the making of us book review

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THE MAKING OF US

by Lisa Jewell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 14, 2012

In this odd and lovely story, Jewell makes believable the connection between these strangers, bound by biology and longing.

Filled with heart and humor, this latest from British bestseller Jewell raises all those big questions about identity, family and fitting in.

What if your father was a sperm donor and you had unknown siblings out there. Would you want to know them? This is the question three Londoners have to confront in this poignant novel. Twenty-nine-year-old Lydia lives in a mansion in St. John’s Wood thanks to a clever chemical invention she sold for millions. She lives a minimal existence with minimalist furniture (plus a cat, housekeeper and personal trainer so perfect-looking he must be gay). This shiny life does little to make up for the wretchedness of her poor Welsh childhood: Her mother, Glenys, used a sperm donor when she sensed her macho husband, Trevor, was infertile, but after her mysterious death, Trevor despised the daughter he suspected wasn’t his. Out of the blue, Lydia receives an anonymous package that tells her she was conceived by a sperm donor—shocking yet somehow vindicating news; she never felt she belonged. She finds a website that tracks donor siblings and there discovers Dean and Robyn. Dean is a 21-year-old sad sack and screw-up. After his girlfriend dies giving birth to their daughter, Dean’s response is to run from the hospital and get high. But in his ongoing stupor, he does manage to get on the donor sibling registry and finds Lydia. The two meet—both loners in possession of startling good looks—and feel immediately at home. Last in line is Robyn who, unlike Dean and Lydia, has two loving parents and a happy life (she’s a gorgeous med student) but is driven to the registry because she has an irrational fear that her boyfriend—soul mate really—may be her brother. Meanwhile, a man is dying in a hospice, wishing he had made more of his life and confessing to his friend that he has children out there—children she could find for him.

Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-4516-0911-0

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Atria

Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012

FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP

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BOOK REVIEW

by Lisa Jewell

THE NIGHTINGALE

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 3, 2015

Still, a respectful and absorbing page-turner.

Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II.

In 1995, an elderly unnamed widow is moving into an Oregon nursing home on the urging of her controlling son, Julien, a surgeon. This trajectory is interrupted when she receives an invitation to return to France to attend a ceremony honoring  passeurs : people who aided the escape of others during the war. Cut to spring, 1940: Viann has said goodbye to husband Antoine, who's off to hold the Maginot line against invading Germans. She returns to tending her small farm, Le Jardin, in the Loire Valley, teaching at the local school and coping with daughter Sophie’s adolescent rebellion. Soon, that world is upended: The Germans march into Paris and refugees flee south, overrunning Viann’s land. Her long-estranged younger sister, Isabelle, who has been kicked out of multiple convent schools, is sent to Le Jardin by Julien, their father in Paris, a drunken, decidedly unpaternal Great War veteran. As the depredations increase in the occupied zone—food rationing, systematic looting, and the billeting of a German officer, Capt. Beck, at Le Jardin—Isabelle’s outspokenness is a liability. She joins the Resistance, volunteering for dangerous duty: shepherding downed Allied airmen across the  Pyrenees to Spain. Code-named the Nightingale, Isabelle will rescue many before she's captured. Meanwhile, Viann’s journey from passive to active resistance is less dramatic but no less wrenching. Hannah vividly demonstrates how the Nazis, through starvation, intimidation and barbarity both casual and calculated, demoralized the French, engineering a community collapse that enabled the deportations and deaths of more than 70,000 Jews. Hannah’s proven storytelling skills are ideally suited to depicting such cataclysmic events, but her tendency to sentimentalize undermines the gravitas of this tale.

Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-312-57722-3

Page Count: 448

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014

HISTORICAL FICTION | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP

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by Kristin Hannah

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Kirkus Reviews' Best Books Of 2019

THE LAST LETTER

by Rebecca Yarros ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 26, 2019

A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.

A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.

Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ ( Wilder , 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.

Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Entangled: Amara

Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

GENERAL ROMANCE | ROMANCE | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

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by Rebecca Yarros

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How did that book end? Book spoilers to jog your memory.

Lisa Jewell | The Making of Us

The Book: 

The Making of Us by Lisa Jewell , 2011

The Characters: 

Lydia Dean  Robyn

The Plot (from Goodreads ):

Lydia, Dean, and Robyn don’t know one another. Yet. Each is facing difficult challenges. Lydia is still wearing the scars from her traumatic childhood. Wealthy and successful, she leads a lonely and disjointed existence. Dean is a young, unemployed, single dad whose life is going nowhere. Robyn is eighteen. Gorgeous, popular, and intelligent, she entered her first year of college confident of her dream to become a pediatrician. Now she’s failing her classes. Now she’s falling in love for the first time.

Lydia, Dean, and Robyn live very different lives, but each of them, independently, has always felt that something was missing. What they don’t know is that a letter is about to arrive that will turn their lives upside down. It is a letter containing a secret—one that will bind them together and show them what love and family and friendship really mean.

The Ending:

Lydia met her Uncle Rod, and he was able to tell her what happened to her mother. Her dad got angry thinking that Glenys had cheated on him with Rod, and as they fought Glenys fell off the balcony and died. Lydia’s baby brother had died from SIDS. 

The Review: 

This was another book where I was pretty sure I’d read it before, but couldn’t remember at all what happened. Plus it was immediately available on Overdrive, so here we are!

I am a huge fan of Lisa Jewell’s more recent thrillers, but I’ll read anything she has written. The Making of Us is one of her older family dramas, which she also does very well. She is a master of painting complex, compelling characters that draw you into their stories and make the reader eager to find out more about them. 

Read this if you liked: 

• A Million Reasons Why by Jessica Strawser
• Little Pieces of Me by Allison Hammer
• The Half Sister by Sandie Jones
• The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell

Check out my reviews of Lisa Jewell ’s other books: 

• Invisible Girl
• Then She Was Gone
• The House We Grew Up In

Do you find yourself revisiting titles you’ve read in the past to remind yourself how they end? Or do you somehow keep a record of the endings to avoid re-reading? Talk to me in the comments!

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The Making of Us

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LIST PRICE $18.99

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Table of Contents

• Rave and Reviews

About The Book

About the author.

Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including The Family Upstairs and Then She Was Gone , as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Her novels have sold over 10 million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into twenty-nine languages. Connect with her on Twitter @LisaJewellUK, on Instagram @LisaJewellUK, and on Facebook @LisaJewellOfficial.

Product Details

• Publisher: Atria Books (August 14, 2012)
• Length: 416 pages
• ISBN13: 9781451609110

Browse Related Books

• Fiction > Thrillers > Domestic
• Fiction > Women

Raves and Reviews

“Compelling and heartbreaking. . . . I couldn't put it down.”

– Jojo Moyes, New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You

“Utterly brilliant!”

– Marian Keyes, New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Mercy Close

“An engaging tale of choices made and not made, families lost and families gained, this should appeal to fans of Jewell’s work as well as such authors as Jodi Picoult.”

“Jewell’s moving novel immerses readers in the lives of these unique characters through the universal themes of family and a search for belonging. Jewell has written a compelling and entertaining novel.”

– Publishers Weekly

“Filled with heart and humor, this latest from British bestseller Jewell raises all those big questions about identity, family and fitting in.”

– Kirkus Reviews

“The stories of Lydia, Dean, and Robyn are each engrossing on their own; combined with the over-arching storyline of their father, they make for an irresistible read. Anyone who has ever pondered the nature of family or imagined finding a long-lost sibling will be captivated by The Making of Us.”

