Today it's the last day of the fantastic BlogTour for This Could Change Everything by Jill Mansell. This book is a chocolate button in a world full of carrot slices, a little bit of sugar in a bitter tasting environment. It reminds us of the fact we control our own destinies and that we should all make the time for small acts of kindness.
About the Author
Jill Mansell is the author of over twenty Sunday Times bestsellers including The One You Really Want, To The Moon and Back, You and Me, Always and Meet Me At Beachcomber Bay. Take a Chance On Me won the RNA's Romantic Comedy Prize, and in 2015 the RNA presented Jill with an outstanding achievement award.
Jill's personal favourite amongst her novels is Three Amazing Things About You, which is about cystic fibrosis and organ donation; to her great delight, many people have joined the organ donor register as a direct result of reading this novel.
Jill started writing fiction while working in the NHS, after she read a magazine article that inspired her to join a local creative writing class. Her first book was published in 1991 and she is now a full-time novelist. She is one of the few who still write their books by hand, like a leftover from the dark ages. She lives in Bristol with her family.
Follow @JillMansell @headlinepg on Twitter, Follow OfficialJillMansell on Facebook, Visit jillmansell.co.uk, Buy This Could Change Everything
About the book
On the one hand, if Essie hadn't written that letter - the one that only her best friend was meant to see - then she'd still be living like an actual proper grown-up, tucked up with Paul in his picture-perfect cottage, maybe even planning their wedding...
On the other hand (if her true feelings hadn't accidentally taken the internet by storm, that is) she wouldn't have moved into the attic flat on the square. She would never have met Conor. Or got to know Lucas...
And she wouldn't have found herself falling in love with someone she really, really shouldn't fall in love with...
Have you ever watched hyperlink cinema, a film with multiple interrelated storylines? This Could Change Everything is exactly like that, a book where characters occupy independent stories, but are connected via common links or a character. The author weaves these stories, as if she is creating a perfect basket of emotional turmoil, kindness and love.
The star of this memorable set of characters is most definitely Zillah, and one of the most important themes of this book starts with her. It's the concept of paying it forward. Doing a good deed and not expecting anything in return for it, but instead expecting the benefactor of the deed to do something kind for someone else in return and so on.
Her need to help others is probably driven by a feeling of guilt she has about her own sometimes selfish choices in life. All of that seems unimportant in comparison to all the people she is helping in the here and now. Including a young woman called Essie, who doesn't recognise the abusive traits in her boyfriend, a young thief who needs a push in the right direction or a young man who can't see the forest for all the trees.
It's a read I know I will be recommending, especially to readers who seek a little respite from the stark reality of life, and who need to believe in love and the nicer side of humanity. Mansell knows how to present the messier side of relationships, which includes the mistakes and the wrong paths we take, but ultimately brings the threads together to create a smorgasbord of hope.
This book is a chocolate button in a world full of carrot slices, a little bit of sugar in a bitter tasting environment. It reminds us of the fact we control our own destinies and that we should all make the time for small acts of kindness.
Buy This Could Change Everything at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Publisher: Headline
No comments:
Post a Comment