Everything is Beautiful: 'the most uplifting book of the year' Good Housekeeping

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This book is being marketed at fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and I can see why. I actually had the same reading experience with both books, despite the many differences between the two main characters. I became heavily invested in the wellbeing of Amy (as I did Eleanor), and I wanted to see her character grow and heal from her trauma. EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL is heart-warming and thought-provoking, a mystery with a difference. It's beautifully constructed around the everyday items its central character hoards, as she slowly uncovers the secrets of her past. I loved it. -- Andrea Mara, author of THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL

But this isn’t what we see as readers in the beginning of the story. And that is what is so perplexing to us as readers. We form attachments with a particular memory, or a particular moment in time, a particular point in space, and we try our best to not let go. Whether with tangible objects that fill up our homes, or intangible photos that fill up our phones, or even just memories, is up to us. Amy Ashton had everything (or some version of it, at least) one minute, and the next minute, nothing at all. Now, at least she has her bottles and birds, potted plants and lighters, cookbooks and slow cookers. And, she has the memories associated with them. The digitally native, all year round, online literature and books festival, with new content released every week is a free-for-all-users festival. I liked the way this story was told. A chapter from the present day interspersed with chapters from Amy’s past that explain how she ended up where she did as a hoarder. It is easy to empathise with the likeable Amy. Put quite simply, I cared what happened to her and was with her every step of the way. Richard is a great character and Charles is a delight, though sometimes he does sound somewhat older than the child he is. Meet Amy Ashton. Amy’s life has been dormant and stagnant ever since the disappearance of her boyfriend Tim and best friend Chantel eleven years ago. Eleven. Long. Years. Ago. The mystery of what happened to Tim and Chantel is an integral part of the plot and, is what drives Amy's obsession with " things". And by "things", I mean just that, tea cups; newspapers; wine bottles; vases; disposable lighters and ashtrays (even though Amy doesn't smoke); garden pots; oh, and bird figurines just to name a few. She has filled her house so full of things she can no longer see the floor in most rooms, she sleeps on the sofa because her bed is full of 'things'. She has left herself thin slivers of space so that she is still able to move throughout the house, albeit perilously.

An intriguing mystery with a quirky but lovable protagonist - funny, sad and perceptive. This will appeal to fans of The Girl on the Train and Elizabeth is Missing. -- L C Tyler, author of A Cruel Necessity I’m also more than happy to report that while I had assumed upon starting (and would have most likely been A-okay with it) that this was going to be a romance it ended up not being one at all. I definitely would have made a gripe about magic penises fixing broken women being a trope I don’t love, but again I usually get over that reaction because I like feel good crap as much as the next gal. But as I said yaaaaay for this not being a kissing book at all. Now her house is overflowing with the objects she loves - soon there'll be no room for Amy at all. But when a family move in next door, a chance discovery unearths a mystery long since buried and Amy's carefully curated life begins to unravel.”

Now her house is overflowing with the objects she loves - soon there'll be no room for Amy at all. But when a family move in next door, a chance discovery unearths a mystery, and Amy's carefully curated life begins to unravel. If she can find the courage to face her past, might the future she thought she'd lost still be hers for the taking? That is until a new family moves in next door and with them two rambunctious little boys. A friendship begins first with the children and then with their father Richard. Richard can see Amy is in pain and he will do whatever it takes to be there for her. Eleanor Ray has an MA in English Literature from Edinburgh University. She lives in London with her husband and two young children. I’m giving this four stars. I was surprised by the genre bending sort of storyline and truly appreciate any author willing to write about potentially offensive subject matter. I think Eleanor Ray did a bang up job with Amy Ashton. I would have given it 4.5 had the original title and cover been kept . . . .

Christmas Gifts

I relished it from start to finish. A beautiful book. Thought-provoking. Evocative. A treat to read’ The narrator is Amy Ashton (3rd person POV). She is such an unusual heroine. She is quirky and kind. She had a trauma happen to her 11 years before. And now her house is completely full of "treasures". Amy can't believe it, she won't believe it, she doesn't want to believe it......until she does. What other logical explanation is there? I used to like to watch those reality shows about hoarders. I'm not sure what the fascination was but I would wonder how these people got to such a point in their lives that their living conditions were unsafe and unsanitary. I liked the character of Amy and loved the descriptions of some of the mixed media artwork that she created in the past. It was very heartening to see the changes in Amy as the story progressed and the ending was perfect. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to a friend. I didn't really like all of the stuff from the past. But the things that I did like a lot: 1) Richard and his kids (the new neighbors), and 2) the mystery (of what happened to her boyfriend and best friend).