Wednesday 28 June 2017

Review | The Summer of Impossible Things by Rowan Coleman

Published by Ebury on June 29, 2017


A new Rowan Coleman book is always a real treat for me and I knew from the opening chapter that The Summer of Impossible Things was going to be another special book.

When Luna and Pea’s mum dies, they are left with a whole lot of questions and a will to understand their mother more. We follow them to Brooklyn as they bid to uncover her secrets and the things which made her who she was. As soon as they arrive in Brooklyn, it is evident this is going to be a life-changing experience for Luna. Somehow, Luna realises she can travel back and forth in time. That means she could go back to 1977, a critical year for her mum. What if she could actually meet her mother there? What if she could change the past? What if she could put things right for her mum? And what would that mean for Luna?

First off, I absolutely loved this book. It felt new and different, yet it was still absolutely stunning. Rowan delivers brilliant books time and time again and I love how they are all so different to each other. The concept in this one had me gripped just from the blurb, and once I started reading the book I just couldn’t put it down. I have read a few time travel themed books before but a time travel book written by Rowan Coleman is a million times better. I found this so utterly fascinating and thought provoking. Luna being able to go back in time and meet her mum growing up opens up so many questions to the reader. It has book club written all over it. It needs to be a film. It's a book I have been dying to discuss with other people. It's one I haven't been able to get off my mind since.

The time travel element is written beautifully and subtly as Rowan transports the reader beautifully back to 1970s Brooklyn, disco and all. I adored all the intricacies to this book. If I’d been reading the ebook, this would have been highlighted to death as there are so many meaningful and thought-provoking sentences, paragraphs, almost full chapters, which had me in awe of Rowan’s wonderful writing.

I loved the way this book was written. I love how Luna tells us the story almost aware that we are going to be sceptical about what is happening to her. She knows what she is seeing and what she is experiencing is impossible and yet she also knows she needs to convince us of the impossible, convince us that the impossible is actually happening. I really warmed to Luna partly because of this reason. She came across as such a genuine character – who was I not to believe the things she was telling me? The style of this book is so enthralling and I found myself so wrapped up in the story that Luna could have told me anything and I would have believed it.

The love between Luna, Pea and their mother was incredibly heartening and heart-warming. Reading about the lengths they would go to to save their mother was something very special. The love between mother and daughter is a theme in so many books but it is the core of The Summer of Impossible Things. Luna’s love for her mother made my heart ache. It was so powerful and I could feel it almost overwhelmingly. She would have sacrificed anything for her mum, to get her mum back even though that in turn could mean that saving her mum’s life would lose her own. I could really understand the way Luna felt and I really admired her as a character and how she would always put her mum first. She was so brave and determined and the story of her and her mother was so emotional and life-affirming that I don’t think I will ever forget it.

The Summer of Impossible Things is 100% magical. And it is phenomenal.



2 comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...