Saturdays at Noon by Rachel Marks
Page length: 418 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publication Date: 6 February 2020
Publisher: Penguin
Source: ARC via NetGalley
Stars: 5 out of 5
Link: AMAZON (UK)
ABOUT SATURDAYS AT NOON
When Jake and Emily meet, sparks fly.
And not the good kind . . .
Emily just wants to keep the world away.
She doesn't want anyone to know all the ways her life is messed up.
Going to anger management every Saturday, talking to strangers, was not part of the plan.
Jake just wants to keep his family together.
He's also messed everything up.
Going to anger management is now his best hope for bonding with his six-year-old Alfie.
Emily can't understand why Jake - who seems to have it all - is even there.
Jake can't understand why Alfie - who never likes strangers - lights up around spikey Emily.
Everything they think about each other is about to change.
But can they change how they feel about themselves?
My Review:
A joyous read and an amazing debut!
The story is told from three perspectives - the main two being Jake and Emily - with a few from Alfie, Jake's son.
Jake and Emily meet at anger management class – Jake is there to save his marriage and Emily is there for an unspecified reason. Neither feels they should be there. Feeling defensive, they immediately get off on the wrong foot.
Jake and his wife are finding it difficult to deal with their (not-yet diagnosed but obviously) autistic son. Emily is dealing with the fallout of a difficult childhood. When chance allows Emily and Jake to meet outside of their anger management sessions it is clear to Jake that Emily is good and patient with Alfie, he offers her a short-term job as Alfie's nanny.
Throughout the book we find out how they all cope with their respective lives and what made them 'angry' enough to send them to anger management therapy. It's an insight into the difficulties of relationships, parenting and coping.
The story is beautiful and it brought me to tears on more than one occasion.
I absolutely loved this book. I didn't want it to end - please can we have a part two!
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Thank you so much the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary electronic copy in return for an honest review.