– Shelf Awareness.com

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The Making of Us

• 4.2 • 192 Ratings

Publisher Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of None of This Is True comes a “compelling and heartbreaking” (Jojo Moyes) novel about three strangers who are brought together by the father they never knew. Lydia, Dean, and Robyn don’t know one another. Yet. Each is facing difficult challenges. Lydia is still wearing the scars from her traumatic childhood. Wealthy and successful, she leads a lonely and disjointed existence. Dean is a young, unemployed, single dad whose life is going nowhere. Robyn is eighteen. Gorgeous, popular, and intelligent, she entered her first year of college confident of her dream to become a pediatrician. Now she’s failing her classes. Now she’s falling in love for the first time. Lydia, Dean, and Robyn live very different lives, but each of them, independently, has always felt that something was missing. What they don’t know is that a letter is about to arrive that will turn their lives upside down. It is a letter containing a secret—one that will bind them together and show them what love and family and friendship really mean. “Filled with heart and humor” ( Kirkus Reviews ), The Making of Us is a literary gem that will remind readers of the miracles that happen when we bring life into the world and share our lives with those we love.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY JUN 25, 2012

In U.K. bestseller Jewell's ninth novel, readers meet Daniel, a man with a secret: as a sperm donor, he fathered four children. Now, dying from cancer at 53, he wants to find them and enlists his friend Maggie to help. The wealthy Lydia is lonely and disconnected from others; the 21-year-old Dean is a confused young father, coping with parenthood after the recent death of his girlfriend; Robin, a young woman determined to be a doctor, is enmeshed in a love affair with a writer. She knows the story of her conception and has become concerned that her boyfriend, Jack, who looks, thinks, and acts like her, could be her sibling; "It was surely so improbable as to be entirely impossible," she thinks, yet also acknowledges that it "might not in fact be pure random coincidence" that she and Jack would be drawn together. The identity of Daniel's fourth child remains a mystery that is only solved when Lydia, Dean, and Robin become determined to find their father. Jewell's moving novel immerses readers in the lives of these unique characters through the universal themes of family and a search for belonging. While the pseudo-incest thread is unnecessary, it's also quite funny. Jewell (After the Party) has written a compelling and entertaining novel.

Customer Reviews

Hard to follow at first but then fell in love with it.

A sweet, heartfelt read

If you can suspend your disbelief a bit, this is a sweet, heartfelt read. I was fully engrossed in this book and read it over the course of a few days. Sometimes things were a bit too perfectly coincidental and I wish certain characters had been more developed, but overall this book left me with a full heart. I love all of Lisa Jewell’s books and will continue to work through them!

Love her, this book not so much

Lately I cannot get enough of Lisa Newell’s writing. I devour her novels in two days. This particular novel fell short of her others. I found myself skipping entire chapters as some characters seemed unnecessary and some whole passages were just repetitive. All of her others I absolutely adored.

The Making of Us by Lisa Jewell

Lydia, Robyn and Dean are three completely different people with only one thing in common. According to an online donor registry, they were all fathered by the same sperm donor. Some have known of their heritage for a while, others are just finding out, but none of them knew the other two existed. Until now. At the same time, their donor father's life is slipping away. His last wish is to know of the impact his 'noble' act may have had, the legacy it is leaving on the world. And in this information age it's not that hard to trace your roots, unless, that is, you're searching for people who don't want to be found.

I got the feeling that Jewell wasn't expecting her readers to see themselves reflected in Lydia, Robyn or Dean. The characters are all slightly extreme, much more than the average person on the street, and yet there was something about each of them that endeared them to me, even Dean who, to be quite honest, I would never be friends with in real life.

The story rotates view point with every chapter, with the siblings getting most of the talk time but auxiliary characters also getting their odd moment in the spotlight. I thought this worked extremely well, and the characters were sufficiently different that they never merged into one, but stood out distinctly. I especially liked the different characters' reactions to the same event, for example when Dean first saw Lydia's home and realised how completely different the two worlds they inhabited were.

