Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher Atlantic Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book prior to publication.
Expected: 9 July 2020
Everyone in Amy's life seems to be getting married, having children and settling down (or so Instagram tells her), and she feels like she's falling behind.
So, when her long-term boyfriend surprises her with a dream holiday, she thinks he's going to finally pop the Big Question. But the dream turns into a nightmare when, instead, she finds herself on the set of a Big Brother-style reality television show, The Shelf.
Along with five other women, Amy is brutally dumped live on TV and must compete in a series of humiliating and obnoxious tasks in the hope of being crowned 'The Keeper'.
While inside the house, will Amy learn that there are worse things than being 'left on the shelf'?
The review
I absolutely loved this and I knew I would right from the very first page when I read:
“Jane’s posted another close-up of the twins. This morning they’re smeared in a rank blend of banana and carrot...Amy resists the urge to post a vomit emoji with #pleasespareus. She wonders what would happen if she was honest online. She’d be cast aside as a kid-hater, which would be unfair given that she quite likes them....What she doesn’t love is being force-subscribed to a daily update of dribble, snot and tears.”
Having been subjected to the same myself recently I could totally relate. In fact this book could have been written for me – a fellow ‘shelfish’ - as I could totally relate to so many of the refreshingly real, contemporary and feminist view points and life lessons. Providing the source of inspiration, for her debut novel, are author Helly Acton’s own experiences as a single woman in her early thirties torn between settling down and savouring her independence.
Basically everyone in main character Amy's life seems to be getting married, having children and settling down, and she feels the pressure to keep up without ever questioning whether that’s actually what she wants. That is until her long-term boyfriend brutally dumps her live on TV’s latest reality show ‘The Shelf’ where she must compete in a series of tasks and therapy sessions in the hope of being transformed into a 'Keeper'.
With the show’s resident therapist, Dr Hicks’, help (and the baby challenge) Amy realises that “trying to find someone to do life with” doesn’t necessarily have to mean mortgages, marriage and kids but could be seeing things and having experiences. In fact maybe the love of her life isn’t a man at all – “maybe it’s a secret beach in Asia somewhere. Or maybe it’s me, as self-centred as that sounds.”
I totally agree Amy and share many of Amy’s (new) life goals:
• Start a blog tick
• Travel the world tick
• Have adventures tick
• Find love tick
• Be free
• Have a family
• Make a home tick
Although it’s Amy’s best friend Sarah (and not the celebrity life coaches) that best sum up my feelings ‘on doing life’ with the sentiment:
“You don’t need to rush into anything. Hell you wouldn’t need to if you were seventy-two! Live life for yourself....If you meet someone who wants what you want, great. If you don’t, those are the cards you’ve been dealt.”
Anyway enough with the life lessons before you think this is some kind of bra-burning feminist or life-affirming self-help book because as you can tell from the opening it’s really not. It’s light-hearted, deeply satirical and brilliantly hilarious. I was literally crying with laughter at the baby challenge when housemate Hattie reluctantly leaves her baby with Jackie who accidentally dislocates her arm, handing her back with the limb reattached the wrong way round and a near-detached head.
Such a great cast of diverse characters too, particularly in the form of the housemates – Selfish Jackie, Distant Gemma, Boring Hattie, Bitter Kathy, Easy Lauren and of course Desperate Amy. In fact I was actually more #TeamJackie or #TeamLauren than Amy.
Yes there was a lot of parallels to Love Island, Big Brother and the lesser known Channel 5’s ‘Make or Break’ – and yes I’m a reality TV aficionado. But, that just made it even more relatable and imaginable, so no bad thing especially as it was done in a satirical way.
So, to round-up in case you didn’t get it I absolutely loved this and can not recommend enough!!!
The author
In her mid-twenties, Helly took a career break to travel returning home six years later to find herself the last of her single friends. Helly uses her experience as a single woman in her early thirties, torn between settling down and savouring her independence, as a source of inspiration for her stories. Follow @hellyacton on Twitter or visit www.hellyacton.com to find out more.
No comments:
Post a Comment