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Another Life Altogether
A profoundly moving, heartrending story of a girl's struggle to love her mother in spite of her frightening mental illness
After years of living in the shadow of her mother's mental illness, thirteen-year-old Jesse Bennett is given a fresh chance at happiness when her family moves to a village near the coast of Northern England. But just when it seems Jesse might be able to build a new life, her mother's worsening mental state and the secret Jesse fiercely guards about herself threaten to destroy the fragile stability she has found. Caught in the tempest of her mother's moods, her father's desperation, and the cruel social hierarchies ruling her school life, Jesse is forced to choose between doing what's right and preserving the normal life she's always hoped for.
After years of living in the shadow of her mother's mental illness, thirteen-year-old Jesse Bennett is given a fresh chance at happiness when her family moves to a village near the coast of Northern England. But just when it seems Jesse might be able to build a new life, her mother's worsening mental state and the secret Jesse fiercely guards about herself threaten to destroy the fragile stability she has found. Caught in the tempest of her mother's moods, her father's desperation, and the cruel social hierarchies ruling her school life, Jesse is forced to choose between doing what's right and preserving the normal life she's always hoped for.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
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June 30, 2010
Another Life Altogether by Elaine Beale (Random House of Canada, 2010).
Reviewed by Jean Roberta. 870 words.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Growing-up-lesbian or coming-out novels seem hard to write well. If the central character is below the age of consent throughout most of the plot, references to sexual feelings (let alone sexual activity) are likely to be so controversial that they distract attention away from all the other elements in the book. Or the author's approach to a character who looks like her younger self might be self-indulgent or patronizing. This absorbing first novel, however, avoids all the usual pitfalls. It's a tragicomic slice-of-life that recreates puberty in a working-class family in northern England in the 1970s. Even if this doesn't sound like your own background, this book will take you there.
Young Jesse is the only child of a mother whose bipolar mood swings are both grimly funny and alarming, and a long-suffering socialist father who regards the Royal Family as the symbol of a decadent class system. Jesse is desperate for acceptance at school, and especially eager to impress a popular girl named Julie, but because of her family, she is doomed to hang out with the other outsiders. These trying circumstances stimulate her creativity, and her story is partly a kunstlerroman, a novel about the development of an artist. Here she tries to improve on reality:
"The day after my mother was admitted to the mental hospital [after a suicide attempt:], I told everyone at school that she had entered a competition on the back of a Corn Flakes box and won a cruise around the world."
Jesse's imaginative letters "from her mother" are full of her own longing to explore the wide world outside her own cramped milieu. They are engaging enough to attract Julie's attention until the inevitable day when neighborhood gossip blows Jesse's cover: "It took a little less than two weeks for word of the real nature of my mother's journey to get around school."
On advice from the doctors at the local mental hospital, Jesse's father decides that a change of scene would be good for the whole family. Therefore they move to a smaller town in Yorkshire which is, if possible, more stifling than their earlier neighborhood in the city of Hull. Almost as soon as she arrives in a town which is literally eroding into the sea, Jesse is banned indefinitely from a local grocery store for accidentally knocking over a display. Hungry for something interesting to read, Jesse discovers a travelling library run by a woman librarian who warns her away from "pornographic" novels such as Jane Eyre. But Jesse has already begun reading her life in terms of literature, and vice versa:
"We had watched Jane Eyre on the television the previous Sunday afternoon, and I felt ashamed to remember now that I had, in fact, imagined my mother as the first Mrs. Rochester, burning down the house and herself to make way for a sensible Jane Eyre-like stepmother for me."
Later on, Jesse identifies her father with the downtrodden Bob Cratchit in Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The significance of literature in her life, including the novel Animal Farm as an ideological connection between Jesse and her potential best friend (a sensitive boy who is harassed for being "gay"), and between both of them and a bold lesbian teacher who demands to be called "Ms. Hastings" (as in the Battle of) weaves through Jesse's real-life adventures.
Jesse's other adult mentors include her sexually-daring Aunt Mabel and the opportunistic boyfriend she almost marries on the belief that she is running out of time to "catch a man," as well as Jesse's narrow-minded Granddad Bennett, who never stops negatively comparing Jesse's father to his sports-star brother, who died after staggering from a pub into the path of a speeding vehicle. The bully that Jesse accepts as a "friend" in order to fit in is a girl of her own age who is clearly influenced by older, more dangerous male bullies, including her own father. Jesse is shown growing up in a deeply male-dominated, gender-divided, homophobic culture in which violence is always possible, yet none of the characters is a stereotype, and all have understandable motives for their behavior.
Jesse's crush on a fascinating older girl, Amanda, is realistic and heartbreaking. Fantasy correspondence is Jesse's forte, and her imagined relationship with Amanda inspires her to write a series of letters to her idol that are never intended to be read. Amanda's misleading treatment of Jesse, and Jesse's discovery of Amanda's secret, look true to life.