I'd read some of Jewell's other books, and always found them perfectly alright, if not that special. I was expecting this one to be similar, so was completely blown away. It is a winning read from page 1 to page 390, that has you rooting for the characters and willing them into each others' lives...before it is too late. Though in theory the subject matter could be serious – the impact of finding out you're not who you think you are, or that you're not as unique as you might like to think, for example – the book manages to turn this around, and while it doesn't make light of the situation, it is still a light enough read. I honestly couldn't tell what was coming next, and broke my own rule of treating books well, breaking the spine so I could keep reading it at the gym rather than putting it down for the duration of my workout.

This is such a true to life tale. I loved the hysteria of Robyn when she thought she had broken the law; the pragmatism of Lydia; the hopelessness that Dean feels with his lot in life. It felt more like talking to a friend than reading a magazine's 'Real Life' section, as it's neither shocking nor too outrageous, and I think the slightly open end adds to this, as just as in the real world things continue to grow and progress rather than terminating neatly. As one part of the story ends, the opportunities for the trio are just beginning.

The one character with whom I was less taken was Bendicks. Though I understood what he brought to the story for the most part, showing Lydia another side of herself, I thought he was over developed as a minor character but under developed as a full on supporting one. He was there enough for me to expect more to happen with him, though I was pleased on Lydia's behalf with what occured at the end.

For the most part I enjoyed the pace of this book. There were times when I wanted things to hurry along, but the characters mirrored my impatience which of course helped. You could say it sped up too much in parts, but I would disagree. I think these sorts of discoveries are the kind that would pick up momentum as they go, and for it to be steadily paced throughout would be unrealistic.

This is a book I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. It is funny and dry and a little heart warming, without being sappy. It is a chunky story but kept me hooked throughout, and I'd love to see a 5 years later follow up with the same characters. Knowing Jewell's style, maybe that's not totally out of the question.

Many thanks go to the publishers for sending us this book.

For another take on the impact a donor baby may have on a family, have a look at The Birthdays by Heidi Pitlor .

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Just send us an email and we'll put the best up on the site.

• Lisa Jewell
• Reviewed by Zoe Morris
• 4.5 Star Reviews
• General Fiction

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Review – The Making of Us by Lisa Jewell

By Novelicious

This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.

In a hospice in Bury St Edmunds, a man called Daniel is slowly fading away. His friend Maggie sits with him every day; she holds his hand and she listens to the story of his life, to his regrets and to his secrets. And then he tells her about the children he has never met and never will. He talks of them wistfully. His legacy, he calls them.

Lydia, Dean and Robyn don't know each other. Yet. And they are all facing difficult changes. Lydia is still wearing the scars from her traumatic childhood and although she is wealthy and successful, her life is lonely and disjointed. Dean is a young man, burdened with unexpected responsibility, whose life is going nowhere. And Robyn wants to be a doctor, just like her father – a man she's never met. But is her whole life built on an illusion?

Three people leading three very different lives. All lost. All looking for something. But when they slowly find their way into each other’s lives, everything starts to change …

Unfortunately, I just didn’t love this book right from the start. Although the first couple of chapters were interesting I had a slightly niggling worry that this book might not be for me. I am so glad that I kept reading because after the first few chapters I really didn’t want to put it down. However, this wasn’t the light hearted or funny book that I had initially expected. In fact, Lisa Jewell has managed to jam pack this novel with a lot of serious, sad, traumatic, emotional and life changing events for all of the characters. Nonetheless, this was still far from being a weepy read, it was also a book about personal discovery, family relationships and the need to have people in your life that are dependable and above all else love you for who you really are.

Personally,  it took me a while to adjust to the continual changing character perspectives, one chapter would be about Lydia, then Dean, then Robyn or Maggie and not in any specific order, which to begin with I found a tad confusing about who was who and which story matched which character. I also wanted to stick with one character’s story to only find out that I would have to wait several more chapters for that thread to get picked up again. However, after I was caught up in the story I didn’t find that this was much of a problem and towards the middle of the book all the character threads began to come together and the story had a much more connected feel.

