Book Review | Someone I Used To Know by Paige Toon

I’m delighted to be sharing my thoughts about Someone I Used To Know by Paige Toon.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster UK (24 Jun. 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1471198529
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1471198526

So much can change in half a lifetime… 
 
Then
 
At fifteen, George is the foster brother Leah never asked for. As the angry, troubled boy struggles to come to terms with his circumstances, Leah finds herself getting drawn closer to him.
 
Theo’s wealthy family have mysteriously pulled him out of boarding school and he’s now enrolled at the local state school with Leah and George. When their worlds collide that summer, the three teenagers form a bond they believe will be unbreakable. But life doesn’t always go to plan…
 
Now
 
Shocking news brings Leah back to Yorkshire, baby daughter in tow. But Emilie’s father Theo isn’t with them, and George has unexpectedly returned. After half a lifetime, have they healed the scars of their pasts? Will coming back home set their hearts in a different direction?

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Book Review

Paige Toon is one of my favourite authors and OMG, Someone I Used To Know is her best yet!

From the very first page through to the end, I’ve lived and breathed this story. 

I spent the last quarter of the story reading through my tears … and I had to stop reading for a while because it wasn’t what I was expecting and turned everything upside down. They weren’t all sad tears!

I loved the format of ‘then’ and ‘now.’  It helped me relate to (and come to love) Leah’s parents, Ivan and Carrie. 

They are foster parents that every looked after child needs with their unconditional positive regard and down to earth expectations. 

Having supported looked after children and their foster carers for many years in my previous role at school, I can tell you that Paige Toon has the behaviour and the social care system spot on. 

I loved the rituals Ivan and Carrie created.  They have such a long lasting impact. 

This format also helped me to get to know other characters and become emotionally attached to them.

I’m going to be pretty vague in talking about the characters because no spoilers!  

As well as Leah, George and Theo, other characters’ stories thread through theirs too.  Adults and children alike, all sparked my feelings! 

I loved the intensity of interactions – heart-wrenching scenes of saying goodbyes but also new starts, reaffirmed bonds and hope too.  An array of feelings!

I loved the settings.  The farm and the alpacas and cottage industry, the surrounding countryside and Torcross (took me back to a previous holiday) all felt very real and made me feel as if I was there, experiencing everything the characters did.

I’ve been thinking about my favourite scene and it has to be when Leah stands on the tomato tins in the kitchen.  It is such a low key and yet pivotal point in the story.  Although there’s the time when … and …  I think I have more than one 🙂

One thing that is highlighted is that whether a child is being fostered or being brought up by a birth parent(s), care-giver role models can be both positive and negative, unconditional or neglectful. Don’t make judgements on what you see on the surface …

Someone I Used To Know is a world that will draw you in and fill your heart with opposites: joy and sadness; anticipation and surprise; disgust and trust; sorrow and happiness; tears and laughter.  And when it ends, you’ll find it hard to let go. Thank goodness there is an epilogue!

You can probably tell I loved everything about this story! One of my top reads this year. Don’t miss it!

Sunday Times bestseller Paige Toon was born in 1975 and grew up between England, Australia and America. A philosophy graduate, she worked at teen, film and women’s magazines, before ending up at Heat magazine as Reviews Editor. Paige is married, has two small children and lives in Cambridge. She is the author of eighteen novels which have sold 1.5million copies worldwide. In 2016, The One We Fell in Love With, was selected for the WH Smith Zoella Book Club. Follow Paige at Twitter/IG @PaigeToonAuthor and sign up to the Hidden Paige at www.paigetoon.com.

Books by Paige Toon:

1. Lucy in the Sky
2. Johnny Be Good
3. Chasing Daisy
4. Pictures of Lily
5. Baby Be Mine
6. One Perfect Summer
7. The Longest Holiday
8. Thirteen Weddings
9. The Sun in her Eyes
10. The One We Fell In Love With
11. The Last Piece Of My Heart
12. Five Years From Now
13. If You Could Go Anywhere
14. The Minute I Saw You
15. Someone I Used To Know

Young Adult Series

1. The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson
2. I Knew You Were Trouble
3. All About The Hype

Short Stories

1. One Perfect Christmas
2. Johnny’s Girl
3. A Christmas Wedding
4. One Perfect Christmas and other stories