All these elements are deftly woven together into a fast-moving plot that rises to a climax before the loose ends are more-or-less resolved in a satisfyingly hopeful conclusion. Jesse's actual life (as distinct from "another life altogether" that she dreams of having) is more worthy of literature than she knows at the time. The narrative style looks as artless as a thirteen-year-old's
stream-of-consciousness while it actually includes symbolism and interlocking motifs.
When the best lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender novels of the year are nominated for awards at the end of 2010, watch for this one to appear in a list. It has that almost-undefinable quality that persuades readers to believe passionately (on some level) in a fictional world.
~~~~~~~~~~
Reviewed by Jean Roberta. 870 words.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Growing-up-lesbian or coming-out novels seem hard to write well. If the central character is below the age of consent throughout most of the plot, references to sexual feelings (let alone sexual activity) are likely to be so controversial that they distract attention away from all the other elements in the book. Or the author's approach to a character who looks like her younger self might be self-indulgent or patronizing. This absorbing first novel, however, avoids all the usual pitfalls. It's a tragicomic slice-of-life that recreates puberty in a working-class family in northern England in the 1970s. Even if this doesn't sound like your own background, this book will take you there.
Young Jesse is the only child of a mother whose bipolar mood swings are both grimly funny and alarming, and a long-suffering socialist father who regards the Royal Family as the symbol of a decadent class system. Jesse is desperate for acceptance at school, and especially eager to impress a popular girl named Julie, but because of her family, she is doomed to hang out with the other outsiders. These trying circumstances stimulate her creativity, and her story is partly a kunstlerroman, a novel about the development of an artist. Here she tries to improve on reality:
"The day after my mother was admitted to the mental hospital [after a suicide attempt:], I told everyone at school that she had entered a competition on the back of a Corn Flakes box and won a cruise around the world."
Jesse's imaginative letters "from her mother" are full of her own longing to explore the wide world outside her own cramped milieu. They are engaging enough to attract Julie's attention until the inevitable day when neighborhood gossip blows Jesse's cover: "It took a little less than two weeks for word of the real nature of my mother's journey to get around school."
On advice from the doctors at the local mental hospital, Jesse's father decides that a change of scene would be good for the whole family. Therefore they move to a smaller town in Yorkshire which is, if possible, more stifling than their earlier neighborhood in the city of Hull. Almost as soon as she arrives in a town which is literally eroding into the sea, Jesse is banned indefinitely from a local grocery store for accidentally knocking over a display. Hungry for something interesting to read, Jesse discovers a travelling library run by a woman librarian who warns her away from "pornographic" novels such as Jane Eyre. But Jesse has already begun reading her life in terms of literature, and vice versa:
"We had watched Jane Eyre on the television the previous Sunday afternoon, and I felt ashamed to remember now that I had, in fact, imagined my mother as the first Mrs. Rochester, burning down the house and herself to make way for a sensible Jane Eyre-like stepmother for me."
Later on, Jesse identifies her father with the downtrodden Bob Cratchit in Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The significance of literature in her life, including the novel Animal Farm as an ideological connection between Jesse and her potential best friend (a sensitive boy who is harassed for being "gay"), and between both of them and a bold lesbian teacher who demands to be called "Ms. Hastings" (as in the Battle of) weaves through Jesse's real-life adventures.
Jesse's other adult mentors include her sexually-daring Aunt Mabel and the opportunistic boyfriend she almost marries on the belief that she is running out of time to "catch a man," as well as Jesse's narrow-minded Granddad Bennett, who never stops negatively comparing Jesse's father to his sports-star brother, who died after staggering from a pub into the path of a speeding vehicle. The bully that Jesse accepts as a "friend" in order to fit in is a girl of her own age who is clearly influenced by older, more dangerous male bullies, including her own father. Jesse is shown growing up in a deeply male-dominated, gender-divided, homophobic culture in which violence is always possible, yet none of the characters is a stereotype, and all have understandable motives for their behavior.
Jesse's crush on a fascinating older girl, Amanda, is realistic and heartbreaking. Fantasy correspondence is Jesse's forte, and her imagined relationship with Amanda inspires her to write a series of letters to her idol that are never intended to be read. Amanda's misleading treatment of Jesse, and Jesse's discovery of Amanda's secret, look true to life.
All these elements are deftly woven together into a fast-moving plot that rises to a climax before the loose ends are more-or-less resolved in a satisfyingly hopeful conclusion. Jesse's actual life (as distinct from "another life altogether" that she dreams of having) is more worthy of literature than she knows at the time. The narrative style looks as artless as a thirteen-year-old's
stream-of-consciousness while it actually includes symbolism and interlocking motifs.
When the best lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender novels of the year are nominated for awards at the end of 2010, watch for this one to appear in a list. It has that almost-undefinable quality that persuades readers to believe passionately (on some level) in a fictional world.