Although there were quite a few very different main characters in this book each individual story was well formed and didn’t feel rushed. I loved the characters of Lydia, Robyn and Maggie instantly as they were likable and easy to believe. However, with Dean we are introduced to him as he is making a mess of his life and some of his actions are difficult to condone, although you could understand why he does what he does. Despite this by the end of the book I was rooting for all of them all to have a happy ending. The ending of the book in my opinion was brilliantly done, but I am certainly not going to tell whether it was a happy ending or not. However, I will say that it felt like a realistic and natural ending to the story, which certainly didn’t disappoint.

I highly recommend this book, it is a story that although I finished a few days ago has still stuck with me and I am sure that it will for a while to come yet. At the heart of this novel was a charming story about love in all its many forms.

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The Making of Us: A Novel by Lisa Jewell

Introduction

From the New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone comes a “compelling and heartbreaking” (Jojo Moyes) novel about three strangers who are brought together by the father they never knew. Lydia, Dean, and Robyn don’t know one another. Yet. Each is facing difficult challenges. Lydia is still wearing the scars from her traumatic childhood. Wealthy and successful, she leads a lonely and disjointed existence. Dean is a young, unemployed, single dad whose life is going nowhere. Robyn is eighteen. Gorgeous, popular, and intelligent, she entered her first year of college confident of her dream to become a pediatrician. Now she’s failing her classes. Now she’s falling in love for the first time. Lydia, Dean, and Robyn live very different lives, but each of them, independently, has always felt that something was missing. What they don’t know is that a letter is about to arrive that will turn their lives upside down. It is a letter containing a secret—one that will bind them together and show them what love and family and friendship really mean. “Filled with heart and humor” ( Kirkus Reviews ), The Making of Us is a literary gem that will remind readers of the miracles that happen when we bring life into the world and share our lives with those we love.

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9781451609110

Lisa Jewell

Atria Books

14 August 2012

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The Making of Us Paperback – 12 May 2011

• Print length 400 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Century
• Publication date 12 May 2011
• Dimensions 15.3 x 2.9 x 23.3 cm
• ISBN-10 1846055741
• ISBN-13 978-1846055744
• See all details

Product description

Book description, about the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Century (12 May 2011)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1846055741
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1846055744
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.3 x 2.9 x 23.3 cm
• 99,735 in Literary Fiction (Books)
• 101,080 in Contemporary Fiction (Books)
• 115,578 in Contemporary Romance (Books)

About the author

Lisa jewell.

LISA JEWELL was born in London in 1968.

Her first novel, Ralph's Party, was the best- selling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, The Family Remains and The Night She Disappeared, all of which were Richard & Judy Book Club picks.

Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over thirty languages. She lives in north London with her husband and two daughters.

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• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 55% 29% 11% 3% 2% 3%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 55% 29% 11% 3% 2% 2%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings, help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the writing quality compelling, wonderful, and believable. They also describe the emotional content as heartwarming, inspiring, touching, and moving. Readers praise the themes as extremely insightful into human feelings and emotions. Opinions are mixed on the ending, with some finding it lovely and sad, while others say it's not thrilling or one of Lisa's best.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the writing quality of the book unique, interesting, and good. They also appreciate the way the story unfolds, alternating between the very different lives of the characters. Readers also mention that the concept is clever and the story is nicely told.

"...They became very special to me.The story, as a whole, is fascinating . It opens up a world that many of us will never have experienced...." Read more

"...I really enjoyed the way it unfolded , alternating between the very different lives of the very different characters, then jumping back just at the..." Read more

"...The story was unhurried but not slow , it gives the reader time to get a real feel for each of these people and how their lives have been affected by..." Read more

"...she excels at is here - the empathy for her characters, the compelling storytelling , the pacy dialogue - however, given what she's already published..." Read more

Customers find the writing style wonderful, great for light reading, and subtle. They also say the book is about nature versus nurture very subtly.

