An emotive character focused coming-of-age exploring the breaking of generational cycles.
Having previously read one of Jane Lightbourne’s children’s books, A Tale Of Three Tabbies, I am already familiar with her ability to infuse text with emotion. This is a skill that has been applied to Hannah, a story that follows our eponymous main character through an unsettled childhood with a narcissistic father and through her reaching adulthood and the turbulent relationships she finds herself in thereafter. This book deals with a number of difficult topics as we see generational cycles struggle to assert themselves. Throughout Hannah’s story I felt sympathy for her. Her need to run from one bad situation, and stumbling into the next. We see the same cycles repeated in the side characters too, with Diana, though we hope that Hannah will manage to break the cycle and find a settled home.
This is a character focused novel that reflects on struggles to overcome your past and carve a future for yourself whilst within the present, while those around you, and the reader have a greater perspective, and understanding of the situation as a whole. This storyline is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster and I was glad of the hope filled ending. I think that it is an interesting read for fans of family dramas and literary fiction.