~~~~~~~~~~
March 31, 2010
Elaine Beale managed to take me inside the mind of a typical thirteen-year-old girl; typical, that is, except for the fact that her mother is mentally ill (probably bipolar) and she herself is just beginning to realize that she might be gay. Like every child her age, her overwhelming desire is to "fit in," but first she has to learn the costs of playing by the rules or of being true to herself. I rooted for Jesse as she fought valiantly to learn how to be honest with herself, her friends and her family. And I admit, I cried a little at the end.
March 14, 2010
I give this book 3 stars because the language itself is quite lovely. The story, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. Jesse is a fairly standard teenage-girl-who-finally-learns-to-stand-up-for-herself-and-for-what's-right. She's a sympathetic character, but not a very interesting one. She seems like a dynamic character only because all the others are flat as pancakes (her parents don't so much grow as characters as just randomly start acting differently toward the end). Ultimately, though, it's hard to feel too much for Jesse, because she doesn't respond to her predicament in a believable way.
The story is set in a small town in northern England in the mid-70s (complete with some great descriptions of the clothes) and for that time and place, and what we know of her upbringing, Jesse takes her "predicament" far too easily in stride. We see very little internal struggle with her situation; the only real conflict in the story is how long she'll let things drag on. This does not make for very captivating reading.
The story is set in a small town in northern England in the mid-70s (complete with some great descriptions of the clothes) and for that time and place, and what we know of her upbringing, Jesse takes her "predicament" far too easily in stride. We see very little internal struggle with her situation; the only real conflict in the story is how long she'll let things drag on. This does not make for very captivating reading.
March 28, 2010
I wanted to get to the end, to both find out how the protagonist deals with her life's crisis, but also because I found the prose a bit tedious. I loved the setting, the coast of the North Sea in the UK. I fell in love with the protagonist, young Jesse Bennett (13 yoa) who was facing several challenges at once - a mentally ill mother, her own sexual orientation, and peer acceptance. I had no love for anyone else - her mentally ill, suicidal mother, her spineless, compliant father, her desperate Aunt Mabel, her thieving Uncle, the disappeared Grandma, and her "Heatheresque" friends. The characters were real but not one had the redeeming quality to make me like them or make them seem human.
What I missed most, however, was the sentence or three that makes you rejoice in language and leaves you feeling what the author wanted you too, in your bones. The mark of literary talent. While I appreciated the plot and subplots, they made for a good tale, the writing is not yet there. I guess some critics would say this was a good first effort.
What I missed most, however, was the sentence or three that makes you rejoice in language and leaves you feeling what the author wanted you too, in your bones. The mark of literary talent. While I appreciated the plot and subplots, they made for a good tale, the writing is not yet there. I guess some critics would say this was a good first effort.
August 23, 2017
This was a very well written saga of a British teenager coming to terms with her sexuality--and her dysfunctional mother--in 1970s Yorkshire. Beale perfectly captures Jesse's confused internal dialogue as she tries desperately to fit in with her schoolmates while knowing that she is very different. The ending is a bit predictable and pat, but overall an admirable YA novel.
March 20, 2010
A very well written coming of age story set in 1970's England. The book focuses on one year in the life of Jesse a 13/14 year old girl living in a small England town with a mother who is bipolar. Jesse not only struggles with a very unhappy home life, but with trying to hide the fact that her mother is crazy from her schoolmates. Unfortunately, when the kids at school discover her secret, Jesse feels her life is ruined. Jesse is given a second chance when her family moves to a new town, and she makes new friends. As the story progresses, however, we discover that Jesse, has a second struggle to hide from everyone - her sexuality. An engaging story about how difficult it is to be different.
February 28, 2010
Another Life Altogether by Elaine Beale tells the story of Jesse Bennett, a 13 year old girl. Jesse's life is complex and heartbreaking. She lives with a bi-polar mother and a father who largely turns his back on the problems. At school, Jesse is bullied and has difficulty finding her place. She is increasingly confused about her sexual orientation, which complicates matters further.
With all these things going on, one may assume that this novel is emotionally gripping. One would assume incorrectly. It seems that by trying to tackle so many issues at once, none of them is fully developed. As a result, the book falls flat.
With all these things going on, one may assume that this novel is emotionally gripping. One would assume incorrectly. It seems that by trying to tackle so many issues at once, none of them is fully developed. As a result, the book falls flat.
November 14, 2010
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...#
I was really impressed with Another Life Altogether by Elaine Beale. It is a coming of age story with spunky Jesse Bennett, who desperately wants to fit in at her new school. She has challenges with her mother who is mentally ill and her family who are an odd assortment with her Aunt Mabel and Jesse's over-burdened father. It touches on human prejudices and the aftermath of the ones who are affected. The story felt real and Jesse Bennett is a very memorable heroine.
I was really impressed with Another Life Altogether by Elaine Beale. It is a coming of age story with spunky Jesse Bennett, who desperately wants to fit in at her new school. She has challenges with her mother who is mentally ill and her family who are an odd assortment with her Aunt Mabel and Jesse's over-burdened father. It touches on human prejudices and the aftermath of the ones who are affected. The story felt real and Jesse Bennett is a very memorable heroine.
