About the book
You & I
is the debut young adult novel by Emily Gillmor Murphy. The book was published
by Transworld Ireland on 6th June and it is 352 pages long. Thanks
to the publisher for providing me with a review copy.
Plot Synopsis
Living in
the Irish country, eighteen year old Olive is about to leave everything she
knows and move to the big city for university. Soon after moving to Dublin, Olive
begins to be pursued by Tom, a guy who doesn’t think further than the next
party or the next girl. Olive decides quickly that Tom isn’t for her and pushes
his advances aside. But, when a tragedy strikes Olive’s, Tom is there for her,
proving that he can also be a really good friend when he needs to be. Tom’s own
family life is far from perfect and in the midst of trying to help Olive and be
there for her, he has his own troubles to deal with and knows he can’t do
everything all at once. Will he be able to convince Olive that he is the guy
for her or will his own life spiral out of control before that can happen?
What I thought
It is such
a refreshing change to read a young adult book set somewhere different. I don’t
think I have ever read one set in Ireland, let alone by an Irish author. I’m
trying to expand on the types of books I read at the minute and try new authors
so I was excited about this one.
You & I
is told from multiple perspectives, not just those of protagonists Olive and
Tom. As Olive has just moved to Dublin to go to University College she moves in
with other students and begins to make friends. Tom goes to Trinity College,
lives nearby and already has his own set of friends. Along with Olive and Tom,
we get to hear from friends and family members which helps the reader to see
other sides of the main plot. I really enjoyed being able to get to know more
than Olive and Tom. Both of their lives are complex and there are many people
involved so it was great to know how events affected everyone.
The book
follows Olive and Tom as they try to get through life at college. I really
enjoyed reading about the day to day events of this kind of life, because I
have done it myself. Some of the scenes in particular felt so realistic as I
read them so I wonder whether some of the writing comes from the author’s own
experiences. I remember feeling lost during Fresher’s Week, not being able to
find my lecture theatres and not knowing everyone. Gillmor Murphy got these
feelings perfect and I could imagine myself in Olive’s shoes. I also loved
reading about Olive getting to know her new flatmates and having to deal with
people from different backgrounds and with different personalities to her own.
Although a
debut novel, Gillmor Murphy’s writing and characters are addictive. Olive and
Tom are both extremely likeable but it is also possible to sympathise and
empathise with each of them due to their home lives. Each character’s
background helps to define them as individuals but it also affects how they
live their lives. I really enjoyed discovering Olive’s history and to find out
about the things which give her motivation. Her story is a little more mysterious
than Tom’s as it is very slowly revealed over the course of the book.
The only
slight problem I did have with this book was some of the language used. There
are scenes of sex and drug use but this isn’t what I’m talking about. Some of
the characters are very stiff in their dialogue using things such as ‘I am’, ‘I
will’ instead of speaking in a more relaxed tone. I wouldn’t expect teenagers
to speak in such a way so it was slightly unbelievable. Even though this
language did annoy me slightly, it was quite easy to look over and it didn’t
take away my enjoyment of reading this book.
You & I
is a wonderful debut novel which deals with real problems, real people and real
situations. I’m excited to see what Gillmor Murphy does next.
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