The View on the Way Down is a beautifully written story. It tells of a fractured family: Kit who died five years ago; Jamie who, unable to cope with his brother's death, left home five years ago and hasn't been seen since; Emma, their younger sister, struggling to cope at school; and their parents, Rose and Joe, drowning in their grief and resentment.

The story is told from different viewpoints, each of them written with great empathy and understanding. I loved Emma and her teenage woes, and Jamie came across as someone wounded by life. It's not fully clear until part 3 what has happened to the family but as the story unfolded I could not help but feel sympathy towards each character.

I loved this book. It's understated yet so full of meaning. A very moving, lovely, book.

Thank you to the publishers for allowing me to review this book through Netgalley. ( )

A book full of emotion.

I haven't listened to any books from Audible for quite a while, but I randomly selected this one and was impressed by how well it came across, expertly read by Mandy Weston and Carl Prekopp. It was mainly narrated by Ms Weston, but Carl Prekopp read the letters with the voice of Jamie, and that worked really well.

Rose and Joe have three children, Jamie and Kit, are teenagers, and Emma is their much younger sister. Emma is having problems in school and has found her niche as a member of the Christian Union. She is overweight and suffering from insecurities which alienate her from the other students. Food has become her crutch in a family where her eldest brother has died, her younger brother left home after an argument on the day of the funeral and no-one will talk about any of it.

As the story unravels, we gradually learn the background: how Kit came to die, where Jamie is and why silence is so rigidly maintained.

The young author has beautifully captured the cruelty of depression and the devastation it can wreak on a family. She writes with feeling about grief and its consequences, and the result is a book that could provide an excellent starting point for discussion on such topics.

Definitely an author to look out for. ( )

Jamie and Emma’s family is struggling to come to terms with overwhelming grief and loss. Their brother Kit died a few years ago. Jamie has left home and doesn’t keep in touch, but there is no escaping from his feelings of guilt and sadness. Emma is much younger, still at school, and is stuck at home with parents who can’t talk about Kit to her or to each other.

This is a well written novel, but what made it so powerful and moving was the author’s exploration of her characters’ feelings through a narrative which alternates between Emma and Jamie. The characters aren’t always likeable – Emma is very self-absorbed while her brother has withdrawn into himself, hiding behind his Alistair Maclean novels. Gradually they engage our sympathy, though.

There are no easy answers to what’s wrong with this family, but this is a powerful novel for those who like stories about characters rather than ones driven by plot and action. ( )

In the beginning this felt like a 'young adult to adult' novel, something I tend to avoid, but when it got to the letters at its core it found its voice. Painful, sad, human. ( )