Invisible Thread

by Sophy Layzell, Sophy Layzell (Illustrator)

In response to her mother's call Stella has returned to the world she once knew, to help bring her family back together.

Held together by the fragile invisible thread that binds each family together, Catherine, David and Charlie must navigate life without Stella.

But what happens when that thread is stretched to its limit? Will it eventually snap? And if so, how will they find their way back to each other?

From her slumber under the earth, Stella responds to her mother’s call. Convinced she must help unravel the knots in her family’s relationship, she sets out to try and bring her family back together.

Sophy Layzell’s compelling new novel is about hope and love that crosses and transcends all worldly boundaries.
Beautifully drawn and moving, Invisible Thread is about the certainty that even after the blackest of nights there will be a new day.

270 pages, Hardcover

Published September 25, 2021

About the author

Sophy Layzell, is an author based in Somerset who was lucky to have had a childhood full of stories. Born in Laos, she was adopted into a wonderful family who prize creativity very highly.
Adventures created for her by her father were the best way to start the weekend, and Tintin read aloud to her by her brother (with accents) were a highlight of her youth. Without stories, she would have had no sense of place, history and no dreams from which they could grow.

Reviews

[Marcia Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be honest, when I first started reading this book, I wasn't sure it was going to be my cup of tea. However, within a few chapters, I found myself really enjoying it.  The book is about a family which has suffered the traumatic loss of a daughter, and how the survivors are trying to navigate life without her. Stella, the deceased teenager, returns from her slumber beneath the earth in response to her mother's desperate plea for help to reunite the family. The chapters are short and are written from the perspective of Stella, her mother, Catherine, her brother, Charlie, and her father, David. The short chapters work well in this novel. The book is sensitively written and there are some beautiful descriptive passages. If you feel like reading a book that is a little different, then this is one to look out for.

[JL Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brilliant book is presented from the perspectives of Stella and her mother, father, and brother. After her tragic death, she is able to return by travelling between living things. A character driven story, Invisible Thread conveyed the emotions of Stella’s family as they grieve, with some beautiful character development throughout.

I couldn’t help but like Stella and her family. Anyone who has grieved a loved one will feel the emotions coming out of each page. It did mean that I had to stop once in a while to reflect on family and loss.

I think this book will remain with me for a while. Not my usual genre of book, but one I’m definitely glad to have read. Would I recommend this book? Definitely, although I’ll caveat that with a trigger warning about loss and grieving.
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[Clairey Stanhope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review

This is beautifully written and so respectful of loss in a family. I found it fascinating the different perspectives of the lose. Having lost a daughter I shed many tears through this book but I gained a new understanding as well.
I knew this would be a difficult read but it was so worth it. Stunningly written book.
Thank you so much to @sophylayzell and @lovebookstours for letting me join this tour. Amazing book #Ad #Gifted #loss #family #grief

[Sophie Narey (Bookreview- aholic) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this book is writing in a few different point of view it is still easy to work out what I'd happening , sometimes it can get confusing when authors do this but Sophy Layzell manages to do it effortlessly to keep the reader on track with the storyline.

In this book we meet Stella's family , after Stella's death they are struggling to keep together as a family. Her mothers calls to her in a desperate plea to help save the family, luckily Stella answers the pleas of her mother and finds a way to interact with them through objects . But can Stella find a way to get the family back together ?

The book is written beautifully and respectfully, losing anyone is very hard and damaging and the way it is portrayed in this book is realistic in the feelings of the different family members . The characters are great to read about and get to know throughout the story , Stella is an amazing character and one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading about . A brilliantly written book and one that I would definitely read again!

[Richard Sorapure · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is written from the different points of view of the parents, Catherine and David and Charlie, their teenage son, following the tragic death of their daughter Stella. Stella is able to reincarnate and travel between living things and even move inanimate objects. As the family grieve for Stella she can see all their actions and empathise with their struggles and suffering. All the family characters are realistic. Teenager Charlie has a fractious relationship with his father who has run off with Lisa. The family tensions and loss of his sister lead to an eating disorder and low self-esteem. Stella's 'invisible-thread' tries to bind the family back together transmitting images of happy times in the past to counter the negativity. The secondary characters such as Gran, Anne, Louisa (David's girlfriend) Bella (Charlie's girlfriend) and Harry, the dog, provide the backdrop to keep up the momentum.
Living in Somerset I appreciated the evocative descriptions of the rural scenes and activities such as cider-making. Overall, this is a well-written novel based on the author's experience of loss and relevant for many other families who have lost a loved one. The message is one of hope.

[gee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows multiple povs of a family (mother, father & son) grieving the loss of their beloved daughter & sister, Stella. It also includes her pov at points too, as she reincarnates and travels between living things. This was definitely a character orientated book, and although i’m more of a plot orientated person myself i still enjoyed reading the emotions & feelings of the characters & the development was progressed really well.⠀
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It was a very interesting book & definitely one that will leave you thinking .. It touches on the paranormal, how a loved one never leaves you & ghost matter. It does include some tough topics (see content warnings) so just beware when reading.

[Lisa Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is from different points of view - mother, father and son who are coming to terms with the loss of their daughter/sister. You also get Stella's point of view too as she reincarnates through different living things to be closer to her family.

It was a good read and showed how people deal with their grief in different ways and also how there is no fixed timeline on when a person should heal. I really liked Stella's character and how she still wanted to be so close to her family, when she could see what they were going through.

