These Streets

by Luan Goldie

From the author of Nightingale Point, longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, comes a new thought-provoking novel.

Jess is a single mother to two teenage children, and although life can be tough she’s just about keeping things together. But when her landlord asks her to move on, so he can sell the house they’re living in without warning, Jess’s worries take on a whole new meaning. As Jess struggles to regain her footing, cracks begin to appear in other areas of her life, and suddenly she feels she’s failing at everything. Her daughter Hazel is becoming more and more distant, her son Jacob is struggling to find where he fits in the world, and the menacing spectre of Jess’s older brother, someone she cut out of her life years ago, begins to make his presence felt again.

Jess knows she’s the only one who can keep her family together, but how can she keep going when life keeps beating her back?

Set on the streets of East London, These Streets is a searing and powerful novel that explores how we are meant to find our place in a world that is designed for only the privileged to succeed. Beautiful and honest, it is an essential story about living in Britain today.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

384 pages, Hardcover

Published June 23, 2022

About the author

Luan Goldie is a Glasgow born novelist and short story writer from East London.

Her debut, Nightingale Point, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the RSL Ondaatje Prize. She is also the author of Homecoming and These Streets.

Her first book for children, Skylar and the K-Pop Headteacher is a body swap adventure for middle grade readers, set within the world of K-pop fandom.

In 2018 she won the Costa Short Story Award and her short stories have appeared in Stylist, HELLO! Magazine and the Sunday Express.

A former teacher, Goldie has over a decade’s worth of experience teaching in the capital’s schools. She also tutors for Arvon, Spread the Word and First Story.

Reviews

[Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been waiting for this book ever since I found out Luan Goldie had a new book coming out. When I read the blurb I knew I would love it. I read Nightingale Point a while after it was published and enjoyed that very much too. It’s similar to Nightingale Point in that these are ordinary people in a typical family setting which reflects the struggles of today. Each of the characters could so easily be you or me.

It highlights the housing crisis in this country and how easy it is to suddenly find yourself homeless through no fault of your own. With sky high rents on private lettings and waiting lists longer than your life expectancy for social housing, it’s a situation all too familiar for so many families now. The effects this has on family life, not to mention mental health are spelled out in this book with clarity.

But, the story is far from doom and gloom. Jess is quite a positive character who does her best not to let her circumstances dent her optimism. All the other supporting characters in the book are brilliant. It’s certainly not without its lighter, funny moments.

Running parallel with Jess’s story is the story of Ben. He’s just moved into a flat across the road from Jess’s dad Wolf. Wolf, almost 80 lives in the family home alone now. He’s a bit of an eccentric and fond of a drink or two down at the local pub. Ben, divorced from his wife and desperately missing his young daughter who has moved to Spain with her mum, decided to move back to London to be near his mum. However he soon begins to realise his mother has made a life for herself and doesn’t really need him around, but he has his faithful dog Harold to keep him company.

It’s a brilliant story of 21st century life and all the tribulation’s life throws at us. I enjoyed all the characters in this book and their stories. I loved the way the author depicts what are quite depressing circumstances with humour and an overriding sense of hope – that things can only get better. Is it like that for people in real life? Probably not, but I thought what the book does prove is that with enough positivity and a willingness to adapt to change nothing is impossible, even in the most dire of circumstances.

A fabulous book, and I look forward to the next story from this brilliant author.

[Milo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely broke me with the second half, starts slow with an immersive real world portrayal of London - plenty of pop culture references used with care - and then completely creeps up on you and hits you like a freight train. Adored this. One of the rare instances where a train journey being delayed for a lifetime didn't feel like one because I was able to get through this in a couple of sittings. Think I have a new favourite author.

[Kathy Wakeling · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second book by this author.
Fabulous.

[Jane Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerfully insightful, this contemporary story explores life in twenty-first century Britain through authentically created characters and their relationships. It is poignantly raw as it documents how easy it is for familial relationships to fail with the threat of homelessness. Hope, humour and humanity lighten the darkness and deliver a believable story that resonates.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful novel. It is full of the most delightful characters, sparky dialogue and sweet relationships. These Streets also pulls no punches about the housing crisis in London.

