My edition: Paperback, published on 4 July 2013 by Sphere, 352 pages.Description: Waverly Brown is the anchor that keeps her tight circle of friends together. Loyal and generous with her time, she would do anything for Kate and Amy but she can't bring herself to tell even her best friends the truth about her bakery and her increasing debt. She's so consumed with her own worries that she almost misses what is right in front of her; something is wrong with Amy, terribly wrong.
Try as they might to reach out, Waverly and Kate can't make Amy open up to them. She refuses to admit there's anything wrong but Waverly is convinced Amy is in trouble and she's terrified. Can Waverly convince her friend to save herself before it's too late?
Rating:
Through It All is a thought-provoking and heartfelt novel about friendship, which doesn't shy away from tackling difficult issues along the way.
The story revolves around Waverley and her long time friends Amy and Kate. Even though the women lead wildly different lives nowadays - Waverley's time is consumed by the running of her bakery, Amy is a housewife and devoted mother and Kate is married to a rising political star - they still regularly meet up and tell each other everything, or so they think.
Because while on the surface it may seem that the women lead perfect lives, quite the opposite is true. Waverley's been having financial difficulties with her bakery which she hasn't even told her boyfriend Larry about, let alone her friends, and as the story progresses it becomes evident that Amy and Kate too have secrets to hide. One of which is potentially very dangerous and the women have to fight hard for each other and their friendship to make it through (it all).
I was completely engrossed by this novel and its flawed yet very likeable main trio. Despite all three women being so different I found something relatable within each one of them and I rooted for them all along the way as they were struggling with their finances, spouses and themselves. I have to say though that I did want to slap some sense into them at times, Waverley and Amy in particular. From a reader's perspective it seemed so obvious what choices they had to make for themselves yet they kept making the wrong ones until the situations were spiralling out of their control.
It was difficult to read about the emotionally and physically painful journeys they went through, which is why I kept wanting them to make the (to me) obvious decision that would get them out of these. However, I do realise that it's impossible to know how I'd really react myself were I to be put in a similar predicament and the challenges the characters dealt with did make this a realistic though emotional story.
It's been a while that a novel to me was so compelling that I literally could not put it down, but Kristyn Lewis certainly managed it with the incredibly intriguing Through It All. I ended up finishing it far too late on a weekday - when I had to get up again bright and early the next morning for another day of work - but it was well worth it.
Highly engrossing and thought-provoking, this is a well-crafted story with a strong message about friendships, relationships and staying true to yourself.
You can purchase your copy from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Waterstones or your own preferred retailer.
Would you like to know more about the author? You can connect with her online at:
Website: kristynkuseklewis.com
Facebook: facebook.com/kristynkuseklewisauthor
Twitter: @kkuseklewis
Many thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
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