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No Going Back
Fifteen-year-old Laura gets the shock of her life when she moves to rural Derbyshire and finds the ghost of her dead father in her grandmother's home. At first Laura is overjoyed to see him, but as time passes she begins to wonder why her dad is finding it so difficult to move on, and why her mother still refuses to talk about his death. What is the secret that has been kept from her for all these years?
- GenresGhosts
236 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Alex Gutteridge
17 books42 followersAlex Gutteridge is the author of 12 children’s books. Her work includes humorous young fiction, stories for reluctant readers and YA novels. Her book Oven Chips for Tea was broadcast on the radio and her 2013 novel, Last Chance Angel, was short-listed for eight awards including the Romantic Novelists’ Book Award in the young adult category. She has had two picture books published in South Korea and her latest YA novel, No Going Back, published by Templar Books was commended at the Sheffield Book Awards and won the Northamptonshire Children's Choice Book Award.
Alex was born and brought up in Leicestershire where she still lives. An only child she spent a lot of time making up stories inside her head and sometimes getting into trouble for that! Her first book was based on an old Leicestershire legend about a highwayman and his wife and nearly all of Alex's books have been submitted as unsolicited manuscripts.
Alex is currently working on another YA novel and has just completed some young fiction and an adult romance.
Alex occasionally blogs about her writing inspirations at alexgutteridge.blogspot.co.uk
You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.
Alex was born and brought up in Leicestershire where she still lives. An only child she spent a lot of time making up stories inside her head and sometimes getting into trouble for that! Her first book was based on an old Leicestershire legend about a highwayman and his wife and nearly all of Alex's books have been submitted as unsolicited manuscripts.
Alex is currently working on another YA novel and has just completed some young fiction and an adult romance.
Alex occasionally blogs about her writing inspirations at alexgutteridge.blogspot.co.uk
You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 3, 2014
When I first heard about No Going Back it was at a blogger e vent, and I knew I HAD to read this one. No Going Back was a relatively quick read for me, but one that I enjoyed. This is also the first book by Alex that I have read (even though I do have one waiting to be read) so I went into this with no idea of what to expect from her writing style.
No Going Back was more than I expected. There is a deep, seating feeling of loss throughout the book, but also of family, and new starts, and first love, and I often found myself reaching for the tissues. Laura was easy for me to like, and sympathise with. Her feelings of losing her dad are still raw, and made worse by the move to her Grandmothers. When her Dad comes back to visit her it was a happy occasion for her, she is able to tell him how she feels and how she felt about it all. But this happiness is short lived as her dad's constant presence occasionally puts a damper on things.
Laura is struggling with a lot of things, and when it is all added up it is quite a lot for a young teenager to deal with. Although she isn't happy with the move, she does make the best of this situation, and also with her Dad's arrival. However I do feel that on occasion she did act slightly immature for her age, especially the outbursts she has.
I really liked seeing this new situation for all involved, and seeing how a family that is starting to fall apart at the seams can find a way to make things work again, even if the result of this was the possibility of losing someone they love. The progress made was slow, tough, but worth it all. The one surprise that was revealed was not something I expected, and although it was too late in the revealing, it was nice to see how it was all handled in a mature, civilised way.
As I mentioned, No Going Back was occasionally an emotional read for me, and certain passages in the book really touched a nerve, they are exactly how I feel and it feels like Alex has rummaged around my head and written my thoughts and feelings down on paper.
After finishing this book I am determined to dig out Alex's other book and make a start on that.
No Going Back was more than I expected. There is a deep, seating feeling of loss throughout the book, but also of family, and new starts, and first love, and I often found myself reaching for the tissues. Laura was easy for me to like, and sympathise with. Her feelings of losing her dad are still raw, and made worse by the move to her Grandmothers. When her Dad comes back to visit her it was a happy occasion for her, she is able to tell him how she feels and how she felt about it all. But this happiness is short lived as her dad's constant presence occasionally puts a damper on things.
Laura is struggling with a lot of things, and when it is all added up it is quite a lot for a young teenager to deal with. Although she isn't happy with the move, she does make the best of this situation, and also with her Dad's arrival. However I do feel that on occasion she did act slightly immature for her age, especially the outbursts she has.
I really liked seeing this new situation for all involved, and seeing how a family that is starting to fall apart at the seams can find a way to make things work again, even if the result of this was the possibility of losing someone they love. The progress made was slow, tough, but worth it all. The one surprise that was revealed was not something I expected, and although it was too late in the revealing, it was nice to see how it was all handled in a mature, civilised way.
As I mentioned, No Going Back was occasionally an emotional read for me, and certain passages in the book really touched a nerve, they are exactly how I feel and it feels like Alex has rummaged around my head and written my thoughts and feelings down on paper.
"On the outside you look the same as everyone else, except some people can't hide the sadness behind their eyes. It's not the sadness that makes you miserable all the time. It's more a sense of incompleteness, a feeling that on the inside you're different because you can never be sure of anything ever again."
[Page 156-157 UK paperback]
"It does get better but there's always the feeling that there's something missing, like a bit of your heart has been chipped away."
[Page 157-158 UK paperback]
After finishing this book I am determined to dig out Alex's other book and make a start on that.
April 6, 2021
A nice little read, more directed towards kids/teenagers. It's a little predictable but cute and talks about interesting themes. I'm not sure it will give me a lasting impression but it was still an enjoyable read.
August 7, 2014
A big thank you to HKB for sending me a copy of No Going Back in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book, I felt it was exactly the kind of book I was in the mood for. An emotional and gripping contemporary read.
I really did not know what to expect when I went into this book. I had not heard any hype about this novel, although I had seen a few good reviews for the authors other works floating around blogger. I was so pleasantly surprised by this novel as I went into it without expectations and it blew me away.
The plot of this novel is very moving and emotional. It centres around a fourteen year old girl called Laura, who moves to a rural area with her mother to look after her grandmother. Laura's father died when she was very young, but with the stressful move, Laura's father has returned in an unexpected way. I though the author handled the topic of grieving, death and moving on from loss in such a realistic and well written way.
I really enjoyed the plot of the novel. I felt that at times it could be a little slow, but you were so caught up in Laura's mind and thoughts that you just drifted through the slow parts without really dwelling on them. I also enjoyed the ghostly element in the novel and the interactions the father had with Laura and others. I thought there were a few good twists in the plot that kept me guessing, but alas, my curse struck again....I was able to predict the main plot twist from the very beginning of the book. As you know this happens a lot with me, I think I'm just good at thinking through a story...or maybe I'm just really cynical and suspect everybody (shifty eyes).
The characters of this novel were so great. I felt that when the novel finished that I came away with them still in my mind. I really enjoyed Laura's character, she was young, bright, loving, kind but sometimes could be a little oblivious and selfish . I thought she was a really good portrayal of a child dealing with loss. I loved Sam, Laura's friend, he was a wonderful addition to the story. A character I disliked, surprisingly was the father of Laura. I thought he was very strict and mean and unkind- a polar opposite of Laura's mother. I enjoyed reading about Laura's family and their different dynamics and arguments.
My favourite character of the entire novel would have to be Laura's Gran. Although at first she seemed to be a mean, wizened old woman, she was actually very loving and caring and deeply thoughtful . I loved her kindness in this novel and her relationship with Laura very much.
The writing style of this novel was good. I enjoyed the dialogue, and felt it had a really nice flow to it. I thought the chapters ran nicely into one another and that the novel had good pacing, as not too much information was revealed at once, and rather spread out nicely. I felt that the beginning of the novel tipped me off a little too much as to what was going to happen at the end of the book but maybe I'm just a good guesser! The characterisation of family was brilliant and the many relationships in the novel were all very well written.
Overall an emotional, thought provoking and interesting contemporary read, perfect for summer or any other time of year. I read this in just two days, completely gripping. A novel that will make you think about loss and new beginnings....and also kittens! I definitely recommend this to ages 13+ .