December 24, 2024
I give this book 3 stars because the language itself is quite lovely. The story, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. Jesse is a fairly standard teenage-girl-who-finally-learns-to-stand-up-for-herself-and-for-what's-right. She's a sympathetic character, but not a very interesting one. She seems like a dynamic character only because all the others are flat as pancakes (her parents don't so much grow as characters as just randomly start acting differently toward the end). Ultimately, though, it's hard to feel too much for Jesse, because she doesn't respond to her predicament in a believable way.
The story is set in a small town in northern England in the mid-70s (complete with some great descriptions of the clothes) and for that time and place, and what we know of her upbringing, Jesse takes her "predicament" far too easily in stride. We see very little internal struggle with her situation; the only real conflict in the story is how long she'll let things drag on. This does not make for very captivating reading.
The story is set in a small town in northern England in the mid-70s (complete with some great descriptions of the clothes) and for that time and place, and what we know of her upbringing, Jesse takes her "predicament" far too easily in stride. We see very little internal struggle with her situation; the only real conflict in the story is how long she'll let things drag on. This does not make for very captivating reading.
May 6, 2019
Captivated by the first sentence I found myself flying through this book. This was for a few reasons, I found the book wonderfully written, the words just flowed so nicely it was beautiful to read. I also found the character of the mother to be highly relatable about being stressed of the overwhelming feeling that is life and taking care of everything and feel under appreciated from family. I also found the character of Jesse to be relatable as well, struggling to find her moral compass and stick up for what she knows is right. I was however disappointed by the end. I do think all of the story lines were concluded and you wern't left wondering. I just had hoped for more of an ending with a boom or more of a statement. A great, easy read though. I whipped through it in about 2 weeks!
November 24, 2020
Listen, Jesse Bennett is going through a lot and I honestly forgive her for everything. If Malcolm can forgive, so can I. I understand her desire to be liked, especially after coming from the outcasts of her previous school and being a teenager is so so hard, especially when you're realizing you're queer on top of everything else. So, yeah, I forgive Jesse, I hope her and Malcolm and Dizzy have wonderful adventures and I hope her mom gets the treatment she needs. While I found the start of this book a little slow, I was ripping through it by the time Jesse's school year started and it was well worth it.
May 30, 2018
Whilst I could relate to Jesse’s experience as a teenager growing up and dealing with a confusing sexuality, I found the story quite depressing at times. Her mother was an utter nightmare and as selfish as they come, which mentally ill people often are. What a crappy childhood. Jesse deserves a medal, along with her father for putting up with the shit.
A bit of a wishy washy ending but I enjoyed the story. I knew people like Tracey at my school so can relate to the utter misery she put people through!
A bit of a wishy washy ending but I enjoyed the story. I knew people like Tracey at my school so can relate to the utter misery she put people through!
January 30, 2019
I read this book a couple years ago, I believed I really liked it.
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
December 14, 2009
Elaine Beale crafts the engrossing coming-of-age and coming out story of Jesse Bennet in Another Life Altogether. Jesse lives on the northeast coast of England, one of the world’s fastest eroding coastlines. The constant threat of the breakdown of the cliffs is mirrored by Jesse’s mother’s constant threat of mental collapse. The book begins with her mother in Delapole, the local mental hospital, though Jesse tells her classmates that her mother is on a cruise; her hope is to impress a girl she has a crush on in her class. But when her mother is discharged, in an attempt to escape judgment and get a fresh start, her father moves them into a dilapidated house in a small village.
Jesse is desperate to begin her own new life at the new school somewhere higher in the pecking order. She gets her wish as she develops a friendship with Tracey, a girl with a mean streak and an older sister, Amanda, that Jesse falls for. With her unrequited love for Amanda, and a mother who spends most of her days and nights in bed, Jesse spends much of her time writing letters to Amanda that she never sends. The letters allow her an escape and provide an outlet for her feelings in a world where she feels no one understands her or cares about her.
The layers of life develop throughout the book as Jesse battles to reconcile what she thinks her life should be and what it actually is. She wrestles alone trying to understand her sexuality and steals a book from the local mobile library on homosexuality that still doesn’t help her reconcile her feelings towards Amanda to the fact that nearly everyone around her judges homosexuality as perverse and wrong. Her father ignores the stress and trauma of the family life, preferring to yell at the television, hoping that his wife will snap out of it, and assuming Jesse can carry on by herself. Jesse’s mother struggles with what seems to be bipolar disorder; manic at times and nearly catatonic at others, she is trapped by her own brain.
The idea that mental illness is something that can be shaken off like a blanket permeates the book; the mother wants to be better but can’t. Another theme throughout is the almost impossible cruelty that kids can inflict upon each other; regardless of the time period (the book is set in the 1970s), those who are different are relentlessly picked on.
