Ellen sees the world differently from everyone else, but living in a tiny town in the north-east of England, in a world on the cusp of war, no one has time for an orphaned girl who seems a little strange. When she is taken in to look after a rich, elderly widow all seems to be going better, despite the musty curtains and her aging employer completely out of touch with the world. But pregnancy out of wedlock spoils all this, and Ellen is unable to cope. How will Jack, her son, survive - alone in the world as his mother was? Can they eventually find their way back to each other?
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[Through the windscreen, smeared with drizzle and dead flies, is the sea]***
(@FleetReads, 4 April 2020, 384 pages, ebook, copy from the publisher via @annecater and voluntarily reviewed, #BlogTour 27 June)
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I wanted to take part in the Blog Tour for the book as soon as I saw the gorgeous cover. I couldn't wait to read it and I'm so glad I did. I had a great time with this book. This book is split into sections with the narrator alternating between Ellen and Jack, the son she had as an unmarried woman. I enjoyed Ellen's sections the most. She's such a real character and I really rooted for her. She's strong and independent and fierce in the face of the scandal unleashed when she falls pregnant. My heart broke for her a little. Jack is a great character as well, he's inherited some of his mother's personality. I enjoyed the links between both of their stories and how they gradually weave together. This is worth a read.
