Jenny Downham

Spanning three generations of women in one family, Jenny sensitively addresses dementia, single motherhood and teenage angst.

Unbecoming

Katie only meets her Grandmother Mary for the first time when she is seventeen and by that point Mary is almost completely lost to dementia. And as her only living relatives, Katies small broken family are forced to care for her. Katie can see something in her a spark that shes missing in her own life but her mother Caroline Marys own daughter hates her. But why? As time goes on snippets of Marys life are revealed to Katie during her brief moments of lucidity and a long kept family secret is at last revealed. Unbecoming celebrates life in a way no other book has done before. The difficulties of dealing with dementia are expertly placed alongside teenage angst and single motherhood and though many issues are tackled this is not an issue book, it is a book to love.

abbie j

** spoiler alert **
           Unbecoming is a very touching book about family secrets and finding out the truth about yourself and the people closest to you. 

Katie, the main character of the book, is very relatable for me as a young lesbian. For her to go from internally struggling with her identity but then being brave and 'unbecoming' what everyone thought of her was inspiring and I think young questioning teens would really benefit from reading Katie's perspective.

Katie's relationship with Simona was quite confusing for me and I would have liked a less ambiguous ending rather than such an open one. Did they see each other after Simona moved away? I want to know. I did like Simona as a character though and I loved how she treated Mary on their visits to the café. I just wish their relationship had been a bigger aspect of the book.

Mary, another of the protagonists, was someone who I could not relate to regarding her experiences and yet she was probably my favourite character of the whole book. She was constantly misunderstood and her want for a better life was ignored but she never wallowed in self pity. What struck me the most about Mary is that even though she had gone through so much heartbreak in her life she was still the most joyful character in the novel. I loved Mary's chapters of her life as a child and her heart-wrenching letters to Pat about Caroline and I wish she had taken up more of the book. 

Pat was a character I sympathised with quite a lot. I do think her life was sad and unfair but what she did to both Mary and Caroline was unacceptable in my opinion. She was quite selfish in her responses to her sister and seemed quite emotionally abusive to her 'daughter'.

Caroline is the only character I had a major problem with. She was an incredibly controlling, toxic mother and she kept secrets from her family that I still don't understand the reason for. She was always stressed and the communication between her and her children was nonexistent. Then she just up and disappears on her two children (again) and leaves them to look after their unstable grandmother. What kind of parent does that? I don't like her and I couldn't sympathise with her either. The way she controlled Katie and the way she treated Mary were horrible and I find her to be a very selfish character. She was also incredibly hypocritical as she seemed to hate her mother for what she was like when she was younger and yet as the book goes on the things she did are revealed which show that she has no right to judge her mother. I'd say Caroline was worse that her mother. 

Overall, I liked this book a lot and would recommend it to anyone who likes books about a little bit of family drama and finding out the truth.

International bestseller Jenny Downham's new novel celebrates life across 3 generations of women! A truly powerful multigenerational novel from international bestseller Jenny Downham that celebrates life in a way no other book has done before. Spanning three generations of women in one family, Jenny sensitively addresses dementia, single motherhood and teenage angst.

Jessica 

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  As a note, a printed galley of this novel was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way. 


Three women, three generations, three secrets–Unbecoming is all of these things. Jenny Downham portrays three different voices in such an incredibly touching way that their stories are not something you’ll forget too quickly. Unbecoming is a portrait of a life lived, of a life catching up to you and of a life only just beginning.

It is so much more than that. It is vivid, unforgettable–Downham weaves together a life of memories and new beginnings; the way a family bonds or breaks and so much more. There’s a dreamy and delightful tone to its prose that makes it a fast read. Unbecoming touches on so many topics that I can’t begin to explain it in just a few paragraphs–the complexities of life and family are present and truthful to the world outside of the novel.

This is it, guys. One of the best young adult books of the year. One of the best young adult books of all time. God, it was just so breathtaking and wow. 

Continued: BOOKEDJ

Unbecoming

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