Learning To Swim

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I enjoyed it, although I found it rather long and it had what would now probably be described as a bit of a YA feel to it. It is a great examination of how the decisions we made, and the people we meet, in our teenage years can shape our future (and of how things don't always turn out as we expect). She manages to do this by describing emotions and a sense of place efficiently without over-describing and for me, balances this perfectly with the amount of dialogue.

The book is set in London and revolves around Abigail and her friendship with Frances who come from very different families. Clare’s writing makes me feel like I am there as the character, and therefore invested in what happens. As she becomes more deeply enmeshed within the Radley family, things take an unfortunate turn coinciding with a shocking discovery about her own family. I really enjoyed the first half of this book, however I did feel it dragged on a little, and I wasn't entirely satisfied with the ending which felt somewhat anticlimactic.

Publication dates are subject to change (although this is an extremely uncommon occurrence overall). Abigail Jex never expected to see any of the Radley household again, and thought that she'd banished the ghost of her life with them, and the catastrophe that ended it, but thirteen years later, a chance encounter forces her to acknowledge that the spell is far from broken. I did see a couple of the mini twists coming but that took little away from a thoroughly enjoyable book.

A pointless tragedy and exile to Australia dealt with two of them, while the others managed happy endings. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. I'm deducting half a star because Abigail's mother wasn't entirely consistent- but maybe she just naturally mellowed with age?The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. If I don't give the book five stars, it's because I feel that at the end things became slightly rushed - the subplot with Abigail's half-sister wasn't really given enough space, and the final section, dealing with Abigail's adult life and her reunion (twenty or so years on) with Rad, Frances's brother, seemed over a bit to quickly - a pity, as there was some wonderful writing in this section. Abigail Jex, a thirty-something cellist playing with a provincial orchestra, is surprised when, at a reception after one of her engagements, she meets Marcus Radley (Rad) - a face from her past and someone she has not seen for thirteen years. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. And I found it strange that she started spending all her time with the Radleys, not to mention the fact that she never spoke to Abigail again after she was broken-hearted and instead started going out with Rad all by herself.

An intelligent and escapist read - well written and funny" Daily Express "Modern, intelligently observed and highly original" Daily Mail "A spirited account of growing up and falling in love" Good Housekeeping "This delicious novel - is a joy from beginning to end - a perfect novel" Lisa Jewell "Engagingly written" Prima --This text refers to the paperback edition. The focus really is on Abigail's shifting relationship to those around her, and though the plot was a little rushed towards the end it had a hopeful quality to it that I found quite endearing.

I think it help reading this when I was in my thirties, that way you can really empathise with how life turns out for some of the characters. Although set in the 70s and 80s, it doesn't hark back to the cultures of the time but you get a feel for simpler times and the joy of an innocent childhood. While we get to glimpse this family from the outside, we also see into the life of Abigail and her family.

A light read, well written, but a somewhat unoriginal story - teenager drawn into the life of her school friend's eccentric family, with added romance and some family secrets, playing out over a couple of decades. Nothing is quite what eleven year old Abigail realised, and we watch as she slowly becomes aware of the shifting nature of her relationships. It’s about love, friendship, and different types of family dynamics and how people chose to hide their feelings or try to ignore them. I wish the author had spent more time developing the part of the story connected with Abigail's discovery of a previously unknown family member - but I cannot explain further for fear of spoiling the novel for those who have yet to read it.Perfect holiday reading, but I don't mean by that to disparage the writing or brand it as merely lightweight. It's not all comedy though - Chambers very movingly depicts Abigail's progression to adulthood, and the eventual weakening of her friendship with Frances Radley. And some of the cultural references seemed not to match the time setting: I assume the first part of the story was set in the 1970s but some of it seemed more typical of the 1950s/60s. In dramatic contrast to her own conventional family, the Radleys were extraordinary, captivating creatures transplanted from a bohemian corner of North London to out suburbia, and the young Abigail found herself drawn into their magic circle.