Something Good

by Fiona Gibson

Shy and insecure all her life, fifteen-year-old Hannah finally feels as if she belongs. She acts in the theater club production and hangs out with a super-kissable boy, and her new best friend, Zoë, has turned her on to clothes, makeup and nicking lipsticks for fun. It's great. Of course, her unbearable mother, Jane, is unimpressed with all this behavior...especially the night she has to bail Hannah out of serious trouble.

But who's behaving badly? On a trip to a remote Scottish isle the tables are turned when Hannah discovers her mom's hiding a startling secret. With everything up in the air—even the self-proclaimed rebel Zoë is having strange episodes of conscience—something good surely must be lurking in the chaos.

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance

346 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Fiona is an author and journalist who has written for many UK publications including The Observer, The Guardian, Marie Claire, Red, New Woman, Top Sante and Elle. She writes a monthly column for Sainsbury’s magazine and is a Contributing Editor at Red magazine.

Fiona lives in Scotland with her husband, their twin sons and daughter. She likes to draw, run 10k races, play her saxophone and lie in the bath with a big glass of wine, although not all at once.

Reviews

[Leanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was too frustrating to enjoy but just good enough to keep reading, falling somewhere in the "No Man's Land" of two-star territory.

First, I think this book was marketed all wrong. My local library had it in the Young Adult section, and the book summary on the back is all about fifteen-year-old Hannah. Sounds like your typical coming-of-age story with a bit of the Isle of Skye thrown in. Fabulous. Only the first POV character in the book is Jane, Hannah's mother. Sure enough, the more I read, the more I realized this book was about adults. Crappy ones.

Which brings me to my second complaint:

Somehow the plot contrives to write Hannah - purportedly the main character of the book - into pointlessness. It seems like she is headed for a real breakdown, according to the back-of-the-book summary AND the way everyone treats her. I certainly wouldn't blame her if that's where she ended up, with two self-absorbed parents, a wishy-washy best friend, and an unhelpful grandmother. In fact, though I didn't want bad things for Hannah, I *did* began to hope for some kind of cathartic emotional eruption. It never came. Instead, the plot meanders along at a snail's pace, spending far too much time on some aspects and far too little on others. The few likable characters - Hannah included - were the ones with the least time on the page.

Even the Isle of Skye section passed by before you could say "Scottish holiday."

I'm just glad I got it from the library, because if I hadn't, I'd be wanting my money back.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

For 15 year old Hannah and her mother Jane and her father ( her mom’s ex), the world is a complicated place as they figure out who their true friends are, what they want most for their lives and how to move forward. Then her mother makes choices that change their world.
Something Good Gibson, Fiona 3 YA 15 year English girl deals with acceptance & peer pressure as boyfriend drops her after his ex gets pregnant, materialistic friend shoplifting daughter of father's girlfriend, mother goes on workshop & gets pregnant, finds way get her & her Mom together again 2017 7/8/2017 7/7/2017

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book about the relationship between a mother, her teenage daughter, and how they grow. What interest me into reading this book was that the daughter was going through that teenage awkward stage and was turning into a rebel. I was not a rebel as a teen, so I kind of enjoy reading about what all the 'bad' kids where doing. It was a pretty simple story, but good enough that I wanted to keep reading. I didn't like the ended. I wanted the parents to get back together and have them be a family again. But the author wanted the adults to be able to move on with their lives without having to depend on each other. In the end, of course everyone was happy. How often do you read a book where it ends in sadness? It's a little bit long, but a quick read.

[Hannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit boek las heel vlot. Voor ik het wist, was ik al halverwege. Dat ik er toch nog zolang over gedaan heb, komt omdat ik weinig heb gelezen de afgelopen week. Het boek draait om Jane en haar dochter Hannah. Ondanks dat er ook wel wat minder leuke dingen gebeuren, heeft het boek wel een positieve toon. Dat maakt dit een leuk boek om te lezen. Het verhaal wordt uit wisselend perspectief verteld. Ook Hannah's vader heeft nog een rol in het verhaal. Geen alledaagse chicklit. Toch miste ik iets van de diepgang die andere boeken van Fiona Gibson wel hebben. Ondanks dat heb ik dit boek met plezier gelezen.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, so good, I'm halfway through and it's kind of like the book I just finishd reading by Jennifer Wiener as in it's single mum daughter whom cannot connect.. daughter and mom have difficut relationship. Mom/dad have difficult relationship ect...

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

For just grabbing this off the shelf w/o having heard about it before, it was very good. I liked it & plan on trying the others by this author.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, an easy read with fun characters. And of course the requisite happy ending!

[Sue Kozlowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jane and Max separated when Hannah was young. Hannah meets Zoe, who is a bad influence. Jane goes to Scotland for stained glass class. Has a one-night stand and gets pregnant.