28 July 2017

Review #630: Wishbones by Virginia Macgregor



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.”

----Laurell K. Hamilton


Virginia Macgregor, an English author, has penned an extremely encouraging and soul stirring young adult contemporary fiction called, Wishbones that explores the life of a teenage girl, who wants to fix her mom and dad's relationship, by helping her obese and depressed mom to feel and get better, but fate have other plans for her, when after a night out, her mother falls sick, and her family is pushed to the edge off the limits. And not to mention, there are lots of things that she doesn't know yet, knowing which will forever change her life. An uplifting YA story about sexuality, eating disorder, depression, relationships and encouragement that is a must read.


Synopsis:

Feather Tucker has two wishes:


1)To get her mum healthy again


2) To win the Junior UK swimming championships


When Feather comes home on New Year’s Eve to find her mother – one of Britain’s most obese women- in a diabetic coma, she realizes something has to be done to save her mum’s life. But when her Mum refuses to co-operate Feather realises that the problem run deeper than just her mum’s unhealthy appetite.


Over time, Feather’s mission to help her Mum becomes an investigation. With the help of friends old and new, and the hindrance of runaway pet goat Houdini, Feather’s starting to uncover when her mum’s life began to spiral out of control and why. But can Feather fix it in time for her mum to watch her swim to victory? And can she save her family for good?




Feather Tucker is a 14 year old teenage swimming prodigy girl, who after a night out with her only friend, Jake, finds out her mom, Josi on the floor, who has not left her room as well as her bed in the last 5 years. Feather immediately gets help for her mother who is obese and as result Josi had to be craned out of the room. Later in the hospital, Feather finds out that her mother is diabetic and has only a few months to live, so she decides to fix her parents' broken relationship. But sadly her parents, both her mom and dad are not that much interested to fix their already faded away relationship. Moroever, Josi is in no mood to lose her weight or to feel better, and that is when Feather chances upon a box of untold past, and that takes the wind out of her chest. Feather can't believe the lies that her parents have fed her over the years and not to mention, the village where she lives, also knows about it and that's why they always turned a bling eye towards her mom's condition. Can Feather make her mother get better? And with that upcoming swimming championship, can Feather win her battles?

This is the kind of book that every teenager and every parent must give it a read, as this empowering story will not only inspire the struggling souls but will also enlighten every readers' minds and souls. The story is absolutely brilliant and power enough to impact lives, although some of the things are not depicted under sensitive or thoughtful light, especially the gay relationship, yet the family relationships and issues with obesity and depression are very much well addressed in the story line. This absorbing story simply stole my heart away, and especially the bright and extremely mature protagonist, whose sweetness yet her determination makes her one hell of a kickass young heroine of this book.

The writing style is extremely exquisite and articulate and is laced with enough emotions to move the readers deeply, and not only that, the prose is also very easy to comprehend with. The narrative is wrapped tightly with sensitivity and sympathy that will only make the readers contemplate with the characters' plight and also the dialogues are penned in a realistic manner. The pacing is really fast, although the only flaw of this book is that it lacks a bit of depth about certain key characters, as a result, it feels quite incomplete upon reading the book.

The characters are well developed, laced with enough realism in their demeanor to make them relatable in the eyes of the readers. The main character, Feather, is a mature girl, despite of her tender age, yet her determination to get her mom better and her shock and her fight against her own family's lies is strikingly depicted by the author. Feather is a thoughtful and brave young girl, and her struggles with her family are flawlessly penned by the author. Feather is like an epitome for every other young girls with dreams and infinite battles to fight everyday. The rest of the characters felt very dull, as they lacked depth, especially, Josi, who could have been explored more and that would have made her very realistic and interesting.

In a nutshell, this is a must read and very poignant book that will only inspire and enlighten young souls who have every day family drama and struggles to fight with, besides their own personal dreams and challenges.


Verdict: An extremely engrossing contemporary young adult book about family problems, eating disorder, ambitions and depressions.

Courtesy: Thanks to the publishers from Harper Collins India for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
I was brought up in Germany, France and England by a mother who never stopped telling stories. From the moment I was old enough to hold a pen, I set about writing my own, often late into the night – or behind my Maths textbook at school. My maiden name is Virginia Woods: I was named after two great women, Virginia Wade and Virginia Woolf, in the hope I would be a writer and a tennis star. My early years were those of a scribbling, rain-loving child who prayed for lightning to strike my tennis coach.
After studying at Oxford, I started writing regularly whilst working as an English Teacher and Housemistress.
I write contemporary fiction which tackles social issues we face today, all through the lens of family life.
My debut novel, 'What Milo Saw,' came out in 2014: it reflects the humour and tragedy of contemporary Britain through four very different voices: 9 year old Milo, 92 year old Lou (Milo’s Gran), 27 year old Sandy (Milo’s mum) and 24 year old Tripi (a Syrian refugee). It explores a range of issues from the nursing home crisis in the UK, coping as a single mum, being a refugee to living with a disability - Milo has a degenerative eye condition called Retinitis Pigementosa which means he has no periphery vision - but, paradoxically, he picks up on more of what's going on than those around him, especially in his Gran's nursing home.
My second novel, 'The Astonishing Return of Norah Wells' came out in January 2016: it tells the story of a mother who walked out on her young family and came back six years later expecting to pick up where she left off . The novel takes place over a May bank holiday and, like Milo, is told through several points of view: Willa (7), Ella (14), Norah (The Mother Who Left), Fay (The Mother Who Stayed) and Adam - the dad. It's a real family drama and I hope that it will lead to some interesting discussions amongst my readers about what it means to be a mum today.
I'm working on my third novel, 'Born To Be Yours', which will be out in January 2017: once again, it's a family drama set in contemporary Britain, with a focus on international adoption.
I live in Berkshire with my husband, Hugh, my little girl, Tennessee Skye, and my two cats, Vi and Seb. I love to write in coffee shops and I walk every day, which is as much part of my creative process as putting words on the page. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that readers are enjoying my stories.
Visit her here



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