Het spel

by Amanda Prowse

Het spel is een prachtig verhaal om kennis te maken met Amanda Prowse!

Gemma is 16 jaar en is gelukkig. Fijne ouders, alles gaat goed op school en ze heeft vele vrien­den. Maar plots verdwijnt ze zonder enig spoor...
Waar is ze gebleven? Komt ze ooit nog thuis?

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

150 pages, Unknown Binding

First published October 24, 2013

About the author

Welcome to my Goodrerads page. If you love relatable, emotionally driven, character lead fiction that shines a light on family life and the trials and tribulations that affect us all, then you’re in the right place!

My name is Amanda Prowse, now nearly sixty, I started writing in my mid-forties. I divide my time between London where I live by the river and our farm in the West Country.

I’m passionate about the representation of women. My characters range in age from six to ninety-six and come from all walks of life.

The women in my stories face adversity head on, they grab opportunity by the handful and run towards the horizon, often doing so with a large dollop of humour.

My stories sometimes punch you in the gut with their realism but also leave you with a glimmer of hope – and the feeling that you are not alone. Tales that will make you ugly cry and laugh out loud – sometimes on the same page!

I’ve sold millions of books, translated into dozens of languages all around the world. Described by the Daily Mail as ‘The queen of family drama’ my novels have won awards, including the coveted Sainsbury's eBook of the year Award and I’ve had two books selected as World Book Night titles; 'Perfect Daughter' in 2016 and 'The Boy Between' (co-written with my son Josiah Hartley) in 2022.

I’m a huge supporter of libraries and am a proud ambassador for The Reading Agency. My ambition is to create stories that keep people from turning the bedside lamp off at night, great characters that ensure you take every step with them and tales that fill your head so you can't possibly read another book until the memory fades...

I’m a passionate advocate of ageing naturally and gratefully, and see every wrinkle, every line, every blemish on my face as a badge of honour – remembering always what a gift ageing is. This part of my wider belief that when women support women, magical things can happen.

When the time comes – this is what I’d like written on my headstone:

‘Wrote great stories, made a cracking roast potato…’ – what more could I ask for?
Praise for Amanda Prowse:

‘Amanda Prowse is “The Queen of Family Drama”’ – Daily Mail

'You'll fall in love with this...' – Cosmopolitan

'Powerful and emotional drama that packs a real punch' – Heat

‘Heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure’ – The Lady

'Deeply moving and emotional’ – Red

‘Amanda Prowse handles her explosive subjects with delicate skill’ – Daily Mail

‘Captivating, heartbreaking and superbly written’ – Closer

‘Amanda Prowse is the new Amanda Prowse’ – Mr Prowse

‘Uplifting and positive but you will still need a box of tissues’ – Hello!

List of Amanda Prowse works in order (oldest at top, newest at the bottom)

NOVELS

Poppy Day
What Have I Done
Clover’s Child
A Little Love
Will You Remember Me?
Christmas for One
A Mother’s Story
Perfect Daughter
The Second Chance Café (was 'The Christmas Café')
Three and a Half Heartbeats
Another Love
My Husband’s Wife
I Won’t be Home for Christmas
The Food of Love
The Idea of You
The Art of Hiding
Anna
Theo
Kitty (was ‘How to Fall in Love Again; Kitty’s Story’)
The Coordinates of Loss
The Girl in the Corner
The Things I Know
The Light in the Hallway
The Day She Came Back.
An Ordinary Life
Waiting to Begin
To Love and Be Loved
Picking Up the Pieces
All Good Things
Swimming to Lundy
This One Life
Ever After
Life as Planned
The Way Home (publishing August 2026)
Holding On Tight (publishing January 2027)

MEMOIRS

The Boy Between
Women Like Us

NOVELLAS

The Game
Something Quite Beautiful
A Christmas Wish
The Ten Pound Ticket
Imogen's Baby
Miss Potterton's Birthday Tea
Mr Portobello's Morning Paper
I Wish…
A Whole Heap of Wishes
A Wish for Forgiveness
Fifteen Minutes

COMPILATION OF FIRST SEVEN NOVELLAS
Something Quite Beautiful

Notes on Books.

All books are standalone stories, but some do share characters who pop up for cameo appeara

Reviews

[Karen Swain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about every parent's worse nightmare - a child who has disappeared. I felt the pain of the parents and enjoyed the story but felt that there was lots of scope for it to be a longer book.

[elizabeth turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favourite Prowse book but it was an ok read

I usually love Prowse books including her short stories and have not read one that let me down but this one I felt did. It felt like a short story that should have been given more pages to continue; the end felt abrupt, I felt that Gemma's story should have had a chance to be heard but it left me feeling bereft. It was a shame and in my opinion was a disappointing read for Prowse

[Chelsey Pryce · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a parent with a teenage girl I read this one feeling for the parents so much. A parents nightmare made into a book!