Jess is a single parent threatened with eviction. The story follows her journey as she negotiates the hurdles and bureaucracy of trying to find a new home. All the characters are superbly created and have distinct individual voices. There is lovely humour and the pace is perfect. It is a treat of a read.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sad story of a single mother of two teenagers trying to survive in modern London after her landlord tells her he's selling the apartment she's lived in for the last 10 years and she scrambles to find a new place to live.

I liked that the story portrayed complicated characters. Jess needs help to avoid being homeless but she doesn't see herself as "the other homeless people". This us vs them mentality felt realistic to me.

I didn't like how annoying her daughter is, and the fact that we don't really get to understand her: we only perceive her through her mother and this makes her very annoying (I guess we have all behaved like this at one point towards our mothers, so once again that's well done; but we knew what was going on inside us, right?).

The writing is down to earth: nothing flowery and straight to the point, which I think benefits this book.

Overall it's an enjoyable read on family and the housing crisis in London (and more generally the UK).

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[The Reading Jackdaw]

A quiet, well-paced, thought-provoking, page-turner with alternate chapters from Ben and Jess smoothly moving the narrative on. Although the story revolves around their developing relationship, it is Goldie’s use of tensions that resonated for me - class, family, gentrification, the Arts, past and present- creating a truly modern British novel.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jess is a single mother to two teenage children: star student Hazel on the way to Oxford University and becoming more distant by the day; and lovable, quirky Joseph who is coping brilliantly with his deafness, but struggling to find where he fits in this crazy world. Perhaps life with teenagers is not always easy, especially when she's working six days a week as an outreach worker for a local community theatre group, but Jess is not unhappy with her lot living in Stratford, East London, where she was born and raised - although she wouldn't say no to finding a decent man for a change.

Then her landlord decides he is going to sell the house that is their family home, and Jess is forced to confront the fact that there is no way she can afford to rent anything even half-way decent for them in the same area. As the pressure mounts, Jess starts to drop more and more of the plates she has been frantically spinning, and she finds it impossible to regain control. She begins to realise that her life was not quite as stable as she thought, including her relationship with her children, and their impending homelessness has caused a chain reaction that seems to be gaining momentum. It doesn't help that the shadow of her difficult childhood suddenly starts to loom over her once more when her estranged, and thoroughly reprehensible, older brother reappears on the scene - or that her 'free-spirit' father now needs more care than he's willing to admit.

This is hardly the best time to meet the man that might just be the one she has been looking for - her father's new neighbour, divorced single dad Ben. The timing is all wrong... and so is the fact that bashful Ben has weighty problems of his own, and a secret he daren't confess about his connection to Jess' family.

Where do I start with how wonderful this book is? Through the story of Jess and her children, Luan Goldie examines the housing crisis in London, showing how easy it is for a family to find itself without somewhere affordable to live, and how lives can rapidly spiral downwards once the prospect of homelessness enters the equation.

But that is not all, because there is more than one thread to grab our attention here. We also meet Ben who has returned to live in London following a failed marriage, and is trying to come to terms with the breakdown of his mental health and forced separation from his daughter, while being overwhelmed by memories about his unhappy childhood in Stratford. By chance, he moves in to a flat doors away from Jess' eccentric father Wolf, and meets Jess. The seeds of a tentative romance begin to sprout between them, that could be really special - if only Jess' life wasn't an ever worsening disaster zone, and Ben was able to come clean about his past. Timing is all, and everything seems to be out of kilter right now.

Goldie writes these characters with such skill that they jump off the page right into your heart, and this draws you into a world where the trials and tribulations of modern British life become all encompassing. As the threads of each of their complex stories weave around each other, Goldie nicely covers a lot of insightful ground. Homelessness and what it can lead to is the heart-rending central focus, but she also cleverly intertwines the effects of both inner city decay and gentrification, and highlights how many Londoners are forced out of the city in the search for affordable accommodation.

Along the way, Goldie deftly touches on so much more. Family dynamics and romantic relationships are integral to the story, especially where they have broken down and estrangement results; and we see the legacy of childhood trauma, guilt, and recrimination. And if all this wasn't enough to make this book astonishingly good, loneliness, race, identity, belonging, privilege, false stereotypes, the weight of the unspoken, and the pain of the misspoken all have a big part to play too. Fortunately, there are nuggets of gold amongst all the heartache, which thread the whisper of hope throughout the stories of all the characters, and the whole book thrums with humour, warmth, and love.

