#Anna – Laura Guthrie @catherinespark @cranachanbooks @lovebooksgroup

Hugest of thanks to Kelly at LoveBooksGroup for inviting me to take part in ‘Anna’ by Laura Guthrie, and thank you to the publisher, Cranachan Books, for supplying me a review copy.

Every cloud has a silver lining. Doesn’t it?

Anna is thirteen years old, lives in London with her father, and has Asperger’s syndrome.

When her father dies she travels up to the Scottish Central Belt to live with her estranged, reclusive mother. With little support to help her fit in, she must use everything her father taught her—especially her ‘Happy Game’—to integrate into her new community, connect with her mother, discover her past, and cope with the challenges along the way.

What does TWG think?

It’s very rare for me to read a book that is told by the point of view of a child. Now that’s not because I don’t ‘choose’ those types of books to read, it just isn’t often that I come across books written in this way. Seeing as I am so used to storylines with older characters at the focal point of the storyline, it was a little bit difficult at times to remember that Anna was only thirteen years old. She wasn’t an adult that had gone through a marriage, had a child, miscarriage, or made lifechanging mistakes, instead she was a child that was grieving the loss of a parent. A child who was moving away from all she has ever known, to live with someone who she didn’t really know, in a place she wasn’t aware of. All of that is hard enough for any person to deal with, let alone a child with asperger’s.

The topic of asperger’s is very close to my heart as my not so little brother is on the spectrum. Even with that in mind, everyone with asperger’s is unique. Their stories are different. Their outlooks are different, and nobody quite knows what all of that entails unless they’re living that life. Or, if they read books such as this one, which gives an insight to such a misunderstood syndrome.

I really enjoyed reading this novel, however I did find parts of the storyline a bit unmatched, as though I was teleporting to different events without learning the path that was taken to get there. It did confuse me at times, especially as I did feel like I was missing pieces of information and several pieces of the puzzle.

‘Anna’ was a really insightful and heartwarming read which allowed me to look at life in the way that it should be looked at; simply. I found Anna herself, to be a breath of fresh air, and her reactions to the challenges she faced was incredible. She definitely could teach many adults a thing or two, including myself.

If you’re looking for a unique, memorable, breath of fresh air type read, then I highly recommend you purchase this pronto.

Buy now.