- Another Life by Jodie Chapman -

Published : April 1st 2021

Publisher : Michael Joseph

Format : Kindle, Audio, Hardback

Genre : Contemporary

Review #28 /2021

{ 𝐚𝐝: 𝐩𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 / 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐜 }

* All words highlighted in Grey are affiliate links to either purchase from a range of sellers or links to the authors sites. Where ever possible I will try and provide different versions of the book on all purchase sites.

Synopsis

She could be the girl dancing on tables one night, and the next she'd be hiding in the shadows.

Just when I thought I understood her, she would melt away and become a completely new person, and I'd have to start all over again.

That's how it was with Anna.

Nick and Anna work the same summer job at their local cinema. Anna is mysterious, beautiful, and from a very different world to Nick.

She's grown up preparing for the end of days, in a tightly-controlled existence where Christmas, getting drunk and sex before marriage are all off-limits.

So when Nick comes into her life, Anna falls passionately in love. Their shared world burns with poetry and music, cigarettes and conversation - hints of the people they hope to become.

But Anna, on the cusp of adulthood, is afraid to give up everything she's ever believed in, and everyone she's ever loved. She walks away, and Nick doesn't stop her.

Years later, a tragedy draws Anna back into Nick's life.

But rekindling their relationship leaves Anna and Nick facing a terrible choice between a love that's endured decades, and the promises they've made to others along the way.

Thank you @MichaelJoseph @EllaWatkins for this advanced copy

My Review

Told entirely from Nicks perspective, this story is all about a love between two teenagers. The pair meet at the cinema that they both work at, he is the quiet type, she not so much. Something sparks between them and they begin a summer long love affair that is doomed from the very beginning.

Anna is a Jehovah Witness, she comes from a very strictly religious family and seeing Nick is not sonneting that would be allowed, so she lies. She tells her family she is out with friends from the same church when in reality her best friend is not religious and neither are the friends she and Nick hang out with all summer.

Anna is upfront and honest to Nick from the beginning. She makes it clear that she has to marry someone from her church and that this is not a permanent thing, but something for them to enjoy while it lasts. Nick goes along with this trying to convince himself he can let her go at the end of the summer.

The story jumps back and fourth over four decades. You get to really know what Nicks childhood was like with his little brother Sal and gradually understand why the pair are the way they are. They both have emotional issues from their childhood and this reflects in their adult life.

Ultimately this is a love story about two people that are destined to be together but life gets in the way and does everything it can to keep them apart.

Why I Loved It

I loved this story. The first chapter totally blew me away and had me emotionally gripped from the very beginning. This is at times a heart breaking story, showing the raw sides to all families, each one different in their upbringing and beliefs and the struggles that go on behind closed doors.

Nicks character was a great narrator. That boy gave his heart to Anna from the first day he met her and never let her go. Anna on the other hand I had to warm too. I totally understand her being confirmed to her religion but when I read about the beliefs themselves I cant say I agreed with them at all.

I will definitely be looking out for the tv version of this show and highly recommend this book for an easy, yet emotional read.

Rating

★★★★☆

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Meet the author

The author of Another Life on Ernest Hemingway, Mad Men, and how fainting in the surgery room spelled the end of her career as a dental nurse.

Jodie’s first love was always writing, but she got side-tracked over the years. After spending over a decade as a wedding photographer, she picked up her pen for the first time since school and began to write a story.

That story became her debut novel Another Life, publishing spring 2021 with Penguin Michael Joseph.

Jodie lives in a Kent village with her husband, three sons and cat Annie Hall.