I have to make a special point of saying how well Goldie writes about single motherhood though Jess' eyes, and she paints the picture of living with teenagers to perfection. Hazel hits just the right infuriating spot, teetering on the edge of womanhood with a know-it-all, self-absorbed attitude, covering up her vulnerability with a hard as nails outer shell; and Joseph is all endearing, nerdy teenage boy awkwardness, with a great sense of fun, who has no idea how the real world works. I promise you will find that their interactions really resonate if you have lived with teenagers.

This is the kind of book that begs to be lapped up in a single sitting, and I did just that. I adored it from start to finish, marvelling at how Goldie says so much, and with such subtlety, through a cracking story that captivates from the first page to the last. It gives your emotions a proper workout too, not least because this is much more of a romance than I was expecting. My thoughts have been well and truly provoked, and the cockles of my heart nicely warmed - who could ask for more?

[Yasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in East London, specifically around Stratford in recent times, the story unfolds through two main characters, Ben and Jess.

Ben is a recently divorced man living alone having moved back to London. His mother is nearby but has her own active life and his ex wife and daughter have moved to Spain. He befriends his neighbour, Wolf, an elderly German man who’s daughter is Jess.

Jess is a single parent to two children, Hazel , a 6th form student tipped to go to Oxford and Jacob a geeky teenager with a hearing issue. In the background is their father Steadman.

Jess is a few years younger than Ben however, there is a hidden connection between Ben and Jess’ estranged older brother which is the elephant in the room at the start of their relationship.

For someone who has some local reference to East London and Stratford it was easily to visual the locations eg Westfield, Stratford Centre and the Arcormittal Orbit.

The book uncovers many issues- race, class, single parenthood, job insecurity and redundancy, homelessness, disability, bullying, criminal activity and sexual assault. These are viewed from the two main characters viewpoints.

This book was chosen by a friend for our next bookclub. The book is very accessible in the style it is written and the two characters are vehicles to travel through a myriad of difficulties. They have some likeable qualities and I found myself able to visual them as I felt they were accurate depictions of many people I have met through my work.

However, I think this book may be more useful for those individuals who do not have regular insight into this demographic.

I do have empathy for the characters and the people they represent. However, some of their perceptions , which in my view, were quite accurate, eg expecting to have equal choice in their location of living. In my mind, increased choice is associated with resources and means of being financial independent of the state. Many people would like to live in prime locations, however, if you are reliant upon the council to provide this or other benefits , there should be some acknowledgment and acceptance that this will be with limited choices.

It was interesting how Jess was opposed to the hostel and being classed as homeless despite her situation and how Ben changed her perception towards hostels.

Of course no one would choose to be in a difficult situation, however, unfortunately there is a mismatch between people’s expectations and reality. This spans health and social care.

There has been a battle between the haves and have nots for a long time, however the cost of living crisis has exacerbated this and the harsh truth is that sacrifices need to be made. It is important to care for others, yet the money and resources needs to come from somewhere and as this book showed, there are generational behaviours which propel this cycle of dependence. People should be supported and encouraged to strive to improve themselves and their lives. If there is nothing to strive for then they will stay in the same situation and their offspring will likely follow suit. If the council provides safe clean accommodation this should be accepted even if it may not be the preferred location.

Of course people should be paid a decent wage for the work they do, with the ability to support themselves with food and a home, however, attitudes towards work and life need to change in order for society to function better. If less people are working and contributing to the system then eventually the funds will decline and there will be a larger crisis.

The book does have a happy ending. I am not sure if I felt that fit with the rest of the story but I presume it was to provide hope to those in the situation that things can improve and be better than they feared. Additionally for those who are not from a social and healthcare background maybe they needed a happy ending to help provide closure for the slight emotional rollercoaster they experienced through the journey.

Overall, I think is this a good book for a discussion around the social climate we are currently living in, however, I anticipate this may be a heated discussion regarding our own political and social viewpoints on the situation. It is not a book I personally would have chosen , however, it is useful to push my reading choices outside my preferred genres.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Jessica, a single mother of two living in East London…her landlord has decided to sell her home. Her daughter Haze, is bright and ambitious. Her son Jacob is deaf, ‘nerdy’, uncomfortable with his Dad who doesn’t understand him or his deafness. Jessica has met Ben a neighbour of her Father. Jessica and Ben have a shared history involving Jessica’s Brother..but neither of them know exactly what that is…it threatens to split them up…that and the fact that Jessica’s world is about to start unravelling.

