If you're after an easy-to-read romance with a dash of teen angst then Jane Crittenden's debut novel, Worlds Apart is perfect for you.
Amy moved to New Zealand with her family as a pregnant eighteen-year-old and has made a life for herself and her daughter in Auckland, New Zealand. As she is nearly finished with a day of celebration at her cafe on the beach in walks her high school sweetheart.
The novel switches between four friends in the sixth form (16-18 years of age for people who aren't familiar with the UK schooling system) in the UK to the present time in Auckland, NZ. As teens Amy, Olivia, Chris and Paul are in Sixth Form together and hang out outside of school. Amy and Chris are in love with each other, Olivia is in love with Chris and Paul is mooning over Olivia.
When Amy finds herself pregnant as her parents are planning to emigrate to New Zealand she ends up writing a letter to Chris to let him know about the pregnancy and gives it to her beloved dad to deliver. She then moves to New Zealand with her parents and waits for him to follow. He doesn't and she ends up raising her daughter as a single mum and also using her baking talent to make a name for her cafe set beachfront in Auckland.
There are some twists and misunderstandings abound in this book, along with a second chance at romance - can the flames between first loves be reignited 18 years later?
It was definitely an easy read so if you're looking for something non-taxing to read while relaxing this fits the bill. I read it in less than a day. I think if you like authors such as Jo Jo Moyes or Barbara Davis I think you'll enjoy this book.
As a side note, I found it interesting as to how different a personality her best friend in her late 30s, Shannon, was to her best friend in her late teens, Olivia, was. It made me think about how different my circle of friends has become in different stages of my life.
I read this as part of my Amazon Prime membership, if you enjoy getting sneak peeks at new books as well as access to the Prime Reading as well as Amazon Prime videos then this is definitely something to consider getting. You can watch every episode of Jack Ryan, among other things.
If you've read Worlds Apart, let me know what you thought in the comments.
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Interesting point you made about friends, Louanne. It clearly brought back a memory of my uncle telling me on my first day of college that "the friends you had in high school will not be the same friends you will have during college, and many of your college friends will not be the same friends as you marry and go through life as a wife and mother". It didn't make a lot of sense at first as an 18 year old; but I never forgot it and he was definitely right! Thanks for your review of this book. The Auckland, NZ background alone sounds like an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteI do love a book I can read in just a day! Most often, I read a book over several days, but there are definitely times when a shorter story appeals to me. I would imagine Amy would have changed some herself in 18 years, especially since she was a single mother.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great “beach read” novel. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Louanne!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book - I had no idea there was such a thing as prime reading? What! I would use that - I guess you download that into an ereader or an app? I have to check this out.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting read.
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