My Thoughts On… Paper Avalanche by Lisa Williamson

My Thoughts On… Paper Avalanche by Lisa Williamson

Hi All!
Today is my stop on the blog tour for Paper Avalanche and I am here today with a review of this amazing book!

Title: Paper Avalanche
Author: Lisa Williamson
Publisher: David Fickling Books
Published: 3rd January 2019
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Source:: Review Copy from Publisher
Add It: Amazon UK Goodreads.
Summary:Ro Snow is the girl no-one notices – she doesn’t go to parties and she doesn’t have friends over. Besides, even if anyone tried to call on her they’d discover that no. 56 Arcadia Avenue isn’t her house at all – it’s her decoy house. Because her real home, a few doors down, is a tip of rubbish and paper and she can’t remember the colour of the carpet it’s been so long since she’s seen it. Her mum, Bonnie, is a hoarder and Ro lives in terror of social services finding out about the squalor she is forced to live in. But when Noah moves in next door, Ro can’t hide the truth from him and she finds herself opening up for the first time in her life. And then there’s the new girl at school, the adorable and persistent Tanvi who can see that carefully hidden something-special in Ro too. And it’s not long before Ro’s carefully constructed castle of loneliness is crumbling down around her, but if she’s out in the open, so is her painstakingly guarded secret …

My Thoughts

The above is a real message I sent to a friend after finishing this book. It was an incredible read that I very much enjoyed. For a little bit of context, I very rarely read books in one sitting! I tend to have a little bit of an attention problem. Always itching, aftera certain amount of time – usually an hour – to go and do something else. Even if it’s just for a little while before continuing. But with this book, I didn’t even notice the hours tick by until it was suddenly 1am and I was near the end. This book well and truly captured me and I cannot help but love every single thing about it. Lisa Williamson has quite literally outdone herself with this book and I must absolutely insist that you give it a read.

Ro is a girl who simply wants to get on with her life without anyone interfering. She does her best to stay invisible, especially at school. So this book is obviously the start of where people start to see her – or namely, one person in particular. Tanvi has returned to school after a few years away, battling cancer. She is in remission and she is a force of nature. And she attaches herself to Ro, quite firmly too despite Ro’s insistence that she does not want Tanvi there. What follows is a story of a friendship blossoming, Ro realising that having friends isn’t always bad, in fact, it’s actually pretty amazing. She learns how to accept friendship wile also learning who she is and where she fits in the world. Lisa Williamson has created a wonderful book surrounded by amazing characters.

And what characters they are! I absolutely loved Ro. I loved how she starts with a little bit of anxiety. When in reality, Ro is a big worrier, carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders and not really understanding or knowing how to relive the burden she is faced with. But she is also incredibly strong, having spent years worrying about it all without cracking under the pressure. Add in Tanvi, a bubbly free-spirited girl who just makes you smile continuously. She is quite literally a breath of fresh air and I absolutely loved these two girls together. At the start Ro was so deadpan with Tanvi, quite literally trying to get her to leave her alone before she finally accepts that the girl isn’t going anywhere. Their friendship truly made this book so incredible. There was so much else going on in this book but it is this which truly makes it shine.

So I’ve been trying very hard not to gush too much in this review – I don’t think I managed it. This is one of those books that I want everyone to read but I’m worried that I’ve used too many hyperbole’s and it will eventually put people off. So I wanted to end by saying that I really think you should give this book a try. It is an amazing book that will keep you hooked until the very end. The characters are strong, vibrant and feel like they walk off the page. The story is intense, emotional and hopeful, all at the same time. I will admit, I cried quite a bit throughout the final third of the book but the ending made it all worth it. So, if you’re a lover of contemporary YA and you’re looking for the next book to fall in love with – make sure you pick this one up!

About the Author

Lisa was born in Nottingham in 1980. She spent most of her childhood drawing, daydreaming and making up stories in her head (but never getting round to writing them down). As a teenager she was bitten by the acting bug and at 19 moved to London to study drama at university.

Following graduation, Lisa adopted the stage name of Lisa Cassidy and spent several happy and chaotic years occasionally getting paid to pretend to be other people. Between acting roles she worked as an office temp and started making up stories all over again, only this time she had a go at writing them down.

Lisa lives in Walthamstow, where she is lucky enough to split her time between writing and acting. In her spare time she reads a lot of books, continues to daydream and eats way too much ice cream.

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