Het spel

Short Stories #2

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

Previous Book: 'Swimming to Lundy', published th August 2024'.

Latest Book: 'This One Life', published 7th January 2025.

Next Book: 'Ever After' published 7th August 2025.

Amanda Prowse is an International Bestselling author whose thirty-two novels, two non-fiction titles and ten novellas have been published in dozens of languages around the world. Published by Lake Union, Amanda is the most prolific writer of bestselling contemporary fiction in the UK today; her titles also consistently score the highest online review approval ratings across several genres. Her books, including the chart topping No.1 titles 'What Have I Done?', 'Perfect Daughter', 'My Husband's Wife', 'The Girl in the Corner' and ‘The Things I Know’ have sold millions of copies across the globe.

A popular TV and radio personality, Amanda has appeared on numerous shows where her views on family and social issues strike a chord with viewers. She also makes countless guest appearances on BBC national and independent Radio stations including LBC, Times Radio and Talk FM, where she is well known for her insightful observations and her infectious humour. Described by the Daily Mail as ‘The queen of family drama’ Amanda’s novel, 'A Mother's Story' won the coveted Sainsbury's eBook of the year Award and she has had two books selected as World Book Night titles, 'Perfect Daughter' in 2016 and 'The Boy Between' in 2022.

Amanda is a huge supporter of libraries and having become a proud ambassador for The Reading Agency, works tirelessly to promote reading, especially in disadvantaged areas. Amanda's 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...

Praise for Amanda Prowse:

'A powerful and emotional work of fiction' - Piers Morgan

'Deeply moving and emotional, Amanda Prowse handles her explosive subjects with delicate skill' - Daily Mail

'Uplifting and positive, but you will still need a box of tissues' - Hello!

'A gut-wrenching and absolutely brilliant read' - The Irish Sun

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

'Deeply moving and eye opening. Powerful and emotional drama that packs a real punch.' - Heat

'Magical' - Now magazine

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.

[nikkslibrary · Rating 1 out of 5]

i picked this up randomly at a store because the story sounded interesting, but it disappointed me. it should have been longer and more worked out especially the ending.

[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

[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

[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

[Nora K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it tho the ending could have been 1 page longer and then it would have been perfect! lovely prowse book yet again❤️

[Vicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

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

[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

[Jude · Rating 3 out of 5]

wish it had been longer and that the ending had been explained

[Julie Watkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

over way to soon. seemed rushed.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written as you would expect from Amanda Prowse but I have no idea of the point of this novella - I agree with other comments, it was too short and the ending was too rushed.