Troubled Waters

by Rosie Harris

When 14-year old Sara Jenkins rescues her baby sister, Myfanwy, from the fire which kills their mother, little does she realise the burden of responsibility she is taking on. She has to face the hardest times of her life and fight for herself, Myfanwy, and her unborn child, before happiness is finally within her reach.

Paperback

First published August 9, 2002

About the author

Rosie Harris was born in Cardiff and for several years worked in the City Hall. Her husband, Ken, was from Wallasey and after they married they lived on Merseyside for many years.
She has been writing since the 1950’s. In the 1960’s she ran her own agency, Regional Feature Service, writing articles for most of the provincial newspapers.
During the 70’s she became Editorial Controller for a non-fiction house.
In the 1980’s, after publishing a number of non-fiction titles she turned to fiction and during the 1980/90’s had a number of short stories published as well as five books by Sphere under the name Marion Harris.
Since 2002 she has had some 20 books published by Heinemann/Arrow. She sets her books in the 20’s because she has a great admiration for the women who were wives and mothers in those days. They had none of the current time-saving equipment – no washing machines or vacuum cleaners, no instant electric fires or cookers, and certainly no Internet. Their days were long and arduous and often they had to manage on very little money.
In 2005 she was one of the judges when Arrow and Asda collaborated in a major national competition to find the next big saga writer.
Her most recent titles are Love Changes Everything and The Quality of Love. The next, Whispers of Love, will be published in March 2010.

Reviews

[Dafydd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't describe how much I loved this book. The characters, the atmosphere, the story itself. Just amazing! In my opinion, Sara is too kind but that's not a bad thing. An amazing book and I am looking forward to reading more!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good.

I enjoyed reading this book, but the end was far too abrupt, many loose ends ...such a shame! Too many "what happened to????"

[Cherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I had the Audible version and the narrator was brilliant with the Welsh accent. This is such a beautiful and powerful story. Sara is such a great character and you just want her to get the strength from somewhere to fight for Myfanwy and Averil and once Glenda is on the scene you see a change in Sara. Rhys also came back from sea at the end a very mature character compared to how he was when he first went away to sea. Rhys and Sara really make a beautifully strong couple towards the end of this book which I didn't expect because of how Rhys treated Sara in the earlier chapters of the book. Really enjoyed this and recommend to anyone who enjoys a good saga.

[Eirlys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sara's mother dies and leaves her and her baby sister, Myfanwy, to the less than tender care of their
abusive father. Sara has to take her mother's place tending to all the chores, cooking, washing and rearing Myfanwy. Life is only made bearable by kind neighbours who help her. The way of life at that time seems authentic, I base that on stories told to me by my granny in the 1950s. I loved the characters and the way that they interacted. A good story told by a true storyteller.

[Angi Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read

Enjoyed this book so much though there were times when I was screaming at Sara to get some backbone! However, it was a lovely easy going read and I enjoyed reading it very much. Next!!

[Natalya · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Jacquie Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!!!

This book thoroughly deserves 5 stars. The story is so gripping, was sorry the story had to end. Well done Rosie, hope there's more like it.

[Sue Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been a while since I read a saga. I thoroughly enjoyed this easy-going read and would probably read another of Rosie Harris's books. Makes a change from the thrillers that I usually read.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oooh what a nasty piece of work her father was! It was still an enjoyable read though.

[Mrs. Christine Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I enjoyed this book so much. I live in Wales so I know all about the valleys. Recommend. Great book.

[Chrissie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book with a happy ending.

[Janet Randon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed.