Paradise End

by Elizabeth Laird

Carly often finds herself gazing through the gates of Paradise End. She fantasizes about discovering that she was swapped at birth, and is in fact the rightful owner of the beautiful, empty mansion. She longs to escape the three-bedroom semi she shares with her ordinary parents, her revolting brother and annoying sister, to go and live in the palatial luxury of the fascinating house. Then she meets Tia, the daughter of the new tenant of Paradise End, and Carly begins to realize that life behind the impressive pillars and long, elegant windows isn't anything like her dream.

Genres: Young Adult, Childrens

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Laird was born in New Zealand in 1943, the fourth of five children. Her father was a ship's surgeon; both he and Laird's mother were Scottish. In 1945, Laird and her family returned to Britain and she grew up in South London, where she was educated at Croydon High School.
When she was eighteen, Laird started teaching at a school in Malaysia. She decided to continue her adventurous life, even though she was bitten by a poisonous snake and went down with typhoid.

After attending the university in Bristol, Laird began teaching English in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She and a friend would hire mules and go into remote areas in the holidays.

After a while at Edinburgh University, Laird worked in India for a summer. During travel, she met her future husband, David McDowall, who she said was very kind to her when she was airsick on a plane. The couple were married in 1975 and have two sons, Angus and William.

Laird has also visited Iraq and Lebanon. She claims to dislike snakes, porridge and being cold but enjoys very dark chocolate, Mozart, reading and playing the violin in the Iraq Symphony Orchestra.

She currently lives in Richmond, London with her husband.

Reviews

[Lejla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the book was good. I really liked the story laird portrayed from a teen girls perspective but it could've been better if she had written it from two perspectives, maybe even from Mimis perspective. so we´d know why she did what she did and maybe make some depth in her character. I would really recommend this book if you want something to read a rainy summer night.

[Varsha Seshan · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.varshaseshan.com/paradise...

[Georgie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very lovely book

[Humera Karim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a delight to me. If you have enough serious reads and want something light and refreshing, here is it. It will take you back to your teenage.

[Elpida · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly loved this book so much!! The friendship between the 2 girls was just amazing and such an accurate depiction of teen girls! The end literally had me sobbing i loved it.

[han⚢ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! All the emotions are true to a girl of the protagonists age (14); angst-y and melodramatic and misunderstood at best. But it was a real portrayal, which I could relate to. And I absolutely adored the descriptions of Paradise End! Such a dreamy house (well more like a mansion) with a tennis court and a olympic sized pool!
An interesting book, but I wouldn't recommend it to people whom are younger than 12, as some serious themes play a major role in this book.

Hehehe... after reading this all you'll feel like doing is pretending to tap dance! I did!!

[TheBirdNerd · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok... not very riveting or compelling, the writing wasn't particularly interesting or exciting. I just found the storyline dull, and the ending was a shock, but it still lacked detailed, engrossing writing; it was a bit rushed. It wasn't all bad though, the actual meaning of the book ('anyone can be friends', money can't buy happiness') was sweet and Laird does do a good job of making you hate Mimi!

I'm not totally dismissing Laird as an author, since this isn't her highest rated/known books and a few of her books do seem interesting. Hopefully they will be less mediocre. :)

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

the feel of the party at the end reminded me of The Great Gatsby (which I haven't read in quite a while, so perhaps I'm remembering it wrong), but the emotion of a wild and extravagant party felt the same. at times, I thought the narrator felt and acted much older than she was (14), but I enjoyed the story and think I would have really liked it if I had read it when I was younger.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really enjoyed reading this book, about a rich lonely girl who just wants a friend.

[Line Björkenstam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detta är den första boken jag någonsin börjat gråta till. Tror jag var runt 13 år. Älskade den!!

[vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story isn't that riveting, but the friendship is great and the voice feels very realistic