At the book’s climax, I kept desperately hoping that Jesse would do the right thing. (Don't worry. I won’t spoil it for you!) And at the end of the book, while Jesse has changed and grown throughout, we see that her life still has to carry on. There is no happily-ever-after, but there is a waking up: an acknowledgment that appearances and popularity often mean nothing and that ignoring things won’t make them go away.
Another Life Altogether is an extraordinary true-to-life book, and Beale tells a number of important and poignant stories all at once with great skill.
Review by Kristin Conard
Jesse is desperate to begin her own new life at the new school somewhere higher in the pecking order. She gets her wish as she develops a friendship with Tracey, a girl with a mean streak and an older sister, Amanda, that Jesse falls for. With her unrequited love for Amanda, and a mother who spends most of her days and nights in bed, Jesse spends much of her time writing letters to Amanda that she never sends. The letters allow her an escape and provide an outlet for her feelings in a world where she feels no one understands her or cares about her.
The layers of life develop throughout the book as Jesse battles to reconcile what she thinks her life should be and what it actually is. She wrestles alone trying to understand her sexuality and steals a book from the local mobile library on homosexuality that still doesn’t help her reconcile her feelings towards Amanda to the fact that nearly everyone around her judges homosexuality as perverse and wrong. Her father ignores the stress and trauma of the family life, preferring to yell at the television, hoping that his wife will snap out of it, and assuming Jesse can carry on by herself. Jesse’s mother struggles with what seems to be bipolar disorder; manic at times and nearly catatonic at others, she is trapped by her own brain.
The idea that mental illness is something that can be shaken off like a blanket permeates the book; the mother wants to be better but can’t. Another theme throughout is the almost impossible cruelty that kids can inflict upon each other; regardless of the time period (the book is set in the 1970s), those who are different are relentlessly picked on.
At the book’s climax, I kept desperately hoping that Jesse would do the right thing. (Don't worry. I won’t spoil it for you!) And at the end of the book, while Jesse has changed and grown throughout, we see that her life still has to carry on. There is no happily-ever-after, but there is a waking up: an acknowledgment that appearances and popularity often mean nothing and that ignoring things won’t make them go away.
Another Life Altogether is an extraordinary true-to-life book, and Beale tells a number of important and poignant stories all at once with great skill.
Review by Kristin Conard
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January 1, 2016"After years of living in the shadows of her mother's mental illness, Jesse Bennett is given a fresh chance at happiness when her family moves to a village in northern England. But just as it seems that she might be able to build a perfect life for herself after befriending two of her new school's most popular girls, her mother's worsening mental state and the secret Jesse fiercely guards about herself threaten to destroy her fragile stability. Caught in the storm of her mother's moods, her father's desperation, and her classmates' strict adherence to cruel social hierarchies, Jesse is forced to choose between what's right and preserving her long-held hope for a normal life. At the heart of a maddening eccentric, and ultimately lovable family-from her manic mother and her long-suffering father to her blowsy Aunt Mabel and her Uncle Ted, a comically inept criminal-Jesse is an utterly sympathetic narrator who navigates the ups and downs of adolescence with insight, emotional vulnerability, and a wickedly share sense of humor." - Quote from the inside front cover of my copy of Another Life Altogether
This is the first book I have ever read by Elaine Beale so I was not exactly sure what to expect from her. To be completely honest, I was not able to even get through the first chapter of this book before I had to just put it down. One problem I had with Another Life Altogether was that the story line hit a little too close to home due to the fact that my mother also suffers from mental illness. I do not find it enjoyable to read about other children who have to deal with their parents' mental illness. Another problem I had with this book was the strong language Elaine Beale uses. I know this book is meant to be read by tweens and teens, but it seems to be a bit much when Elaine Beale uses the F word 5 times in just one short paragraph. I am not a big fan of cussing to begin with so this bothered me quite a bit. I also found Another Life Altogether difficult to get into. To me, it does not seem as if Elaine Beale does a very good job of grabbing her readers attention.
Since I did not even finish one chapter of this book, it does not seem fair to give this book a rating.
This is the first book I have ever read by Elaine Beale so I was not exactly sure what to expect from her. To be completely honest, I was not able to even get through the first chapter of this book before I had to just put it down. One problem I had with Another Life Altogether was that the story line hit a little too close to home due to the fact that my mother also suffers from mental illness. I do not find it enjoyable to read about other children who have to deal with their parents' mental illness. Another problem I had with this book was the strong language Elaine Beale uses. I know this book is meant to be read by tweens and teens, but it seems to be a bit much when Elaine Beale uses the F word 5 times in just one short paragraph. I am not a big fan of cussing to begin with so this bothered me quite a bit. I also found Another Life Altogether difficult to get into. To me, it does not seem as if Elaine Beale does a very good job of grabbing her readers attention.
Since I did not even finish one chapter of this book, it does not seem fair to give this book a rating.
December 29, 2015
I'm honestly beginning to love LGBT YA
Books right now. I've only read three but they've all moved me in some way.
Keeping you a secret was a relatable story for anyone questioning their sexuality in a sudden, oh my gosh moment.
