We’re delighted to be sharing Elena’s thoughts about The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside by Jessica Ryn.
Dawn Elisabeth Brightside has been running from her past for twenty-two years and two months, precisely.
So when she is offered a bed in St Jude’s Hostel for the Homeless, it means so much more than just a roof over her head.
But with St Jude’s threatened with closure, Dawn worries that everything is about to crumble around her all over again.
Perhaps, with a little help from her new friends, she can find a way to save this light in the darkness?
And maybe, just maybe, Dawn will finally have a place to call home….
The utterly charming feel-good debut novel of 2020 to curl up with.
Book Review
St Jude’s in Dover is a homeless shelter, housing a number of the city’s homeless in temporary accommodation, while simultaneously helping its residents find employment, a place to call home and in some cases drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
Grace works there as a manager alongside her colleague, Peter, himself an ex resident. She loves her job, is kind and has recently lost her beloved grandmother.
One of the residents recently approved for a stay there is Dawn Brightside. Dawn is a positive, bubbly person who obviously has some issues with her mental health – creating fantasies as a way to try and mask the awful things that have happened to her.
St Jude’s is a lifeline not just for the residents but also for its employees and when it becomes clear that it may close due to chronic underfunding they all pull together to try to keep their beloved home open.
I loved this book for lots of reasons. The way it portrays the homeless as real people with actual stories, hopes and dreams. It deals sensitively with themes of mental health, family and love. The two main female characters Grace and Dawn are likeable, flawed, human and caring and in Dawn’s case her positivity is infectious. She really does always look on the bright side!
I loved that despite the challenging subject matter there are moments I smiled through the tears with some truly hilarious moments.
Grace’s relationship with Jack, a resident, is heart-warming and hopeful and the friendships between the residents and how they have each other’s backs is wonderful.
The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside made me look at homelessness with empathy, sympathy and hope and as a very real issue.
A thoroughly enjoyable read.
Jessica Ryn is a former midwife and homeless resettlement worker. She has recently completed her MA in Creative Writing at CCCU, and her stories have been shortlisted for the Kimberly Chambers’ Kickstarter Award, Wordsmag and the Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing. When she’s not scribbling away, Jessica can be found meandering through the woods, reading stories that pull on the feel-strings and eating yoghurt-covered skittles. Jessica lives in Dover with her husband, two children and their high-spirited springer spaniel. The Extraordinary Hope of Dawn Brightside is her debut novel. Twitter @jessryn1