I fell into this story from page one. The writing is lucid, fluid..and the characters are so well drawn. I loved Jessica - I had such a vivid picture of her. She is funny, feisty..and I loved the depiction of her relationship with her daughter, Haze. Haze is resentful of the awful changes that are befalling the family..she blames her Mother and the gulf between the two of them becomes wide, and impassable..

At the heart is a story about home, housing, love, family…the fragile economics which can turn your world into a tail spin with the loss of a job, the sale of your house…This is such a timely novel in current economic times…frighteningly and disturbingly close to reality.. I found myself getting more tense the further I read. I had no real idea what living in a hostel looked like apart from news stories..It really hit home when Haze starts filling in forms for university, ticking boxes which hightlight her vulnerability - her colour, her homelessness..and coming from a ‘shithole area’. And dialogues like this between Jessica and her son about the sofa he is sleeping on broke my heart -
‘’How long have you been sleeping like this?”
‘It’s always been broken.’

The East London setting is powerfully drawn ..the streets, the playgrounds, the deprivation..the people who live there.

There is a saying that we are only one or two paychecks away from homelessness..and this novel really showed that and the lamentable systems that are there to support you when you fall throw the net..


For me this felt like a book with two stories - that of Jessica’s homelessness and that of her relationship with Ben. It Is the latter which prevents the novel from being utterly heartbreaking and threads it with hope.


I absolutely loved this.

[Kath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved Nightingale Point when I read it a while back. So much so that I was very excited to get my hands on an early copy of this book. And then a tad scared as I feared it would not live up to my rather high expectations. But I shouldn't have worried, it smashed it!
As with NP, this is a very character driven book. We meet Jess and her two children just at the worst time in their lives as their landlord is evicting them as he wants to sell up. Her relationship with both children, Hazel and Jacob, is already strained and this just makes everything a whole lot worse. Meanwhile, we also meet Ben who has just moved into a flat and is still finding his feet when he bumps into a rather eccentric older man - Wolf. Who just happens to be Jess's dad. This helps Ben as he is still reeling from a breakup that has taken his young daughter to live abroad.
And so begins a wonderful, uplifting and harrowing read that had me on the edge of my seat throughout, running the whole gamut of emotions as it rose and fell putting the characters through a lot as the narrative progressed. Holding me captive as I really needed and wanted to know what was next for each and every character.
With things in the world as they are at the moment, there's a lot in this book that is quite topical but the story never crosses the political boundary. Everything that happens is for a reason and there is no exaggeration to make a point. If indeed you can exaggerate the plight that many find themselves in these days.
It is also a book about hope. And adaptation. And how the two are linked. And how, when you get over yourself and try to stop being selfish and become more open to change, how that scary change might not be as bad as you once thought.
It's a cracking book that had me laughing one minute and bawling the next. It's a book that will stay with me for a while yet. It's a book I feel privileged to have read. And makes me all the more excited t see what comes next from the author. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

[Alan M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Goldie’s third novel and she returns to East End of London, the backdrop to her debut “Nightingale Point”, where she grew up and taught in a primary school. Written during lockdown, Goldie paints a sharp picture of post Olympic Stratford, the dust is settling on a legacy that seems to be mainly a huge Westfield shopping mall, and West Ham’s former home the Boleyn Ground flattened to be replaced by a housing estate.

Goldie specializes in believable characters that push the story along with a gentle undercurrent of humor. There aren’t any sudden plot twists or shocking revelations – indeed it was perhaps a little too easy to see how the story would end. That said, single mother Jess, anxiety ridden Ben and Jess’s oddball father Wolff are always credible, often funny and drawn with enough sympathy to keep you hoping things will turn their way.

