#TuesdayBookBlog ‘Half a World Away’ by @MikeGayle #BookReview

Today an uplifting and complex novel about disfunctional families, birth and adopted parents, and the emotional ties that bind siblings.

Blurb

Strangers living worlds apart.
Strangers with nothing in common.

But it wasn’t always that way…

Kerry Hayes is a single mum, living on a tough south London estate. She provides for her son by cleaning houses she could never hope to afford. Taken into care as a child, Kerry cannot ever forget her past.

Noah Martineau is a successful barrister with a beautiful wife, daughter and home in fashionable Primrose Hill. Adopted as a child, Noah always looks forward, never back.

When Kerry reaches out to the sibling she lost on the day they were torn apart as children, she sets in motion a chain of events that will have life-changing consequences for them both.

My Review

Half a World Away is a touching story about a brother and a sister (same mother different father) separated at a young age and taken into the foster system.

Years later, when they meet again as adults, under complex personal circumstances, their lives have taken drastically different directions, but the biological and emotional connection remains. Their bond as sibings is undenieable and strong enough to see them through a devasting crisis.

The main characters have birth, foster and adopted parents, and yet the birth parents were the least supportive. It made me think about the nature versus nurture debate, and whether our DNA has anything to do with who we will become, as opposed to our life experiences and the affection of those who love us in spite of not sharing any biological factors.

The novel will make readers laugh, smile and cry. A moving and uplifting read. Set in the streets of London, which is always a treat.

More reviews by Luccia here!