The Making Of Us by Lisa Jewell

I have not read a Lisa Jewell book for years and so when I was asked to review her latest novel The Making Of Us I couldn’t wait to start this as reading reviews on this book it seems opinions are straight down the middle so I decided I needed to put my two pence worth in!

The story follows three characters, Lydia, Dean and Robyn who all have something significant in common. They are all living their lives and feel as though something is missing in their lives and one by one they all find out that they were all conceived by sperm donation. As each of the characters come to terms with the shocking news they all sign up to the Donor sibling Registry to try and fill this gap in their lives.

I was worried when I first started reading this book.  I loved the first chapter it was a great start to the book but then after that the book took a bit of a worrying turn for me. As we went chapter to chapter we were introduced to our characters and it seemed each time we started to get to know a character it would then swap to another one and it was a little overwhelming meeting so many significant characters in such a short space of time I was worried that I was going to forget who was who and I was contemplating putting the book down.

I am so glad I carried on reading this book because after the introductions to each of the characters they all started to develop really well and they each had very individual backgrounds which made it easy to differentiate between them. I loved Lydia who seems to be the main feature of this book she has what everyone would view as a perfect life but as we get to know her we get to see her loneliness and her vulnerability which makes her such an enjoyable character. Dean’s story really did tug at the heart strings when first meeting him he just feels like a typical modern day layabout but when we see all has had to go through he soon becomes a character you want to wrap up in cotton wool. I found Robyn the only character I couldn’t take to she is overly confident and vain but then she does bring something different to the book.

The storyline is very fresh and unique, I have never read any books featuring sperm donation! I did find it a little strange how well each of the characters reacted when they found out the truth I think in reality people wouldn’t have accepted the news so quickly but then this is the world of fiction! I did fly through this book despite its hefty 470 pages but it was a fast paced read.

I really enjoyed this book and I did feel the old heart strings being pulled in certain parts of the book. I will definitely pick up future books by Lisa Jewell.

Paperback