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Below the Big Blue Sky
1. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Basically a child is conceived to save her dying sister. An incredible story, beautifully told and I cried throughout.
2. Tell The Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt. I met Carol at a French book fair and fell in love with her. Then I read about June losing her uncle to AIDS in the 80’s, ugly cried and loved her all the more.
3. Wonder by R.J. Palacio. A boy with a rare genetic condition goes to school for the first time. I sobbed my heart out for this beautiful and bullied boy. This is a book that should be on the school curriculum.
4. Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck tells the story of two displaced migrant ranch workers moving from place to place looking for work in the Great Depression. I defy anyone to read that book and not be utterly moved.
5. I Wanted You To Know by Laura Pearson. I just met her at a lunch and she gave me her book about a young new mother who discovers she only has months to live. I lost the entire weekend to it. Devastating and life affirming at the same time.
Below the Big Blue Sky by Anna McPartlin is available now for pre-order, published in hardback, eBook and audiobook, 23rd July (Zaffre, £12.99)