Asking For a Friend – Kate Mallinder

Today I am delighted to kick off the blog tour for Kate Mallinder’s second teen book, ‘Asking For a Friend.’ After loving Kate’s confident and assured debut, ‘Summer of No Regrets,’ I was excited to get my hands on an early copy of this book and it didn’t disappoint. Agnes is desperately missing her sister Rose who has moved to Weston Super Mare, no longer can she rely on the structure that she provides and she feels adrift. When she discovers her bus companion Hattie’s aunt has a guest house there, a plan begins to formulate in her mind and she soon convinces Hattie and Jake to come away with her for a ‘study break.’ But none of them will admit their true motivation for wanting to escape from normality. In this week they’ll discover things about each other and themselves, whilst finally understanding the meaning of true friendship.

Kate has assembled an intriguing and diverse cast of characters whose lives the reader immediately become caught up in. Once again she writes from each of their points of views in an insightful and thoughtful way, seamlessly weaving their stories together. She doesn’t shy away from dealing with the difficulties that teenagers face growing up, from friendship issues, fear of illness,  to being bullied on social media. Each of the character’s circumstances is explored with the most wonderful empathy allowing us to feel truly immersed in their journeys.  Kate has a real talent for getting into the hearts and minds of teens, understanding their vulnerabilities and the challenges they face. There are so many moments of sadness, joy and drama that make this book a compelling and uplifting read. It’s the perfect escape and is bound to delight young teens looking for something true to life.

Competition

I have two signed copies of, ‘Asking For a Friend,’ to giveaway, to enter comment on this blog post and for an extra entry RT the review on Twitter. UK only Ends 4th June 2020.

 

Blog Tour

Why not join in with the rest of the blog tour for more reviews and posts?

Thank you to Kate and Firefly for inviting me to join in with the blog tour and for sending me a gifted copy of this wonderful book. ‘Asking For a Friend,’ is released on 4th June and is available to buy online or from you local bookshop.