[Melissa Gardin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Het boek leest vlot. Het verhaal daarin tegen begint goed is niet te overhaast maar wanneer het einde in zicht is stopt het gewoon abrupt terwijl er zeker een ander einde kon aan gegeven worden.

[Teryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a good premise. A child whose parents' high expectations sends her off the rails and the way the parents react to her disappearance, but it didn't feel like the story line went deep enough.

[Natasha's Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this short read. I think if it was longer, you could lose interest. I wasn't keen on the mums character but felt the dad's character development through the plot. It's worth a read if you like something quick yet gripping

[Natalie Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story started well and I felt invested but the ending was so rushed and anti-climactic. I felt there was so much more potential.
As a short story, I felt Prowse felt compelled to end quickly and, for me, it ruined the entire novella.

[Oleta Forde · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel the title is misleading. And the ending was very rushed. Probably could have done with a bit more explanation or story at the end. Far too short (Goodreads says its double the length it actually is)

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fab!

I'm loving these short stories by Amanda. A few left to read and then I'll venture into a longer novel. Fabulous quick reads ☺

[Claire Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love your books

[Trish Hills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another emotional read from my fave!

[Richard Terry/ Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a very good book, shame it was a short story as I feel it would have made an excellent longer story from her 1st client if their was one and her decision to return home and what happened next!

[Lill ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

mmm nee… het was een kort boek en daardoor had ik het gevoel dat er maar snel over werd gegaan.

[Kelsey Hendriks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vond het een leuk boek, maar had het idee dat er wat meer mij gedaan had kunnen worden en aan het einde vond ik het heelaas een beetje van de hak op de tak gaan.

[Katalin De Clercq · Rating 2 out of 5]

1,75/5

[Léonie Rijnders · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was too hasty

[Vicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know it was a short story but this felt very rushed and ended very suddenly.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short Story.

[Linda Tilling · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Gemma Peters has everything a sixteen year old could want. Two loving parents, a good school, and close friends. Maybe sometimes her parents are a little overbearing, a little too adoring. But that's the same for all teenagers, right?

Then, on the night of the school play, happy-go-lucky Gemma disappears without a trace. Where has she gone? Why has she been lying to her family? And, most importantly, will she ever come home?"

This is a truly harrowing story about what can happen when parental expectations can become too much for a teenager and she is pushed to the brink and just wants to break away and follow her dreams of a different and better life. However, not everyone is what they seem and not everyone has your best interests at heart, and Gemma finds herself in a desperate situation. All she needs is someone to help her find her way home again.

A difficult read on an unpleasant subject, but very well written.

[Zara Pemberton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I downloaded it from the library as I wanted a short story to read whilst being a passenger in a car journey. The book was slow at the start, the middle was getting better and then I was starting to get into it and the book ended abruptly. I didn't realise as I carried on with the book that it was the same story. I have updated my shelves and will update review once read fully. Its nice reading ebooks from the library. There is a very good selection and you don't have to pay. I have now finished the book. It was very good and I couldn't put it down. I normally give books like this a 4-5 stars but because there was a blank page between chapters and it wasn't clear I had to rate it 2. It could be possibly the format of the book that I was reading. I feel 2 stars is a little unfair but I have read better books but I may come back and change the rating.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this author. The story covers every parent's nightmare of their teenage daughter running away from home and the parts where they are waiting for news of her are really well written and the part introducing us to her new life and her feelings about that are also interesting. However, I feel the book would benefit from a different ending. More could be made of the fathers role and also more insight into her feelings and internal struggle which eventually leads to a good ending for all concerned.

[Di McLean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked parts of this book very much, a touching story between the Mum, Dad and younger sister.... but I just didn't understand why she had run away. There was no back story to how she got to where she did, or to the ending. Nicely written, and good characters except the daughter, who we were not really allowed to get to know at all, and the book ended way too soon, I know it was a short story but I'd still expect a completed story.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, however, I felt it ended abruptly.. Which annoyed me. I also felt very sorry for the younger sister, Stacy, she was very much ignored and her sister, Gemma was put on a pedal stool and then ran off to prostitute or something to the affect.. Then suddenly after putting her parents through hell, she is home.

Good writing from Prowse, always very interesting but the book seemed rushed to me..

[Di McLean · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started well and had promise, I knew it was a short story but it disappointed me as the ending seemed abrupt and rushed. It's a shame as I was hooked from the start of the story and really liked the storyline but I just wanted more.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

short story.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting short story.

[Barbara Minne]

Good short story but ended suddenly.

[Nicola Sorley]

Over too soon - forgot it was a short story

[Gillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the build up but over too soon. A really short read