"... Lisa's writing is so descriptive . Her talent, to me, stems from the way in which she can richly describe something in a minimal amount of words...." Read more

"...A really good story, well told , and satisfying. What more could you want!" Read more

"...totally original story, with wonderful characters and as usual first class writing ...." Read more

"...The characters were believable and well-drawn , and the nature by which they came together and their relationships evolved was sweet without being..." Read more

Customers find the characters in the book believable.

"...Lisa Jewell has produced a very touching story with loveable characters and has introduced an original storyline to boot...." Read more

"...Much of what she excels at is here - the empathy for her characters , the compelling storytelling, the pacy dialogue - however, given what she's..." Read more

"...The characters were believable and well-drawn, and the nature by which they came together and their relationships evolved was sweet without being..." Read more

"A fantastic premise for a story - really well written, believable characters , both heart warming and entirely tragic in equal measure!..." Read more

Customers find the emotional content heartwarming, satisfying, and lovely. They also say the characters are lovable, and the story keeps their interest from the start. Customers also say it's entertaining, enjoyable on a sunny day, and gripping until the end. They mention that the relationship between Lydia and the author is touching and moving.

"...A really good story, well told, and satisfying . What more could you want!" Read more

"...for a story - really well written, believable characters, both heart warming and entirely tragic in equal measure!..." Read more

"...This book tells of joy , sadness, hope & more than anything, love of a good family - the most important thing of all." Read more

"...in the book were sad or not very nice, I think the overall feel and message was lovely , and I loved the emerging bond between the siblings." Read more

Customers find the book extremely insightful into human feelings and emotions. They also say the siblings story is touching and lovely. Readers also mention the book is about family values and complex relationships. They describe the subject as fascinating and compelling.

"...Robyn has it all, lovely parents , a great future ahead of her and a good circle of friends. Life couldn't be better really, or could it?..." Read more

"...nature by which they came together and their relationships evolved was sweet without being saccharine ...." Read more

" Really lovely book about family values and probably a bit about all of us! Beautifully written by the the most talented authoress." Read more

"Lisa is such a remarkable author, she gives such a deep insight into each & every character & makes them seem real & relevant to us readers...." Read more

Customers find the book very unique, clever, and heartwarming. They also say it's a nicely told love story.

"...It's a really interesting concept , and not a subject matter I've read about before, so I was intrigued from the beginning...." Read more

"...and the cover with it's bright turquoise colours looked as usual very appealing ...." Read more

"...While Nicholls' was a clever concept and a nicely told love story, in Jewell's book there is a deeper message to be found...." Read more

"...I really liked the story, very unique and heart warming. Lisa never disappoints" Read more

Customers are mixed about the ending. Some find it lovely, heartwarming, and tragic in equal measure. Others say it's not thrilling, mawkish, uninspiring, disjointed, and corny.

"...Yes, it was a wee bit mawkish in the end , as some of her other books were, but let's face it, when you read Lisa Jewell you are expecting a feel-..." Read more

"...written, believable characters, both heart warming and entirely tragic in equal measure !..." Read more

"...The plot was too neat, (there are too many coincidences), and by the end I was left with a distinct sense that Jewell could do more, be bolder, more..." Read more

"I found this a bit long and rambling. There wasn’t really a story , more a series of snapshots of the characters’ miserable lives...." Read more

Customers are mixed about the plot predictability. Some find them real and believable, while others say they're corny, predictable, and repetitive.

"...the characters very sympathetic and found the ending a bit tame - very predictable . This is my first Lisa Jewell...." Read more

"...I liked all the characters and found them all so real and believable...." Read more

" Excessively repetitive and with a writing style that often dragged." Read more

"...This was very well written and I enjoyed it incredibly - a true , thick novel full of drama's, touching moments and complex relationships...." Read more

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Trump Reposts Crude Sexual Remark About Harris on Truth Social

Though the former president has a history of making crass insults about opponents, the reposts signal his willingness to continue to shatter longstanding political norms.

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By Michael Gold

• Aug. 28, 2024

Former President Donald J. Trump used his social-media website on Wednesday to amplify a crude remark about Vice President Kamala Harris that suggested Ms. Harris traded sexual favors to help her political career.

The post, by another user on Truth Social, was an image of Ms. Harris and Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump’s opponent in 2016. The text read: “Funny how blowjobs impacted both their careers differently…”

The remark was a reference to Mrs. Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, and the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and a right-wing contention that Ms. Harris’s romantic relationship with Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco whom she dated in the mid-1990s while he was speaker of the California State Assembly, fueled her political rise.

Mr. Trump’s repost was the second time in 10 days that the former president shared content from his personal account making sexually oriented attacks on Ms. Harris. Though he has a history of making crass insults about his opponents, the reposts signal Mr. Trump’s willingness to continue to shatter longstanding norms of political speech.

The image Mr. Trump shared on Wednesday morning was another user’s screenshot of a post on X, and it was a reply to an unrelated video clip Mr. Trump had posted on Tuesday night.

Mr. Trump reposted the image as part of a series of 30 reposts he made on Truth Social between 8:02 and 8:32 a.m. on Wednesday, including several posts with references to the QAnon conspiracy theory movement and its slogan. Mr. Trump also reposted photos that called for the prosecution or imprisoning of top Democrats and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The former president has vowed to direct federal prosecutors to investigate his political enemies if elected.

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Illinois man convicted in fatal stabbing of child welfare worker attacked during home visit

FILE - Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell discusses the stabbing death of state child welfare worker Diedre Silas during a news conference, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in Springfield, Ill. (AP Photo/John O’Connor, File)

FILE - This Jan. 5, 2022, photo provided by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in Springfield, Ill., shows Benjamin H. Reed. (Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois man accused of stabbing a state child welfare worker to death as she was making a home visit to check on children has been found guilty but mentally ill in her killing.

Sangamon County Circuit Judge John Madonia convicted Benjamin Howard Reed on Thursday of first-degree murder in the killing of Deidre Silas, who was a child protection specialist for the Department of Children and Family Services.

Maldonia called Silas’ slaying “one of the most brutal and heinous” cases he’s seen in his legal career, The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reported.

Silas was slain in January 2022 as she was responding to a call about possibly endangered children at a home in Thayer, about 23 miles (37 kilometers) south of Springfield.

Authorities said Reed, 35, stabbed Silas, a 36-year-old mother of two children, 43 times in his home and also bludgeoned her to death with a sledgehammer.

Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser said in a statement that the judge found that Reed “had a mental illness as defined by Illinois law that was present at the time of the murder, leading to a guilty but mentally ill verdict.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Deidre Silas and with Child Protection Workers across the state who work each day to keep the most vulnerable members of our community safe,” he added. “The Court’s ruling today holds the defendant accountable for this brutal murder.

Silas’ death prompted the passage of two Illinois laws that address the safety of child welfare workers.

Reed opted for a bench trial instead of a jury trial late last year. His sentencing is set for Nov. 15 and he faces 20 years to life in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Silas was called to the home to investigate “a report of abuse and neglect” against the parents of two children living at the residence. While the report didn’t initially involve Reed or his wife’s four children and stepchildren, Silas had a responsibility to assess all six children who lived at the home with six adults.

Witnesses testified that Reed became agitated when he learned that Silas was a DCFS worker and that he said the state agency had taken away children from several of his relatives.

Reed’s attorney, Mark Wykoff, said his client has suffered from “a lifetime of mental illness.” Despite Thursday’s guilty verdict, he said he found solace knowing that Reed would now get the treatment he needed in the Illinois Department of Correction.

Wykoff added that “the result is tragic for the victim, for the victim’s family. It’s tragic for Mr. Reed.”

