Books Read: Maybe Tomorrow by Penny Parkes

What a difference a year could make…

Jamie Matson had once enjoyed a wonderful life working alongside her best friend, organising adventures for single-parent families, and her son Bo’s artistic flair a source of pride rather than concern.

She hadn’t been prepared to lose her business, her home, and her friend. Not all in one dreadful year. And now she finds herself reeling - rebuilding her world, with Bo at its heart - swallowing her pride and asking for help.

Jamie certainly hadn’t expected to find such hope and camaraderie in the queue at her local Food Bank - thrown together with an unlikely and colourful group of people - all of them struggling to get by, yet still determined to reclaim their lost careers and agency over their lives. Even if just choosing their own groceries again is a goal they can all share.

As their friendships flourish, they quickly find it’s easier to be objective about each other than about themselves, and decide that - when you’re all out of options - it’s okay to bend the rules a little and create your own.

Book Links: Kindle or Paperback

I'd like to thank Sara-Jade at Simon & Schuster for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour and for my copy of Maybe Tomorrow to review.

Jamie Matson is a single mother down on her luck, struggling day-to-day to make ends meet and it's during a weekly visit to a local foodbank that she meets a few people who soon become close friends. Each of these women have their own stories and over time we really get to know each of these characters and see how they support one another in good times and the bad. I loved the friendships that they built up in such a short time and I was championing each of them when they strived to make changes in their lives, whether it was setting up a new business, looking for a new job/home or making a fresh start. 

But it's guardian angels in the form of Ruth and Henry who turn up when Jamie is at her lowest, facing homelessness and in a job that she hates, that offer her a lifeline. A job offer with live-in accomodation attached away from the damp that is causing frequent trips to A&E with her young son Bo due to his severe Asthma attacks. At first Jamie is wary, this seems like an opportunity too good to be true and she's sure there must be a catch, but what choice does she have. And it's only over time that we see that Ruth and Henry need Jamie and Bo as much as they need them.

Maybe Tomorrow tackles everyday issues that any one of us could face at any time, you never know what is going on behind closed doors and who needs support the most. But although it sounds like a depressing read, it's anything but. It's a story of friendship, support and hope.