Rating:
4 STARS
I really did not know what to expect when I went into this book. I had not heard any hype about this novel, although I had seen a few good reviews for the authors other works floating around blogger. I was so pleasantly surprised by this novel as I went into it without expectations and it blew me away.
The plot of this novel is very moving and emotional. It centres around a fourteen year old girl called Laura, who moves to a rural area with her mother to look after her grandmother. Laura's father died when she was very young, but with the stressful move, Laura's father has returned in an unexpected way. I though the author handled the topic of grieving, death and moving on from loss in such a realistic and well written way.
I really enjoyed the plot of the novel. I felt that at times it could be a little slow, but you were so caught up in Laura's mind and thoughts that you just drifted through the slow parts without really dwelling on them. I also enjoyed the ghostly element in the novel and the interactions the father had with Laura and others. I thought there were a few good twists in the plot that kept me guessing, but alas, my curse struck again....I was able to predict the main plot twist from the very beginning of the book. As you know this happens a lot with me, I think I'm just good at thinking through a story...or maybe I'm just really cynical and suspect everybody (shifty eyes).
The characters of this novel were so great. I felt that when the novel finished that I came away with them still in my mind. I really enjoyed Laura's character, she was young, bright, loving, kind but sometimes could be a little oblivious and selfish . I thought she was a really good portrayal of a child dealing with loss. I loved Sam, Laura's friend, he was a wonderful addition to the story. A character I disliked, surprisingly was the father of Laura. I thought he was very strict and mean and unkind- a polar opposite of Laura's mother. I enjoyed reading about Laura's family and their different dynamics and arguments.
My favourite character of the entire novel would have to be Laura's Gran. Although at first she seemed to be a mean, wizened old woman, she was actually very loving and caring and deeply thoughtful . I loved her kindness in this novel and her relationship with Laura very much.
The writing style of this novel was good. I enjoyed the dialogue, and felt it had a really nice flow to it. I thought the chapters ran nicely into one another and that the novel had good pacing, as not too much information was revealed at once, and rather spread out nicely. I felt that the beginning of the novel tipped me off a little too much as to what was going to happen at the end of the book but maybe I'm just a good guesser! The characterisation of family was brilliant and the many relationships in the novel were all very well written.
Overall an emotional, thought provoking and interesting contemporary read, perfect for summer or any other time of year. I read this in just two days, completely gripping. A novel that will make you think about loss and new beginnings....and also kittens! I definitely recommend this to ages 13+ .
Rating:
4 STARS
July 27, 2014
No Going Back was a very quick read for me, if I hadn’t had to part with it due to other commitments I most likely would have read the book in one sitting.
With the exception of the first few chapters Laura is a fourteen year old teenager, Alex Gutteridge has written given her a friendly and engaging voice.
Likeable as Laura is I did think she came across as quite young in places, especially in comparison with other girls in the genre but No Going Back is a sweet book (I mean this as a compliment, it’s something lovely to read) so that might be the reason.
I enjoyed the story but it was the changing relationships between the characters that I liked best about this book, particularly the one between Laura and her grandmother. Actually I think Laura’s grandmother was my favourite character in the story.
No Going Back is a moving story family and growing up.
With the exception of the first few chapters Laura is a fourteen year old teenager, Alex Gutteridge has written given her a friendly and engaging voice.
Likeable as Laura is I did think she came across as quite young in places, especially in comparison with other girls in the genre but No Going Back is a sweet book (I mean this as a compliment, it’s something lovely to read) so that might be the reason.
I enjoyed the story but it was the changing relationships between the characters that I liked best about this book, particularly the one between Laura and her grandmother. Actually I think Laura’s grandmother was my favourite character in the story.
No Going Back is a moving story family and growing up.
October 3, 2014
probably aimed at much younger readers than mee, didnt rlly like the writing style but kinda cute story
October 21, 2014
This book was cute I did like it. I didn't like how easy it was for Laura to forgive her father after what he had done. A middle grade book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews