Lisa Williamson shot to fame with her debut novel The Art of Being Normal, and the YA community was ecstatic to hear that there was another book in the works! I personally couldn’t wait to get my hands on it, and I was so grateful when I was sent a review copy!All About Mia is a wonderful, heartfelt story about the pains of growing up, sibling relationships, and the ups and downs that is a part of every family life. Mia is sixteen, wild, and doesn’t care what anyone thinks about her. She is sandwiched between two sisters – Audrey, a swimming champion heading for the Olympics, and Grace, perfect in every way – away on an archaeological trip and destined for Cambridge, one of the top universities in the world. Mia, unaware of what her ‘thing’ is, finds life difficult living up to the expectations of her parents who already have two perfect daughters. But when things suddenly go wrong, can Mia step up to the plate? Or will she live up to her reputation, and let everything come crashing down around her?
Intrigued? Check out the blurb here…
One family, three sisters. GRACE, the oldest: straight-A student. AUDREY, the youngest: future Olympic swimming champion. And MIA, the mess in the middle. Mia is wild and daring, great with hair and selfies, and the undisputed leader of her friends - not attributes appreciated by her parents or teachers. When Grace makes a shock announcement, Mia hopes that her now-not-so-perfect sister will get into the trouble she deserves. But instead, it is Mia whose life spirals out of control - boozing, boys and bad behaviour - and she starts to realise that her attempts to make it All About Mia might put at risk the very things she loves the most.
All About Mia was a wonderful read from start to finish. I cannot fault anything about it – it was one of those books that when you pick it up, you don’t want to put it down until you have devoured every single page. I fell in love with Mia from the very first page – her voice is vibrant, funny, and strikingly realistic and relatable. Although when I was sixteen I was nothing like Mia – I loved school, I stuck to the rules, and I (mostly) did what my parents told me to do, I loved getting to know her and realising there was a lot more to her than meets the eye. I think that most people forget that teenagers love reading about young people who aren’t perfect – who make mistakes, get things wrong and are sometimes stubborn about accepting these things. Mia is a perfect example about what works in YA, and she is unlike any character I have read before.I loved how realistic the portrayal was about family life in the story. There were so many situations and conversations that I can remember taking place in my own life, and I think everyone can relate to how Mia feels about her sister Grace, whether you are the middle child or not. All the characters were so complex and although the story was narrated by Mia, I felt that I got to know every single character inside and out, and it made me feel so personally connected to Mia and her story. The relationship between Mia and Audrey in particular is so beautiful and touching and I loved reading about the moments between them.
The story was faultless from beginning to end and in particular, the ending was wonderful. Lisa Williamson writes in such a way that you feel so invested about what happens in the book, and I think the characters in All About Mia will stay with me for a long time. I really hope that Lisa continues to write books for ever and ever and ever – I think every teenager needs to read All About Mia and realise that perfection isn’t everything – but caring for others and admitting when you do get things wrong, is all that matters.
Overall, I think that it’s pretty clear I adored All About Mia, and anyone of any age would love it too. So please, run to your nearest bookshop and pick it up - I know that it will be one of my top reads for 2017 (and it’s only February!)
Buy All About Mia here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-About-Mia-Lisa-Williamson/dp/191098910X
Check out Lisa Williamson here: http://www.lisawilliamsonauthor.com
Stay tuned for my spot on the blog tour on Wednesday!
Until next time :)
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