Lorna's world is small but safe.
She loves her daughter, and the two of them is all that matters. But after nearly twenty years, she and Ella are suddenly leaving London for the Isle of Kip, the tiny remote Scottish island where Lorna grew up.
Alice's world is tiny but full.
She loves the community on Kip, her yoga classes drawing women across the tiny island together. Now Lorna's arrival might help their family finally mend itself - even if forgiveness means returning to the past...
So with two decades, hundreds of miles and a lifetime's worth of secrets between Lorna and the island, can coming home mean starting again?
I'd like to thank Ellen at Orion Publishing for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour and for my copy of The Island Home to review.
The Island Home is Libby Page's third novel although it's my first book by this author as Emma has read and reviewed her previous books The Lido and The 24-Hour Cafe. As the author says in her introduction she recently bought a mug with the quote 'Reading gives us somewhere to go when we have to stay where we are' and this is exactly what this uplifting story does, it whisks us away to the remote Scottish island of Kip and the many wonderful characters we meet.
When we first meet Lorna she is just about to board the Caledonian sleeper train on the first leg of a journey that will take her back to the island of Kip, which she left as a teenager, with her own teenage daughter Ella. Both are experiencing different emotions, Lorna is filled with anticipation as to how she is going to be received after all of these years with no contact. But for Ella, it's increasing excitement that she can finally meet her family especially her cousin Molly who she has connected with on Facebook.
I was instantly intrigued as what had made Lorna leave the island of Kip so suddenly when she was a teenager, why has she never returned before now but the most intriguing question of all was why did she cut all contact with those she left behind, her parents, her brother Jack and her best friend Sarah. It's only now following the news of her parents death, via Molly, and her daughter's wishes that she is finally making her return home but can she rebuild the relationships that she had left behind?
Alice is the other central character that we are introduced to. Whereas Lorna left the island as a teenager, the reverse is true for Alice who initially came to the island during her gap year but then fell in love with Jack and now is very much at the heart of the community. I loved the story being told through alternating chapters from both Lorna and Alice's points of view as it enabled us to see how this visit affected them all in different ways.
I love books that have a sense of community and this was here in abundance, we are introduced to so many interesting and delightful characters who gave each other space when needed but who pull together to lend a helping hand or a listening ear when needed. One of the quotes that stuck with me from Alice was 'when you have a baby here they become the island's child'. She was actually talking about when her own daughter was a baby but in the present day, Alice does her part in giving Tess and Joy a break by talking their teething baby Harry out on a walk.
Although initially I did find the first part of the story had quite a sad undertone as we got to know a little more about the reasons behind Lorna's estrangement, the rest of the story was a joy to read as I was transported into the heart of community life on the island.
The Island Home tackles some difficult and emotional topics but the author handles them with such sensitivity to make this such a heartwarming read. I loved my introduction to Libby Page's writing so I'll definitely be looking out for future books she writes and catching up with her previous books.
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