the new lay out and the points scheme. Very different. Book sounds great. X
ReplyDeleteThank you Tanya! x
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