For some reason this was kept in the crime/mystery department...seems more of a general fiction novel to me. We'll see.

What an amazing book. Anna's strength & perseverance in the face of such difficult circumstances was harrowing. The child voice was a bit incoherent at times, but aside from that one flaw I felt like this book didn't miss a beat...still not crime/mystery though.

This won me over. At first I didn't find the child's voice very convincing (I kept comparing it with that of 'Room', to this book's detriment) and it seemed rather contrived, but the character of Anna filled out as the book went on, and her behaviour and voice became more consistent as, I think, her author got to know her better. I got heartily sick of bottoms and poop - I used to work in a nursery and even with thirty kids, it wasn't as arse-orientated as this is - and I rather wanted to feed the little boy to a bear. Apart from that, though, it succeeds and by the end I cared and was involved. The ending is worked out beautifully. The author has worked hard on this, and well done to her.

Either to a fellow bookcrosser at the meeting - join us in the pub from 1030! - or in the wilds of central Manchester afterwards.