Ask the Passengers was more of a I must be gay because I'm really into this girl book.
Then Another Life Altogether is just something else. A young girl faced in a world that still doesn't understand homosexuality at all and she doesn't get it either along with the fear of being a outcast along with the dumb choices we made as preteens all mixed into one.
This book allowed me to shout at Jesse at times and feel sorry for her and relate to her and be angry at/with her. And it was done beautifully. She was questioning herself but that was the center of the book but at the same time it was the reason she did a lot of the things she did. I love how her first girl crush wasn't even a lesbian and wasn't a homophobe but a sweet amazing girl who sadly runs away later on in the book.
And I totally understand why she felt how she felt about her mother. She wanted a bit of normality and she was going through changes and her mother's instability didn't make that easier. But I felt so sorry for her mother because no one could understand her. She was trapped and no one could relate. But she touched my heart. Just like Mabel and Mike did. And I want a friend like Malcom in my life to remind me to be human and real.
Of course I felt sorry for Tracey because she is obviously going to end up having a horrible life coz she's a psycho.
Beautiful, touching story. I loooove it.
Books right now. I've only read three but they've all moved me in some way.
Keeping you a secret was a relatable story for anyone questioning their sexuality in a sudden, oh my gosh moment.
Ask the Passengers was more of a I must be gay because I'm really into this girl book.
Then Another Life Altogether is just something else. A young girl faced in a world that still doesn't understand homosexuality at all and she doesn't get it either along with the fear of being a outcast along with the dumb choices we made as preteens all mixed into one.
This book allowed me to shout at Jesse at times and feel sorry for her and relate to her and be angry at/with her. And it was done beautifully. She was questioning herself but that was the center of the book but at the same time it was the reason she did a lot of the things she did. I love how her first girl crush wasn't even a lesbian and wasn't a homophobe but a sweet amazing girl who sadly runs away later on in the book.
And I totally understand why she felt how she felt about her mother. She wanted a bit of normality and she was going through changes and her mother's instability didn't make that easier. But I felt so sorry for her mother because no one could understand her. She was trapped and no one could relate. But she touched my heart. Just like Mabel and Mike did. And I want a friend like Malcom in my life to remind me to be human and real.
Of course I felt sorry for Tracey because she is obviously going to end up having a horrible life coz she's a psycho.
Beautiful, touching story. I loooove it.
September 16, 2011
Narrated by Jesse Bennett, an English teen with a bipolar mom. Jesse tried valiantly (understandably) to keep her mom's situation/mental illness secret, though her initial attempt to disguise her mother's mental hospitalization as an around-the-world cruise is ultimately found out and thereby backfires terribly. The family moves to the country, into the epitome of a fixer-upper, necessitating a new school and new friends but also the opportunity of a fresh start. Jesse gets a crush on the older sister of one of her friends, a crush seemingly egged on by the older sister but then cruelly denied what push comes to shove.
First book by this author and especially interesting to me because of the dual themes of growing up with a mentally ill parent and a lesbian teen. Library book lent to me by Debra J.
a quote I liked, on Jesse's (or any) parents' idealization of the past. Jesse is complaining about not wanting to go outside in the rain, and her mother responds:
"'Honestly, all you need to do is put a bloody raincoat on and go out there and play. When I was your age....'"
and Jesse thinks to herself:
"I rolled my eyes. Anything either of my parents prefaced with those words was bound to irritate me. They had both spent their early childhoods in the war, a time they recollected as a period of idyllic deprivation. The way they told it, every child would benefit from a good dose of air raids, severe food rationing, and the immediate prospect of German invasion." page 52
September 11, 2014
**SPOILERS**
I really loved this book. It did an amazing job of bringing together not just a believable main character, but amazing supporting ones as well. The actions of Evelyn really hit home with me, as someone who has been diagnosed with depression myself. Before being prescribed the right medication, I too went through highs and lows almost equivalent to what was shown in the book. It was insightful and sad to read about a child growing up in a house where the mother is suffering so and the father, for the most part, stands by. You can see how conflicted he is; how he loves Evelyn and yet wants to protect Jesse.
That Jesse turned out to potentially be a lesbian was an interesting twist. As she herself says, she's not exactly sure if she is or not, if this is a phase or not, but it's quite clever. In addition to trying to fit in with the boy obsessed crowd, she has to try and reckon with her own feelings privately.
I felt sad for Amanda that she ran off with Stan at the end. I don't see anything good happening with that one; she's going to end up either a battered girlfriend or one that is constantly being cheated on and doesn't do anything to get herself out of the situation.
The one thing I had a hard time figuring out was when this was supposed to be set. I'm guessing maybe the early 70s, but I'm not entirely sure.