The publicity around the book has leant on Jess’s fight to avoid homelessness (first novel “Nightingale Point” was cited for it’s parallels to the Grenfell Tower disaster) and whilst Jess’s struggle to keep a roof over her head is the thread that holds the story together, it’s really much more a tale of mother’s struggle to keep her family safe over written by the ups and downs of family life and the possibility that Jess’s might just carve out a little happiness for her self. Goldie also makes sure that handyman Ben’s isn’t just a one dimensional mummy’s boy but instead a sensitive man bruised by life, prone to depression prompted by the distress of being separated from his daughter. When the video calls he treasures with his daughter are disrupted by an indifferent ex wife or a 6 year old’s sudden decision to take a poo it’s hard not to feel his angst and his helplessness.

Goldie has a knack for giving issues like homelessness and mental health a humane perspective, her characters both powerful and engaging without it resorting to preaching. Definitely worth a read.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

These Streets by Luan Goldie is a fascinating look at contemporary life in east London.
The reader is introduced to two families – a single mum with two teens and an elderly father nearby, and a single dad separated from his six year old daughter. All the characters are unique, warm and welcoming. Luan Goldie gives us glimpses into their lives as we witness that it is not money that makes us happy but love and friendship. Some of the richest people are materially poor but with huge hearts.
We witness how our school days form the adults we become. They leave a lasting impression on our lives, for better or for worse. Bad experiences still have the power to hurt twenty years down the line.
There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ family. Families are unique in their make-up and their functioning.
We see a mother’s pride for her children as she puts their needs first. It is sacrificial love in action. Sometimes the truth is hidden in order to protect. We also see the children trying to sort lives to make it easier for their mum. They are a lovely, caring family unit.
A single dad whose daughter now lives in Spain, struggles to come to terms with being alone. His bond with his beagle Harold makes the reader smile as we see the love between them. Harold becomes a character in his own right.
Luan Goldie tells us life as it is in east London. She does not sugar coat it. We see the deprivation, the dysfunctional lives and we see the love and care. It is a place where people know your name.
I always love Luan Goldie’s novels. She writes about ‘real’ people with ‘real’ problems. The nitty gritty of life is laid bare. Life is hard but there is much love and laughter. These Streets is a fabulous read.
I received a free copy from Harper Collins. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

[Aoife Cassidy McM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve seen surprisingly little of this book on bookstagram, which is unusual considering the author was longlisted for the Women’s Prize in 2020 for her debut novel Nightingale Point. There aren’t many reviews on Goodreads either.

These Streets is Goldie’s third novel. It’s set in East London and though billed as one woman’s struggle when the house she’s living in is going to be sold from under her, it’s more of a romance and family drama with some social commentary.

Jess is a single working mother living with her two children in a slightly rundown rental house when her landlord drops the bombshell that he wants to sell up. There follows a run of bad luck for Jess that has her scrambling to find a home for her family as things begin to fall apart on several fronts.

Ben is a lonely single father whose daughter lives on Tenerife with her mother following the marriage breakdown. Ben befriends Jess’ dad and realises that he has a connection to the family from the past that he would prefer to keep buried.

Exploring themes such as gentrification, the housing crisis, the cost of living and the value of education, These Streets is a sincere, heartfelt story with mostly well-rounded characters written in an uncomplicated style. I found the ending pretty rushed and weak, but overall it was a decent read.

*I received a proof copy via @netgalley from the publisher HQ, an imprint of @harpercollinsuk. It contained quite a few typos so hopefully these were picked up before publication! Many thanks to the author and publisher for the copy. As always, this is an honest review.*

[KathVBtn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Luan Goldie book I've read along with Nightingale Point- she has such a talent for capturing tales of gentrification in east London and beyond. in 'These Streets' Jessica, a mum with two teenagers lives in a rented house that's suited them, its nothing fancy but they have space and its where they know. One day her landlord says that he's selling up because of the effect that the Olympic park redevelopment is having on house prices - he has to cash in while he can. At the same time, Jessica's job as a theatre outreach worker is under threat due to lack of funding; her relationship with her daughter is going pearshaped. And a potential new relationship with Ben is on the scene, but is it more trouble than its worth. Ben is dealing with his own issues as his ex-wife and Olivia his child have moved to Tenerife and he is struggling with how to keep the connection with Olivia.

The characters are so real, the issues of homelessness and job insecurity that Jessica and Ben face are absolutely true to life and heartbreaking, even more when you think about how many people are affected like this every day. This is a powerful story, told through the medium of a normal working family,

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the chance to read it.

[Keith Tooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘These Streets’ is the third book by Luan Goldie who previously novels include ‘Nightingale Point’ and ‘Homecoming’. The book centres around two characters Jess and Ben who both have there own lives and hardships but there lives start entwining and they fall in love. But life is never easy and due to the pressures of both there lives and background, love doesn’t run smoothly.

I started reading Luan Goldie when I read her first book ‘Nightingale Point’ which was an amazing debut book, it didn’t read like a debut and I couldn’t put it down. No books I have read since by Luan Goldie have been as amazing as ‘Nightingale Point’ to me but that isn’t a fault of this book, I just really enjoyed that book.

‘These Streets’ was a really great book and I must say I did struggle to put this book down. The storyline was really good and felt very real. The language was so natural as it always is with Luan Goldie and I could actually picture the characters saying the words which I don’t think you always can with authors, sometimes the words almost feel written and fake. Luan Goldie writes each chapter from the side of one character and I really like this style of writing. This is definitely a book I would recommend as a must read.

[Kate Southey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was upon finishing These Streets that I found out why I liked it so much. Luan Goldie writes that the novel takes place entirely in one postcode because it was written during lockdown when all of our worlds shrank to our local shops and parks, and indeed our homes. This novel is a frank and unvarnished look at the housing crisis facing our country and how quickly we can become jobless and then homeless and possibly even rough sleeping.
I instantly liked both Jess and Ben but fell hopelessly in love with Wolf the 70 something raconteur who makes German cakes and insists you take them and some books home with you. I think his birthday party was probably the best party I’ve encountered in a novel!
Goldie’s immense skill though is reserved for her child characters. Hazel and Jacob (and even the brief glimpse we have of his friend Cameron) burst off the page as fully formed three dimensional people with the same problems faced by many youngsters while not looking like literary devices used only to signpost social issues facing young people.
This is a great novel and I look forward to reading anything else by Luan Goldie.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"These Streets" is a simple story really. A woman facing her home being sold from under her. It's the sharp slap of reality. Of how a community changes. Families being priced out of their own homes. It's the relationship we have with both people and places.

It's simple, but it's powerful and rewarding.

Goldie writes superb characters. They're familiar and relatable. You can even say that about Harold, who's a beagle. There's a healthy restraint in the way she writes, it's measured and delicate, allowing the story to feel organic and natural. This allows serious issues to be part of the stories. It never feels like it wants to educate you, it trusts that you understand the real problems faced by an ever-growing number of people. It doesn't seek to solve anything, it simply tells a story. In fact, Goldie tells a very good story with real care and craft. There will be much praise for this book, and deservedly so.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this but I wish they explored some parts a bit deeper.

I thought the depiction of east London, especially Stratford, was very realistic and felt genuine as you read it.

I think the background of Dominic’s character could have been explored further and the impact on Jess. It’s kinda just dropped in that he has committed sexual assault twice in the past but nothing further really comes of it. We get Ben’s experience and what he remembers but it would have been interesting to see more into what occurred for Jess during this time.

Haze was quite annoying at times, but to be fair she is an 18 year old and they often always think they know better than anyone. But again, I believe there was a missed opportunity to explore her character more and the reasonings behind her actions.

I got kinda of bored of Jess and Ben’s romance, it was alright but didn’t really interest me.

But overall, I did really enjoy this and quite interested to see what else the author has written.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, a duel narrative about two people in the Stratford area of London. It wasn't the book I was expecting as the blurb focuses on homelessness when really it's more of a romance.

A minor criticism is the main character of Jess is too naive to be believable in places. I lived in this area before the London Olympics and everyone was talking about the changes and price increases. She definitely would've had someone say their rent had gone up!
It is good to highlight how a chain of events can tip people into a crisis and how gentrification has positives and negatives. It's a really good depiction of the area and the community and the more gritty areas behind the shiny new things.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Claire Burdge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book a lot, it touched on a lot of really relevant issues but without coming across as preachy or too sentimental. It centred around a pretty normal family (single mum and two kids) who after a string of bad luck find themselves without a home or jobs and how they are trying to live within these really tough times. I thought it really thoughtfully showed how just one or two things can go wrong and it can just destroy your life. I gave it four stars instead of five because the last maybe 10-15% of the book felt really rushed to be wrapped up. I think there were a few more conversations that needed to happen and a few big plot points I thought were coming were just kind of swept under the rug. I really loved the characters and felt really wrapped up in their world when I read it.

