Toffee by Sarah Crossan

Genre: Contemporary
Author: Sarah Crossan
Published: May 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 416 {paperback}

Review on Goodreads

Thanks to Bloomsbury who sent me a copy in exchange for an honest review!

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Initial Thoughts Upon Finishing

This was such a surprise – and such a quick read. I was hooked from the first page and flew through this tragic story. I will definitely be recommending this!

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Toffee

I must admit, I was really not sure if I was going to read this when I opened up the package. I don’t do poetry, I don’t know why, but it usually just isn’t my cup of tea. Truth be told, toffee has completely convinced me I’ve been wrong all this time.

This book was awesome. After reading several glowing reviews, I was convinced to give it ago. Warning: this book contains abuse.

It follows a young, mistreated girl called Allison. Her father is nasty and through beautiful prose (what? did I just use that phrase? SEE – this book has changed me) we learn about her home life and what drove her to run away.

An elderly lady suffering from dementia mistakes Allison for someone she used to know: Toffee. With no-where else to go and no-one to turn to (and no-one bothering to look for her), Allison lets herself be taken in by this lady, pretending to be Toffee. So Allison squats in this lady’s house, hiding from guests and helping the lady out (honestly, making her so much happier), all the while crossing her fingers that no body discovers her. We get beautiful stories of what happens whilst she lives there and through other characters Allison meets along the way.

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Why Did I Enjoy it So Much?

I think the reason that I found this so enjoyable is because I hadn’t known what to expect from this, and the relationship that forms between Allison and the elderly lady is beautiful. It’s a heartbreaking story of two people whose families really aren’t all that interested in them.

It’s also a brilliantly quick read, which helps. It looks chunky, but there is hardly any text per page. This makes it really easy to fly through, and really hard to put down. Altogether, it’s a great recipe for an addictive read.

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Summary

I feel that I’ve said everything that I want to on this book. It’s a good read, unexpectedly was something I loved, with great characters. Allison does some wonderful growing in self-worth throughout the story and it was so great to follow along. I would recommend this to just about anyone who’s looking for a quick read, a good heart-warming (and sad) story, or someone who loves books written in prose. I’m certainly going to be looking out for more of them going into the future, now.

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Have you read Toffee?

Are you planning on reading it?

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~~ Kirstie ~~

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