I really loved this book. It did an amazing job of bringing together not just a believable main character, but amazing supporting ones as well. The actions of Evelyn really hit home with me, as someone who has been diagnosed with depression myself. Before being prescribed the right medication, I too went through highs and lows almost equivalent to what was shown in the book. It was insightful and sad to read about a child growing up in a house where the mother is suffering so and the father, for the most part, stands by. You can see how conflicted he is; how he loves Evelyn and yet wants to protect Jesse.
That Jesse turned out to potentially be a lesbian was an interesting twist. As she herself says, she's not exactly sure if she is or not, if this is a phase or not, but it's quite clever. In addition to trying to fit in with the boy obsessed crowd, she has to try and reckon with her own feelings privately.
I felt sad for Amanda that she ran off with Stan at the end. I don't see anything good happening with that one; she's going to end up either a battered girlfriend or one that is constantly being cheated on and doesn't do anything to get herself out of the situation.
The one thing I had a hard time figuring out was when this was supposed to be set. I'm guessing maybe the early 70s, but I'm not entirely sure.
January 21, 2012
I had a hard time getting into this book because it's so depressing. There's nothing good in Jesse's life ... she's 13 and it's set in the 1970s in England. It's Jesse's voice telling the story.
Her mother is either in bed for weeks not showering or eating or she's in a frenzy with some project (like fixing the garden or renovating the house).
Jesse's dad goes to work and spends his evenings tuning out the world by watching TV. It's up to Jesse to make sure that meals are made and there's some semblance of a life.
Her Auntie Mabel is marrying Frank, who is a jerk. Her dad's dad is caught up in the past and constantly reminiscing about his long dead son, Brian.
Jesse is in love with Amanda who is in love with Stan, a bully. She has to hide her feelings so she'll fit in and her schoolmates won't make fun of her.
Jesse would like to be friends with Malcolm but would be ridiculed because Malcolm is a "poof" and a "nancy boy".
Despite the downer of a storyline, I enjoyed the writing style and would read future novels by this author.
Blog review: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2011/10...
Her mother is either in bed for weeks not showering or eating or she's in a frenzy with some project (like fixing the garden or renovating the house).
Jesse's dad goes to work and spends his evenings tuning out the world by watching TV. It's up to Jesse to make sure that meals are made and there's some semblance of a life.
Her Auntie Mabel is marrying Frank, who is a jerk. Her dad's dad is caught up in the past and constantly reminiscing about his long dead son, Brian.
Jesse is in love with Amanda who is in love with Stan, a bully. She has to hide her feelings so she'll fit in and her schoolmates won't make fun of her.
Jesse would like to be friends with Malcolm but would be ridiculed because Malcolm is a "poof" and a "nancy boy".
Despite the downer of a storyline, I enjoyed the writing style and would read future novels by this author.
Blog review: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2011/10...
August 25, 2015
Although it took me a bit of work to get into this book, once I got into it, it carried me along like a surfer on a far-reaching wave.
The characters were realistic and I felt their struggles, and they were obviously based on real people and real experiences, as was the entire book. I was a bit lost in the beginning b/c I couldn't tell the age of the character, but had to guess, until it was finally revealed on page 58, and the time it was set in wasn't overly clear either, with the exception of an early reference to Watergate, which I doubt many readers of the age group this novel was intended for would catch. To fill you in - it was set in the late 70s? The author should have been more clear on these two points in the beginning so I wouldn't have felt like I was free-floating for the first armful of pages.
A good book, enjoyable, easily readable (though it's much easier to understand if you read it with a British accent), and thought-provoking. It makes me think of how far we've come since that time, with the wide acceptance of people of both sexual preferences and a wider understanding of mental illnesses.
Well done, Elaine.
The characters were realistic and I felt their struggles, and they were obviously based on real people and real experiences, as was the entire book. I was a bit lost in the beginning b/c I couldn't tell the age of the character, but had to guess, until it was finally revealed on page 58, and the time it was set in wasn't overly clear either, with the exception of an early reference to Watergate, which I doubt many readers of the age group this novel was intended for would catch. To fill you in - it was set in the late 70s? The author should have been more clear on these two points in the beginning so I wouldn't have felt like I was free-floating for the first armful of pages.
A good book, enjoyable, easily readable (though it's much easier to understand if you read it with a British accent), and thought-provoking. It makes me think of how far we've come since that time, with the wide acceptance of people of both sexual preferences and a wider understanding of mental illnesses.
Well done, Elaine.
June 28, 2016
Wish I had an option to give this a 3.5 rating. It was a very absorbing and rewarding read, perfect for a little escape from reality but not so compelling that you neglect all your responsibilities.
Our protagonist, Jesse, is a painfully relateable misfit, struggling through more than her fair share of adolescent discomfort. When her mother's mental breakdown catalyzes the family's move to a new area, Jesse seizes the opportunity to make a good impression on the in-crowd and leaver her awkward past behind. But, while her mother's condition worsens at home, it becomes clear that Jesse is fundamentally different from her new girlfriends. Ultimately, both struggles come to a head near the end of her first year at the new school.
I have no hesitation in recommending this well-written and suspenseful novel. Go forth and read.