[Dakota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luan Goldie paints an important picture about family and the difficulties some must face when everything seems to go wrong all at once, when everything is out of your control and the powerlessness consumes you. I never knew how difficult it could be to find housing and how unhelpful the council could be. And while Jess and her children had such a difficult time, I feel like everything went a little too wrong, there were too many downs and not enough ups. This book was a little too depressing and I couldn't really connect with any of the characters. The mystery surrounding Jess's brother, Dominic, was a bit overdone and there was nothing that really kept my attention. Overall, not my favorite book but an important one nonetheless.

[AngelaC · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second Luan Goldie novel I've read and I was not disappointed. The author takes an ordinary family from the East End of London and confronts the mother, difficult teenage daughter and younger son with Asperger's syndrome with a series of problems that face so many people every day (loss of job, loss of rental accommodation, elderly parent etc.). In doing so, she manages to paint a detailed picture of life, relationships within the family and outside it, and certain contemporary social issues.
It could be a depressing book yet there is enough gentle humour in it to lift the atmosphere.
I would recommend this book and am looking forward to reading Luan Goldie's third novel, Homecoming.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

They say bad luck runs in threes. This book certainly obliges - jobless, homeless and partnerless - as we get to know Jess and her family. A gentle, thought provoking novel with a touch of humour, that’s an easy and enjoyable read. Ms Goldie gives the reader an insight into the homeless issue married to being unemployed and struggling to survive and get life back on track in Stratford, London. The little mixed bunch of characters were charming , with interesting and comical interactions.Finally with the help of her children, Jess’ long term happiness is on the cards.

My thanks to NetGalley and HQ the publishers for this advance copy.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars


This is a warm, amusing look at one family, and how they cope with a run of bad luck.
The characters feel like they could be people I know, living in a place I know.
Each of the main characters were extremely likeable, so I was wishing the best for them.

I won't be the only one to reference Nightingale Point in their review , and I feel its worth mentioning, that this is a completely different style of book.

I was late to the party on Nightingale, so pleased I got to this one early so I can recommend it left, right and middle.

[Sally Anfilogoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this novel by the author of Nightingale Point. Again, this is a novel about ordinary people ( Jess and Ben) struggling to make their way against extraordinary odds. It's about homelessness and unemployment and family and how tricky it is to juggle everything as a single parent. No one in this novel is out of the ordinary and that's what makes it so real. I'm familiar with the area in which the novel is based and the issues around prices being driven up so that local people are priced out of the market both to rent and to buy.

It really is an excellent novel about living in London today, right now ( or any city in England) and how we deal with what is thrown at us. Keeping your head above water doesn't give much time to plan for emergencies like redundancy and losing your tenancy or looking after elderly parents and children all at the same time. This sounds bleak but it's told with humour and compassion although I do wonder if a sense of positivity really is enough to win in the end.

Recommended
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC

[Peter Thew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goldie's strength is writing about the experiences of working-class London. This time, the book is set in the unglamourous end of Stratford (the end which was not rebuilt for the 2012 Olympics). A single mother with two teenage children who loses her job and her home in quick succession is the central character and it's how she copes - or fails to - with these twin setbacks that makes up the central drive of the book. The characters she creates are all well-developed - and the storyline doesn't always follow the expected path. Well worth a read

[Beverley Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. As an Londoner it was warming to hear the tones of living in London and seeing challenges with housing from an insiders perspective. The relationships were believeable and many of the characters and mix of background showed how 3 dimensional families and couples can be. This author creates characters that show so many aspects of modern day challenges and asperations. I think I will have to read her other book Nightingale point which also discusses housing issues which is something close to my heart. A 3 star but a strong 3.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought provoking story about ordinary people and how their life is being changed by gentrification and the housing problem.
The author did a good job in delivering an interesting and well written story that deals with everyday problems of average people.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Single mother struggling against the forces of gentrification. How precarious our lives can be. She loses a low rent house and is made redundant and becomes homeless. Her children struggle to accept the new reality. Meanwhile she meets a new kind man who was bullied by her brother at school.