Paradise

Paradise

3.69 of 5 stars 3.69  ·  rating details  ·  67 ratings  ·  20 reviews
A move to a small seaside town gives Billie a chance at a new lifand new love -- until the underof the past pulls her toward a shocking secret.
When sixteen-year-old Billie Paradise unexpectedly inherits her grandmother's house, it couldn't come at a better time. With her stepdad abroad and her mom starting to lose it, moving from their cramped London apartment to an old h...more
Paperback
Published September 1st 2011 by Walker & Company
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Arlena
Author: Joanna Nadin
Published By: Walker & Company
Age Recommended: YA (some Language)
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Book Blog For: GMTA
Rating: 4

Review:

"Paradise" by Joanna Nadin was a good contemporary fiction read. This author gave us a well written read that full of mystery, family secrets and even some romance in this well captivating read that moves from present to past. This novel was written very cleverly. You will only have to pick up this read to see what I am speaking of. Billie Paradise,...more
Book Twirps
When Billie Paradise receives a key to her grandmother's home, it seems things may finally turn around for her. What Billie doesn't understand is why her grandmother left the house to her seeing as how they'd never met. Billie's mother left home when she discovered she was pregnant and didn't return. Even though she is reluctant to leave the flat in London and all of her friends, Billie knows that moving to the house might do her family some good. Her mother has changed -- dealing with her new h...more
Keri
I'm giving this book 5 stars because I was interested the entire time! I really enjoyed the format that it was written in. The story itself was really intriguing. I had enjoyed trying to figure out what the big secret was. And though I had predicted a few things, the rest was still pretty surprising. The ending felt a bit rushed and I felt closure. The last chapter was as I had predicted. I was slightly disappointed by one thing but in reality...it makes perfect sense. It was a realistic story....more
Vikki VanSickle
This is a very "secrets and lies" family tale about a teenager with a troubled young mom who inherits her grandmother's beautiful old house in Cornwall. They flee London, hoping for a fresh start, but Billie's mother gets sucked into dark memories of the past and teeters on the brink of sanity. Billie falls in love, but her new relationship is tested when the truth about her family rises to the surface.

I really enjoyed the setting of this novel, which was gloomy and atmospheric. Nadin has a poet...more
Natalie
Love was the last thing Billie Paradise expected to find. Billie is surprised when she inherits her grandmother’s house, a veritable mansion in the small town of Seaton. Besides her mother, Billie’s family is shrouded in mystery; a father she never knew and grandparents that were never spoken of. Still, with her mother on the verge of losing it, the offer for a fresh start is irresistible. Billie has one wish for her move to Seaton – to find her father. What she finds instead is hushed up secret...more
Zoe
Mar 28, 2012 Zoe rated it 3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Zoe by: A girl from twitter.
It was well written, but it wasn't my kind of book. I was recommended it from a person on twitter. I was hopeful at the beginning because the MC came from EXACTLY the same place I grew up in (Peckham, London) and even went to the same primary school! However, the storyline wasn't for me. The best bits were the sort of flash-back parts describing Het or Eleanor's past encounters. What the reader finds out is sad and tragic as the book goes on. (view spoiler)[But WTF is up with the cousins bit at...more
Katie
"We all have secrets. The kind of secrets that don't matter. Not really. Their fleeting, like insects, mayflies. Alive for just a day.

But some secrets aren't mayflies. They're monstrous things: skeletons locked in cupboards; notes slipped through cracks in floorboards and between the pages of books. And, though the ink fades and the paper yellows, the words are still there. Waiting to be find. Or to find us.

If I had known who he was—who I was—would it have changed anything?

Maybe. Maybe not.
"

6/5...more
PopcornReads
When I was in grad school, a professor told us there is no such thing as normal and that all family dysfunction spans generations until someone has the insight and courage to break the pattern. This YA novel is about one such dysfunctional family and the secrets that keep them locked in their dysfunction. If you like mysteries about families in which a courageous teen is determined to break the pattern then this one is definitely worth exploring. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads...more
Candace (Lovey Dovey Books)
Paradise is a beautiful story that will leave readers speechless. Joanna Nadin's novel of sweet romance, family secrets, and mystery is captivating and surprising enough that you won't see the plot twist too soon.

Billie Paradise believes her family's move to a small town by the sea is just the change of scenery they all need. She hopes to find a missing piece of herself in her mother's hometown and maybe clues from the past to paint the picture of the grandparents she's never met. When Billie be...more
Samantha
I have been a fan of Joanna’s work since the first Rachel Riley book. When she brought out her first non-Rachel Riley related teen book, Wonderland, I quickly brought it/read it and loved it so when she released a second YA solo book, Paradise, I snapped it up.

Paradise is an amazing book that tells us of Billie Paradise, a sixteen year old girl from London who inherits a house in Cornwall from her dead grandmother Eleanor. While in Cornwall she begins the hunt for her father and on the way Billi...more
Sbe
A romance, a mystery, a story of family relationships; a bit of a page turner at times. 'Paradise' if the surname that slighlty off-beat mother Het gives herself and her two children in her efforts to create a feeling of all being wonderful in her life; but all is not wonderful and she is only covering up a secret.
Catherine Bruton
I was lucky enough to be sent an advance copy of this amazing novel by Joanna Nadin. I love all her stuff but this is a bit darker than the Rachel Riley books or Buttercup Mash. It's more like Wonderland which came out last yeat I think. I couldn't put it down and read it in a day. Slick, beautiful and compelling!
Christie
I really loved this book. I couldn't stop reading it and stayed up way too late to finish it. I love the back and forth through the different narrators and all of the clues along the way so readers can try to figure out how the events come together. My only complaint is that I wanted it to be a little longer! Very well done.
Jacqueline
I like Nadin's style, but Billie's life is really hard, and her story was hard to read because it was so upsetting. I only got 100 pages in before I had to stop.
Natalie
2.5 stars I liked the atmosphere of the story and the main character. The mysteries were apparent fairly soon, and I did not appreciate the one big twist.
Emma Vise
A beautiful book about family secrets. It also shows what happens when you keep secrets and lies... They all come out.
prina.
It's alright and quite gripping although a bit pretictable
Aman
Wonderful, twisted and heart wrenching. An amazing book with hidden secrets weaved
between the pages!!
Clare Cannon
Oct 29, 2012 Clare Cannon marked it as cc-review-shelf
Shelves: netgalley
Netgalley expired but have on kindle
Nadia
May 18, 2013 Nadia marked it as to-read
Carol
May 14, 2013 Carol marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: ya
Indigo
May 09, 2013 Indigo marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Xhuliå Xhu
May 05, 2013 Xhuliå Xhu marked it as to-read
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Paradise (Hardcover)
Paradise (Kindle Edition)
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Joanna Nadin is an English author of juvenile fiction best known for the Rachel Riley series of teenage novels Based on Nadin's own childhood, the series follows the comedic narration of a 13-year-old girl.

Nadin has also written several books of juvenile fiction. These include two books for the Oxford University Press "Project X" series designed to encourage boys to read.

Nadin previously worked as...more
More about Joanna Nadin...
My So Called Life (Rachel Riley, #1) Wonderland The Meaning of Life (Rachel Riley, #3) The Life of Riley (Rachel Riley, #2) My (Not So) Simple Life (Rachel Riley, #4)

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