Our protagonist, Jesse, is a painfully relateable misfit, struggling through more than her fair share of adolescent discomfort. When her mother's mental breakdown catalyzes the family's move to a new area, Jesse seizes the opportunity to make a good impression on the in-crowd and leaver her awkward past behind. But, while her mother's condition worsens at home, it becomes clear that Jesse is fundamentally different from her new girlfriends. Ultimately, both struggles come to a head near the end of her first year at the new school.
I have no hesitation in recommending this well-written and suspenseful novel. Go forth and read.
November 3, 2019
I loved this book and found Jesse’s intense internal struggles to be both believable and relatable. As her fear of rejection and isolation at school is compounded by her sense of shame and desire for normalcy at home, we see her making poor decisions and suffering for them. While she struggled to cope with her mother’s mental illness, her father’s inability to intervene, and her own confusion about her sexual orientation, I cheered her on, hoping she’d find the courage to finally speak the truth.
All of the turmoil (inner and outer) rises to a dramatic, stormy crescendo, which was my favorite part of the book. Though the ending was happier than real life tends to be in dysfunctional families, and less credible for that reason, I still enjoyed it. I think that’s the beauty of fiction: we get to experience an alternate ending, a wished-for outcome, a vision of a better future.
All of the turmoil (inner and outer) rises to a dramatic, stormy crescendo, which was my favorite part of the book. Though the ending was happier than real life tends to be in dysfunctional families, and less credible for that reason, I still enjoyed it. I think that’s the beauty of fiction: we get to experience an alternate ending, a wished-for outcome, a vision of a better future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2015
Jesse Bennett is a girl caught between a rock and a crazy place in 1970s England. Her mother suffers with a mental disorder and her father is coping by ignoring the severity of the problem. Jesse doesn't fit in at school or at home. When the family moves, Jesse hopes for a new start where no one knows about her crazy home life. Then she meets Amanda and her inner life is sent spiraling through confusing emotions. A girl so desperate for love and acceptance, she would do almost anything.
The characters felt authentic. I was invested in Jesse's struggle and rooting for her to overcome. As things unfolded, there was no good alternatives for her. But the story was missing something to really draw me in to loving it. It was fine and good but it wasn't spectacular.
The characters felt authentic. I was invested in Jesse's struggle and rooting for her to overcome. As things unfolded, there was no good alternatives for her. But the story was missing something to really draw me in to loving it. It was fine and good but it wasn't spectacular.
September 20, 2010
This was an interesting read. It started off slow and I wasn't sure that I would bother to finish it, but after about 50 pages the pace picked up and a plot appeared. Within a short while, I again wasn't sure that I would complete it, because there was the threat of impending violence against some GLBT characters and there's enough of that in real life for me not to wish to read about it in a novel. However, the threats didn't materialize and I finished the book. In the end, it's essentially a compassionate mother-daughter story that brings into question when to let go of that which you can't change.
March 4, 2014
It's just so good to read a book full of beautiful prose, such gorgeous sentence structure and language. I notice people have complained the the book is depressing or doesn't move very fast - that's what I liked about it. It's not glossy and glitzy and so far removed the banal. It was quite heart rending; I wish I could scoop Jesse up and out of her life. The 70s were such a hard time to grow up in with more freedom but still the era of children being seen and not heard. The only thing I could criticise is the random use of Amercianised spellings - it jarred to have so English a book talking about 'realising' things.
This book gives literary fiction a good name :)
This book gives literary fiction a good name :)
February 22, 2010
I loved this book from beginning to end. At times wickedly funny and others heartbreaking, I felt completely absorbed in the world of the protagonist, a thirteen year old girl with a great voice and a vivid and highly dysfunctional family. I read the whole thing in a couple of days and felt completely transported. Overall, I loved the way that this writer was able to take me to a grim place and yet create a story that was so full of humor and hope. And it was very beautifully written, too.
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May 24, 2010A coming of age novel, set in England, which convincingly depicts the challenges of growing up with a mother who is manic/depressive. The dialogue and everyday details really bring the story and characters to life, although at times this is rather disturbing. The cruelty of the main character's classmates to one another is heartbreaking, especially when the taunts are about sexual orientation. But the narrator gradually comes to terms with herself, her family, and her life.
September 23, 2010
An excellent first novel about a thirteen-year-old British girl whose mother is mentally ill. Jesse Bennett has the misfortune to be figuring out she's queer right around the time her mother is becoming ever more floridly bipolar and suicidal. This doesn't sound like a subject for laughter, but the wry, slightly goofy, very British humor in the book had me laughing aloud with regularity. A good read for adults and for intelligent teens like the book's protagonist.
August 31, 2011
I read this over a week and felt it truly addresses a teens view on mental illness. The breakdown resonates with many youngsters today and their need to have someone there that can guide them. In this case, the mother with a mental illness cannot and the main character is left to figure it out on her own. Told from a teens perspective, I truly understood her insights and really cared for her character. Great read overall.
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