Author: Suzanne Daniel
ISBN: 978-1-76078-171-2
RRP: $29.99
Publication Date: 29 May 2019
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Allegra in Three Parts sounds like an insightful and interesting look at family and the pressure that comes from families that don’t get along.
Allegra is an 11 year old girl who shares her time between her grandmothers, polar opposites who live side by side and do not get along.
Rick is Allegra’s father and he lives in a flat out the back. He buries his grief in gambling and surfing while trying to be a good father.
Allegra in Three Parts is set in the 1970s and captures the Australia of that time, taking the reader back to a simpler time.
I have heard some really great things about this debut novel, written in the voice of an eleven year old girl. A voice that is quite tricky to capture, and by the accounts I’ve read Daniel has managed to nail it.
A tale of family, loss and the struggle to connect. I look forward to finding the time for this one, and I especially look forward to reading what our members think.
Synopis from Goodreads:
I can split myself in two… something I have to do because of Joy and Matilde. They are my grandmothers and I love them both and they totally love me but they can’t stand each other.
Eleven-year-old Allegra shuttles between her grandmothers who live next door to one another but couldn’t be more different. Matilde works all hours and instils discipline, duty and restraint. She insists that Allegra focus on her studies to become a doctor.
Meanwhile free-spirited Joy is full of colour, possibility and emotion, storing all her tears in little glass bottles. She is riding the second wave of the women’s movement in the company of her penny tortoise, Simone de Beauvoir, encouraging Ally to explore broad horizons and live her ‘true essence’.
And then there’s Rick who lives in a flat out the back and finds distraction in gambling and solace in surfing. He’s trying to be a good father to Al Pal, while grieving the woman who links them all but whose absence tears them apart.
You can follow Suzanne Daniel on Facebook and her Website.
Allegra in Three Parts is available now through Pan Macmillan and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan 15 of our Beauty and Lace Club members will be reading Allegra in Three Parts so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Allegra in Three Parts it was a good book to read, about a girl who had two grandmothers who had different ideas about looking after Allegra.
Allegra had a father who like to surf and worked very hard to keep the peace between the two grandmothers, where the past will catch up with them all from hurts and misunderstandings.
A good book for young people growing up.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan and Beauty and Lace for allowing me to read and review this wonderful book.
I found it very easy to read and hard to put down.
Allegra the main character who is 11 was a very likeable protagonist. She lives basically with her two grandmothers and her father who couldn’t look after her.
I was so intrigued and kept turning the pages to find out how and why her mother died.
Her grandparents are both very different which made for some interesting reading.
Being based in the 70’s which is before I was born is why I found so many different parts intriguing.
I will leave it there because I don’t want to give the whole plot away but please do pick up this book if you have a chance to. It’s definitely well worth the read.
This is the 70’s a time for Allegra to do some growing and learning more about the people around her.
Her family.
There’s Grandma Joy full of colour and brightness and collecting emotions.
Living right next door is Grandma Matilda who works all hours and lives by rules and duty.
Rick Allegra’s dad who lives in a flat out the back.
The people don’t get along with each other. There’s a heartache dividing them all.
This is family, this is broken and poor Allegra is the go between for them all.
This is the story of a broken family holding it together for Allegra.
We learn about each person and their role in Allegra’s life as she goes back and forth to spend time with each person.
As the story progresses you come to understand each person and see what makes them who they are.
We discover the heartbreak that has brought them all to this point in their lives we ride along with Allegra as she tries to heal it.
Through all of this drama Allegra finds Patricia a friend she can rely on.
There are many amazing little stories in this one big story.
This is a story about love, family, friendship, acceptance, strength and healing.