In this long, thoughtful novel, Jenny Downham presents the archetypal trio of maiden, mother and crone in a very modern situation. Before the book begins, Katie, the teenage heroine, has impulsively kissed her best friend, Esme. Now she faces difficult questions about her sexuality and homophobic taunting from Esme’s new friends. They refuse to let the incident go, even when Katie joins them in laughing at Simona, another girl at school who is known to be gay.
Oblivious to all this, Katie’s mother, Caroline, pushes her to excel at school and to look after her younger brother, Chris, who has special needs. Stressed and unhappy, Caroline is near breaking point when, at the start of the book, her estranged mother, Mary, suddenly reappears. Mary has dementia and her partner, Jack, has just died, leaving her with no possible carer – except Caroline. But this is not a gloomy book. It’s a rich, complex story full of interesting relationships.
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