NEW RELEASE
The Way Back Home - Freya North (2014)
When Oriana Taylor was 15 she was ignominiously sent away from the artists' commune in which she had grown up after an incident that rocked the small community. Having moved to America and built a new life there, Oriana has been able to avoid the realities of that past. But when she's forced to return to live in the UK, once more she comes face to face with her old home, her family and brothers Malachy and Jed Bedwell. This was my first Freya North novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot was engrossing and although the mystery of the incident surrounding Oriana's departure is fairly discernible from quite early on, the actual circumstances of, and behind, the event remain an enigma until near the end which made for an intriguing read. I loved the way the past and the present were intertwined especially when it came to the relationships between Oriana and Malachy and Jed and it was pleasing to see this dynamic treated in a more mature novel, although it would have been nice to see more of what passes between Jed and Oriana. Oriana's relationships with her parents were less developed which was a shame as both Robin and Rachel had the potential to be intriguing characters and in particular Rachel's relationship with Oriana felt overlooked. Each of the Taylors were also not the easiest characters to like but I enjoyed the fact that they were imperfect and their relationships weren't straightforward and uncomplicated. Overall I thought this was an accomplished novel that has a maturity and depth that was nice to see. (JC)
The Way Back Home, by Freya North, is about a summer that changed everything forever. The summary says: "We were who we were, the children of Windward - a little ragtaggle tribe defining the ethos and eccentricity of the place ... Born and brought up in an artists' commune in Derbyshire, Oriana Taylor had freedom at her fingertips in a home full of extraordinary people. The Bedwell brothers, Malachy and Jed, shared their childhood and adolescence with Oriana. In the rambling old house and tangled grounds, their dreams and desires could take wing unchecked. But too much freedom comes at a price. Something happened the summer they were fifteen. And now, having been gone eighteen years, Oriana is back. This is their story." The Way Back Home is out in June 2014.