I’m so glad I finally have had the chance to read this book. I bought it months ago but my course had been so demanding with an extensive reading list that this book was at the bottom of the to read pile. Now that I am on summer I have been able to read this lovely funny but sad, yet hopeful book.

Now I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover but look how beautiful it is!

I’ll try and keep this spoiler free as a vague synopsis, but no promises, so read with caution if you want to avoid spoilers.

In short this book is about a socially unaware woman who is beginning to adventure into ‘normal’ life engage in new social situations like birthday parties. Her unawareness of how to behave in these situations is pitifully funny like when she thinks an acceptable birthday present is a half drunk bottle of vodka and a packet of cheese.

As the novel develops we as the reader are able to unpick as to why her social skills are so poor: she has had a rocky relationship (which is a bit of an understatement) with her mother and had spent her childhood in foster care and now lives alone and keeps her self to herself with her bottles of Vodka which she drinks out of a top gear mug because that is the perfect quantity.

This book is the perfect balance between sad and happy. I felt so sorry for Eleanor, especially in her darkest days, but Gail Honeymoon’s slightly dark humour and hopeful outlook on the future makes this novel very comical and light-hearted.

I found this book very easy to read and very enlightening about the loneliness everyday people experience. Gail Honeymoon puts forth the moral lesson that speaking out and sharing our problems with loved ones is great for our mental health and building closer relationships with others. I think this is a very important message to consider in today’s world as it is very easy to hide yourself away and pretend you are happy (especially on social media) but it is important to look after yourself and others and listen and share your woes.

I highly recommend this book, I think it is perfect for summer reading as it is easy to pick up and carry on from where you left off wherever you are. I’ve read this book outside at parks where I have been distracted by many cute little doggos, I’ve also read it in bed, on the bus and out in the garden – my point is its easy to re-pick up after you’ve been distracted by the outside world which i think is a good sign of a well written book. If you give it a read let me know what you think of it.

Thanks for reading x