[Abigail Yardimci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a beautiful, slow wash of love, grief, hope and renewal. I really enjoyed the boldness of Stella's spirit, moving herself through the physical world she'd once known, trying so hard to reach out to her family and never really seeing just how much of a link she had with them all. Each chapter was told from a different character's point of view and I was surprised to find I didn't have a favourite - I wanted to hear from them all. The story moved along easily and I kept finding myself wanting to go back to the book in between readings - a sure sign of a good book. I loved the simplicity and beauty of the way the story ended and I will definitely look forward to reading more from this author.

[Nicola Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book starts autumn 2010 and travels to spring 2011 and is told by four characters perspectives, Stella, Charlie, Catherine and David. Combined these characters make a family.

Beware this is an extremely emotional read that takes you on a journey of love and coming back together after a loss of a family member. It really makes you think about what happens after death and when we feel like someone we’ve lost is still with us. The author does this in a unique way that literally makes every sentence beautiful. The emotions that come out are incredibly overpowering.

The book gives you so much joy and hope that even though it can be a difficult concept to think about wanting to read it turns into a book your thankful to have read. The meanings behind it when you finish and relate back to the title of the book all link up perfectly. For me I only really appreciated the cover of this so much when it started making sense and linked in with the story.

The level of detail built in even from the opening chapter the first sentence the first paragraph show you how talented this author is. Sucking you into a plot that grows and builds naturally and takes over your thought process. For me this is going to stay with me for a long long time. Life will always go on, families will struggle, but memories will always bring back together.

[M.S. Clements · Rating 4 out of 5]

Layzell story of a family broken by the death of their teenage daughter on the eve of her GCSE is sensitively told. It incorporate her the author clear love of her Somerset environment and nature.
Told in from 4 different points of view, you have Stella, whose death nearly five years previously led to the fracturing of the family. Call back to help her grieving mother, Stella winds her way through the family trying to bring them back together.
The other POV are Stella's family, Charlie, her younger brother, Catherine her mother and David, her father. Unlike Stella, where the narration is in the 1st person, these are in the 3rd, as though observed by the unseen spirit of the daughter.
Layzell deals with the various family dramas, from infidelity, bulimia and growing sense to understand self, with care and understanding, as you would expect from a writer who is taking her own experiences and placing them with the utmost care in the fictional world.
The main 'Thread' that I can away if that of hope. Stella has helped bring peace to the broken hearts of her family.

[Kirsty Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I read this in a day- and wow I could not put it down.

The over whelming grief, sorrow and anger that this family feel from the death of Stella four years prior just pours off the pages.

Won’t lie there are times when it nearly made me tear up.

The characters are believable and sympathetic people- apart from David (although will say that was initially how I felt)- and you just want to hug Charlie.

Also brownie points for exploring the underlying issues with teenage boys and their mental health- especially when it comes to eating disorders.

The use of First POV by Stella and third POV for the rest of the family is such a fantastic use of mixing the two and it feels natural.

I will say though it is a bit slow at times and Stella’s parts are a little bit too cheesy at times so they did me out slightly.

But I do wholly recommend this one!

[Anna Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invisible Threads tenderly probes what grief means to different family members as they try to cope with unbearable loss. These threads are binding memories and bonds that make up family relationships. Annoying things; things we take for granted only to realise how precious they are; what it means to love. We hear from each family member, with the one who is lost forever also having her voice.
Layzell knows a thing or two about loss, and clearly brings this to her story, while making the Rowsell family’s story arc their own. Illustrations in the book are by the author, adding another personal thread woven through.
Highly recommend.

[Kaylie Sudlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so beautifully and thoughtfully written. I really enjoyed the multi POV especially Stella’s. They were almost like poetry especially the first chapter when she is awoken.

The emotion is so powerful and really showed the grief a family will go through when someone dies.

I would highly recommend this for those that are going through the grieving process.

Thanks to the author and Love Books Tours for the opportunity to read this in return of an honest review.

[Dave Holwill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartfelt account of how to live with the unthinkable.
Sophy Layzell writes magnificently about how the members of a family deal with the loss of a daughter, a sister and a granddaughter from multiple perspectives - including the haunting memory of the daughter herself.
Exploring daring themes of nature, interconnectedness and the great beyond itself, she weaves a narrative that draws you in and keeps you there right to the end.
A remarkable piece of work.

[Joanna Donaldson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself getting more and more drawn into this book the more I read it. The story follows Charlie, David and Catherine as they try to cope with life without Stella and Stella as she sees what is happening to her family and tries to help to help them.

It was beautifully written and I enjoyed that each chapter was told from a different character’s point of view as it made me feel connected to all the characters as they struggled to move forwards with life without Stella. The difficult topics in the books were very sensitively written.

[Bella Lagnado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Achingly beautiful.
It’s impossible not to be blown away by this wonderful piece of writing.
You fly with Stella, walk with Charlie and hold hands with Catherine and David.
All my emotions and senses were brought to life whilst devouring the pages. The sheer beauty of the descriptions, the sadness, the joy and the hope of life. It’s all here. Poetic brilliance and artistic magnificence.

[Staceywh_17]

The story follows a family grieving the untimely death of their daughter Stella & how Stella manages to let them know she's still around by travelling through living things. The story is told from both Stella & her family's POV.

Beautifully written, this is a book that will stay with you long after reading. I found the book highly emotive & it will certainly get you right in the feels.

Many thanks to Love Books Tours for my tour spot & my gifted copy.

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