This Child Of Mine

Thank you to Penguin Books for sending me a paperback copy in return for an honest review.

Wow. What an emotional and compelling read we get from Sinead Moriarty with This Child of Mine!

I was hooked from the very beginning and felt myself changing my mind about who I felt for throughout the book. It seemed that I should have disliked both mothers, but I couldn't, I empathised with each and felt they had both suffered greatly for such vastly different past experiences. But I really wanted both to be righted for their past wrongs.

The writing flows effortlessly and the characters are so realistic and very raw - but for good reason. The past choices made by the characters are very dark and so emotionally devastating - yet this is in no way a depressing read. Add some great supporting characters that contribute wonderfully to the depth of the story and are either realistically lovely (Lexie!) or intensely annoying (Joan) in their own unique way! Sinead has balanced the strength of emotion alongside lots of wit and warmth and created an unforgettable read.

Moriarty left me questioning the morals and the differing perspectives of each and every one of us. It also makes the reader realise how one rash decision made a long time ago can alter life so dramatically, so many years later.

I love a book that when I've finished, I think about for a long time afterwards - This Child of Mine left me very pensive and I even discussed the `what if' issue with my husband - I needed to hear someone else's opinion as mine was so changeable with each page turned!

Overall, a gripping, intense read that sets off a roller coaster of emotions throughout. This Child of Mine will pull you in and not let you go until the every last page! Fantastic.

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*** I was granted this book to read and review from Penguin Books (UK) via Net Galley ***

I love this author and had no doubt I would enjoy this book, but I didn't realize how much I would love it and how it would take a hold of my day to day life, I wanted to read this at every moment I got.

Without giving too much away about the story. How can you justify taking a child away from its Mother without it being called Abduction, kidnapped, or simply stolen? How can a stranger judge another Mother in a moment and just decide to walk off with that child?

What is the impact on the Mother who thinks her child is dad, the domino effect on the rest of the family?
There are some intense situation in this book that reels your emotions.

......Then, when that child is grown, and she finds out, how will she react?

This is not about a child that has been taken and been misused or abused, she is a well adjusted teenager that had a good head on her shoulders, been loved, cared for by the "Mother" who took her. What dilemma's come out of this.

I was just enthralled throughout the book, wondering how it would end.

I'll remember this book forever.

Its a MUST read.

Thank you to Penguin Ireland for the unexpected but welcomed review copy.

Sophie is a happy 18-year-old living in London with Anna, her Irish mother. Anna has devoted her life to Sophie. It may be just the two of them but Anna has more than enough love to give. Sophie has everything she could ever need.
Laura is a not-so-happy artist. She too has a daughter, Mandy. But Laura is haunted by the loss of her first child, Jody. Happy-go-lucky as she is, Mandy lives in Jody's shadow and wonders why her mother can never let go.

Oh where to start. Well first of all you should know that by the end of this book I was emotionally wrung out and had a major book hangover - so that probably tells you all you need to know about this one, however I shall of course expand.

For me it was all about the children not the mothers. Both Anna and Laura are polar opposites when it comes to parenting - both made extraordinarily bad choices which haunt them, both attempt to make amends, and their story is compelling - however I spent the majority of the read wanting to smother both of them with a pillow for the simple fact that the situation they find themselves in is entirely of their own making. Now of course no-one goes through life making perfect unselfish choices, and I forgave Laura hers - but could not really forgive Anna even though I can understand utterly what drove her. Hey the very fact that this novel set off this type of emotional response in me tells you something as well....

Their children are the key - they live very much with the choices of their parents (don't we all in a way?) and so my heart and soul was with them for the entire reading experience. Sophie is lovely - balanced, well adjusted, friendly and kind - but one act committed by her mother many years ago is about to rip her life apart and send her down an emotional rabbit hole. Mandy is a stroppy teenager with a very authentic outlook on life for her age, again choices made by her mother form her very being - and she is about to join Sophie down that rabbit hole...

This novel covered a myriad of issues - maternal love, the need for a child, nature v nurture, all done in a very real, very addictive, extremely fascinating rollercoaster ride of emotional turmoil. Intelligent impassioned prose and a very real voice given to each of the characters involved means that once started it is almost impossible to put down until you are done.

And I have to give an honourable mention to Lexie - a character once removed in a way from the drama unfolding around her - she absolutely became one of my favourite people ever to emerge from fiction. I wish she was not a character and that I knew her in real life.

Some suspension of disbelief is required here - without giving anything away I can say that some of the parts of this story seemed unlikely in the extreme, especially when it came to consequences for actions - however that is not what this story is about at its heart so allow it that foible...

Highly Recommended.