This book was a wonderful read! With the two timelines you're able to get glimpses of Emily and Stevens' younger years but also a better understanding of their relationship! The realistic feel of this book is what I enjoyed the most! A lot of people will be able to relate in some way with this book! Which for me just made this an even better read! It's a book about family and and sometimes things can happen to stretch that bond, beyond repair well you'll just have to read the book to find out!

Both characters were unbearably self-righteous. The dialogue was so weird too?? The actual plot was very slow too and nothing much seemed to happen. Feel like it could have been so much better than it was sadly

I loved reading this family tale, with a strong bird theme throughout. I was surprised that the author was not a firm birder herself because the references all seemed very apt and quite passionate but, as I read in the acknowledgements, if she wasn't, she is a little bit now. All the bird mentions worked really well for me. Aside from that theme, there's the subject of homelessness and the housing crisis, while ironically a 30-year-old character is able to purchase a beautiful flat in London (outskirts but still) working in social housing services. Another weird fact was that this character mentions not everyone having a mobile phone in her university years, which would be around 2005. I found this bizarre and it wasn't even necessary for the action to develop. Other than that, this was pretty engaging and made me cry.

3.5 stars

This cover. Gorgeous right?

Between the spine is a slower paced literary story that connects siblings, Emily and Stephen, 15 years after a traumatic event in their childhood tore them apart. Their complex relationship is tested as they navigate what it means to reconcile the past in order to create a future.

There are some heavier themes like homelessness and family dysfunction, but the underlying love still pulled at my heartstrings.

Oh- and there is plenty of birdwatching.

I only picked up this book because the author is named “Katy Regan” (my mom and me) but ended up loving it. A unique and heart wrenching story with a reveal at the end that literally made my jaw drop.

The sensitivity and humanity Katy Regan approaches Stevie is just everything. Katy of course extends humanity to the plot and characters of this novel - the realistic situation of a parent disowning a child; a father no longer providing support after granting so much during Stevie's struggle to adapt to life after prison.
Emily's obsession with finding her brother became the basis of her life - working for London's housing department, desperately searching for her brother among the desperate homeless. One day she hears his voice - Emily just misses him but goes out searching later that night to find Stevie drunk, claiming he does not have a sister.
This family is so dysfunctional - laid out a delicate narrative exploring the sibling connection and dependence of Stevie and Emily in their youth, leading up to Stevie's arrest.
We are all one decision away from Stevie's experience - a delicate balance we try to maintain, grant ourselves and children a healthy family and future. Very well done.