Reviewed by Emma Crowley
I don't have any friends, only dog ones, because they don't make you do bad things. I don't want any human friends, actually. It's for the best.'
Hope Nicely hasn't had an easy life.
But she's happy enough living at 23 Station Close with her mum, Jenny Nicely, and she loves her job, walking other people's dogs. She's a bit different, but as Jenny always tells her, she's a rainbow person, a special drop of light.
It's just . . . there's something she needs to know. Why did her birth mother abandon her in a cardboard box on a church step twenty-five years ago? And did she know that drinking while pregnant could lead to Hope being born with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder?
In a bid to find her birth mother and the answers to these questions, Hope decides to write her autobiography. Despite having been bullied throughout school, Hope bravely joins an evening class where Hope will not only learn the lessons of writing, but will also begin to discover more about the world around her, about herself and even make some (human) friends.
But when Jenny suddenly falls ill, Hope realises there are many more lessons to come...
Many thanks to Bonnier Books UK via NetGalley for my copy of Hope Nicely’s Lessons for Life to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Hope Nicely is writing a book that is going to change her life. She is writing her autobiography in the hopes that it will help her find her birth mother and explain why she was given away at only a few hours old. Many years ago Hope was adopted by Jenny Nicely having been left in a cardboard box by her birth mother. She has so many unanswered questions running through her jumbled brain. She describes her brain as being in a bit of a muddle due to Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Her birth mother drank too much resulting in the damage to her brain.
The story is told entirely in the first person narrative and it takes a lot of time to get used to this. I could see why the story was written in this way as you have constant access to Hope’s way of thinking and you see how she functions and interacts with all aspects of society on a daily basis. But it became too much for me and just too intense at times. I would have loved to have heard from the point of view of other characters featured in the story and to be given an insight as to how they view Hope and how they wish to help her.
Hope faces many challenges in her life but she has always had Jenny Nicely there by her side, fighting her corner and providing her with the rules of life in order for her to get by. Literally everything needs to be explained and outlined to her so Hope can interact in the usual way that society dictates. That’s not to say the personality of Hope can not shine through. Of course it can but a lot of these rules are for Hope’s own safety. She learns how to converse with people and to cope with things that trigger her but she is dependent on others in so many ways as she takes things at face value and interprets what is being said very literally. Hope is not good at remembering things, she gets easily distracted and confused. She often talks too much and has to try to remember to let other people speak no matter how much she wishes to say what is on the tip of her tongue. She needs to keep things back for fear of upsetting others. She has her golden rules notebook which is her guide to doing the right thing in social situations and these rules do help her navigate the world she finds herself in. But at the same time the personality of Hope with all its quirks is allowed to shine through from the pages of this book.
I found this to be a very intense read as all the time Hope is constantly on edge and her rush of thoughts, feelings and opinions are constantly pouring forth onto the page. It was like an endless chatter without a pause for breath never allowing the reader to sit back for a moment and absorb what they had read. I understand this was the way Hope was and couldn’t help it and yes it gave such an excellent insight into how someone with FASD lived their life. But it became too much for me at times and especially the endless repetition of names, rules and events. I know it was all to add to the story and to give the reader an even deeper appreciation of Hope and the incredible person she was but truthfully it was just too much for me. I found it made the story drag somewhat as so much was said over and over and you are wishing for the plot to move along a bit which it finally does towards the last quarter of the book. She describes her disorder as being on a rainbow spectrum and I loved this analogy and it worked well with how Connor Flynn describes himself as he himself had Aspergers.
Hope works as a dog walker and dogs are her only friends that is until she is awarded a scholarship to attend the writing classes run by author Marnie Shale. Here Hope meets a diverse cast of characters which I really would have loved to have gotten to know better. Yes, we get to read of Hope’s interpretation of them but I would have much preferred to these characters have their own moment to share part of their stories and their specific reasons for being at the class. One person in particular Danny Flynn will become like Hope’s knight in shining armour when Jenny Nicely has a heart attack at home and Hope becomes paralysed with fear. Only for Danny arriving at the house and performing CPR and getting an ambulance Jenny could have been in very dire straits. That’s not to say she wasn’t, she is placed in an induced coma and Hope is left without her anchor. She literally doesn’t know how she will function without that person who is her mother and the one who has given her all these rules for life. The innocence of Hope and her lack of being able to function properly without Jenny be her side highlights how dependent she is on others. That no matter what tools she is given to be as independent as possible there are always things there in her mind which prevent from safely and comfortably striking out in life.
Danny and his family take in Hope as Jenny remains in hospital. Will Jenny ever wake and return to Hope? Bridget is Danny’s mother and Connor is Danny’s brother. They were two great characters. Bridget, a no nonsense mother but someone who was always there to offer comfort and support. As for Connor, he was perhaps the best written character and dare I say it even more so than Hope. He was so blunt in his observations and saw things either in black or white. He was much more calm and considered as opposite to Hope who I felt was just always so much on edge with her mind constantly running and racing never taking a breather. Which led to a feeling of exhaustion coming across to the reader in turn making you tired from what you had been reading. Connor said things like they were but he did have his own fears and foibles so in that sense Hope and himself gelled well together.
Hope ventures to a very dark place and I did think a warning before reading this book would have been welcome as things are described in some detail and it could perhaps trigger a certain type of reader. To be honest Hope Nicely’s Lessons for Life was not the kind of read I was expecting. Yes, the cover was whimsical and colourful and the dog does tie in well with one of Hope’s passions in life. But there are a lot of deep themes being explored here. Loneliness, acceptance and friendship I would say are the more lighter end of the themes despite these being very serious in their own right. I felt the ending was tied up too quickly and conveniently given the very long lead up to it and I wished for more exploration. I really appreciate what the author set out to do with this book and Hope Nicely is a stand out character but it was bit of a mixed bag for me. Without doubt this story will raise awareness of FASD and if you like books about self discovery than this is the one for you.
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