REVIEW: Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

Name: Someone Else's Life

Author: Katie Dale

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Date published: 2nd February 2012

Number of pages: 485

Source: Chicklish
Rating: 5 stars

When Rosie Kenning’s mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington’s disease, her whole world falls apart. Not only does Rosie desperately miss her mum, but now she has to face the fact that she could have inherited the fatal illness herself. Until she discovers that Trudie wasn’t her biological mother at all... Rosie is stunned. Can this be true?  Is she grieving for a mother who wasn’t even hers to lose? And if Trudie wasn’t her mother, who is?  But as Rosie delves into her past to discover who she really 
is, she is faced with a heart-breaking dilemma – to continue living a lie, or to reveal a truth that will shatter the lives of everyone around her...

Someone Else’s Life revolves around Rosie, a girl who has to deal with the pain of realization that the mother she had loved for seventeen years was not actually her birth mum. Desperate to find her real mother, she tags along with her boyfriend Andy to the United States as he embarks on his gap year.  While she discovers shocking secrets that break her heart, she stands strong and perseveres with what she believes.

When I was told that this book is like Jodi Picoult for teenagers, I jumped at the chance to read it, being a fan of Jodi Picoult and her skilfully written, realistic books. Reading the synopsis made me even sure that this was my type of book. As soon as I started to read it, I was engrossed, pulled in by all the different emotions and feelings of the characters. Although most of the book is told from Rosie’s perspective, all the other characters are developed brilliantly and their personalities shine through. I loved Rosie and her fresh, honest account of how she handled all the secrets, lies and truths. She is a character that you can easily warm to and I really did empathise with her throughout the book; I could feel her grief, her joy and everything in between. The emotions seem to jump off the page and penetrate your heart and that is the one of the things that makes this such a fascinating read.  

Another praiseworthy feature is its predictability or should I say unpredictability. An anonymous character contributes to the narration of this story and this person is revealed in Part Two of the book, so no peeking!  I honestly thought that I knew who this person was but it turns out I was wrong, adding to the unpredictable element of the story. When you think you’ve got it all sussed, Katie tweaks the story and surprises you with the unexpected. 

It hits all the right notes: it has action, romance and adventure all mixed into reality. Right now there are too many books that don’t have a deeper meaning but Someone Else’s Life has taught me to ‘make the most of the time we’ve got, seize the day, treasure every moment with the people we love’ (quoted from p475). This message is entwined throughout the book and reminds us that we should live life to the full, no matter what. It is utterly flawless and is perfection in the form of a book; it has everything you could wish for in a book and had me hooked from page one (I had to sneak off to the library at lunch so that I could continue reading it!). Overall it is a warm, poignant novel with a unique story-line that is sure to touch your heart and stay in its treasured place on your bookshelf for years to come. It deserves all of its 5 stars and I would recommend it to teenagers who aren’t just ready for Jodi Picoult books and young adults who enjoy reading real-life stories. I hope Katie Dale continues to write more amazing novels for us to read!!!

Click HERE to pre-order it, or buy it as soon as it hits the shops!

Thanks must go to Luisa at Chicklish for sending me this utterly amazing book!

Happy Reading,

Beverley x