Book Review - For Holly by Tanya Byrne

Amazon UK

Title: For Holly

Author: Tanya Byrne

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Goodreads / Firstreads

Publisher: Headline

Publication Date: 4th June 2015

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Lola Durand hates her stepmother. It's a cliché but it's true.

Lola Durand can't get through to her father. He never wants to talk about the things that matter: why they had to move to Paris, why he had to marry evil Agatha, and how they can get through the heartache of her mother's death together.

If he won't listen, she'll show him. She'll show him the truth about his new wife and then her life can go back to normal, just the way she likes it.

Lola Durand knows a secret about her stepmother. She's going to share it.

For Holly, is quite different from other books that I have read. It is written from Lola's perspective, and she is writing a notebook full of her confession, leading up to and around a certain point of time. We hear that very few people know the true story of what occurred, and that the person this is being written for will only be the 6th person to know the truth of the situation. Although a different storytelling style it draws the reader in, and feels quite intimate. 

Lola is an angry teenager, she is grieving for her mother, and her dad remarried very soon after, and moved to Paris. Lola obviously hates the new wife, Agatha and is going to try and do anything to reveal the truth about her.

As the book is all from Lola's perspective, you go through all of her emotions with her. I understand why she did, what she did, but not sure I agree. There are many sides to Lola's personality but the overwhelming impression I have of her is that she is vulnerable. 

I found For Holly, got off to a bit of a slow start, to the extent I wasn't sure I was enjoying the book, but then as it progressed, I was suddenly becoming more and more involved in the story. There are quite a few revelations,  which shocked me, and I overall found For Holly to be an enjoyable and interesting story. 

For Holly is out on Thursday.