You Me and Other People by Fionnuala Kearney

THEY SAY EVERY FAMILY HAS SKELETONS IN THEIR CLOSET . . . 

But what happens when you open the door and they won’t stop tumbling out? For Adam and Beth the first secret wasn’t the last, it was just the beginning. You think you can imagine the worst thing that could happen to your family, but there are some secrets that change everything.

And then the question is, how can you piece together a future when your past is being rewritten?

You Me and Other People is Fionnuala Kearney’s debut book and after reading this one I am looking forward to what this author will present us with next time around as this really was a well crafted debut.

When the book begins we meet Adam and Beth who have just split up after Beth found out that Adam has been unfaithful and as the book progresses it soon becomes clear that this is not the only secret that Adam has been hiding. The book alternates between Adam and Beth’s points of view which worked perfectly for this book as it gave us a chance to see the thoughts and emotions of both characters which gave us an unbiased view on the situations that arose in the book.

The did struggle at the start of this book and I have to admit to giving up on it and trying again a few weeks later and I am so glad that I did try again as it really is such a deep and well thought out storyline. I think the reason I struggled was because I didn’t like either of the main characters at the start of this book but as the book progressed and the characters developed and they reached different emotional stages of separation I soon became to like each of them. I actually felt guilty for liking Adam’s character as he well and truly screwed up and yet by the end of the book I loved him as much as Beth.

I loved how unpredictable the book was, I was not expecting the bombshell that was dropped and I love it when an author can spring something on me that shocks me to the core!

This book deals with so many issues on top of the infidelity and heartbreak. The author takes our characters through each step of separation from the hurt to the anger to the process of trying to move forward and build a new life but the one thing we are never quite sure of all the way through is if it is finally over for good or if there was a chance to work through it and start again. The storyline also shows the effect separation has on family and friends too and this part was told well.

I thought this was a praiseworthy debut and I will definitely be looking for future releases by this author.