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The Making of Us: A Novel Kindle Edition

• Print length 414 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publisher Atria Books
• Publication date August 14, 2012
• File size 6145 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting Enabled
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About the author, excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved., product details.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0061Q6CDG
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria Books; Reprint edition (August 14, 2012)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 14, 2012
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 6145 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 414 pages
• #389 in Women's New Adult & College Fiction
• #831 in Domestic Thrillers (Kindle Store)
• #1,396 in Domestic Thrillers (Books)

About the author

Lisa jewell.

LISA JEWELL was born in London in 1968.

Her first novel, Ralph's Party, was the best- selling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, The Family Remains and The Night She Disappeared, all of which were Richard & Judy Book Club picks.

Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over thirty languages. She lives in north London with her husband and two daughters.

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 51% 29% 15% 4% 2% 51%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 51% 29% 15% 4% 2% 29%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 51% 29% 15% 4% 2% 15%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 51% 29% 15% 4% 2% 4%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 51% 29% 15% 4% 2% 2%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the plot wonderful and interesting. They also describe the characters as well developed and interesting, and the writing quality as very well written. Readers describe the story as sweet. However, some feel the content is not as interesting, plodding along, and contrived.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the plot entertaining, good, and unusual. They also say the book is one of the best chick lit writers.

"... They are all so wonderful and certainly deserving of 5 stars! So I’m off to book 5!" Read more

"...Here is my reaction after reading it: The book is a good read but not nearly as good as "The House We Grew Up In"...." Read more

" excellent story , very well written." Read more

"...Grabbed me from the first page and kept me hooked until the end . There are a handful of writers I pick up and read no matter the content...." Read more

Customers find the characters in the book well developed, interesting, and brilliant. They also say the book has surprises and makes them truly care about the characters.

"...I love the comprehensive chapters detailing each character , the descriptions of quaint little villages throughout England, and of course, the stories..." Read more

"...One thing that has always impressed me about Jewell is her ability to create characters ...." Read more

"...plot, as you can read that above, I really feel each character is well developed and interesting , even including such side characters as the parents..." Read more

"...The characters are less developed , the writing not quite as crisp, but mostly the lighter chick-lit/romance roots of the author show through...." Read more

Customers find the writing quality of the book excellent and well written.

"excellent story, very well written ." Read more

"... Nobody read like a caricature . I especially think Jewell did well with slowly and naturally portraying the emotional growth of new, young dad Dean...." Read more

"...The characters are less developed, the writing not quite as crisp , but mostly the lighter chick-lit/romance roots of the author show through...." Read more

"...All in all a well written story , just wish there had been something really surprising about one of the characters." Read more

Customers find the story sweet, awe inspiring, and heartfelt. They also say the ending is the most amazing.

"...The ending of this book was the most awe inspiring !" Read more

"This is a nice easy read. Good story with donor children as topic . I kept waiting for a big surprise or twist...." Read more

"...just a bit too "story book" for my liking but it was a warmhearted story that was perfect for a lighter summer read." Read more

"...was pleasantly surprised because this story was fascinating and incredibly heartfelt ...." Read more

Customers find the content of the book not interesting, lacking in climax, and unbalanced. They also say the story is predictable, oversimplified, and contrived.

"...There are gaps in the story that left me wondering why and how, particularly in Maggie's storyline...." Read more

"...This story seemed very unbalanced . Much time was spent on Lydia and almost as much on Dean, but significantly less was spent on Robyn...." Read more

"...The comments were gratuitous and almost bizarre ...." Read more

"...It is a twisting, turning story with some unexpected surprises and best of all, brilliant characterization that made me truly care about its..." Read more

Customers find the tone of the book negative, dull, confusing, and depressing. They also say the comments are gratuitous and bizarre.

"...The comments were gratuitous and almost bizarre...." Read more

"I am truly a Lisa Jewell fan. This book may be my least favorite. Kind of depressing ...." Read more

"...this and disliked the main characters, and found the tone of the book to be negative and dull. I moved on to another book." Read more

"Found this to be confusing and a bit depressing ." Read more

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