This is a story that is incredibly moving and tugs at all your emotions, so be prepared!
Maddy is sixteen and is dealing with the daily struggles that cancer has on a teenager. The strong chemotherapy means she’s unable to go to school as her immune system is weakened with each round of drugs. Her two close friends continue to visit her and tell her the day-to-day gossip but Maddy is struggling with all the life moments they’re ticking off as she’s left behind…
Eve; Maddy’s mother, is the other POV and watching her daughter battling cancer is the hardest thing she’s ever had to do. Eve chose to have Maddy on her own, and until the last few years (when Robin came on the scene), it’s been just the two of them facing the world, their bond is so strong… or so she thinks.
Craving male company in her life, Maddy not only wants to experience having a boyfriend… she also wants to develop the connection she’s always yearned for: a father-daughter relationship with her biological father. Her determination and the exceptional knack that teenagers have with the internet means she’s found her father’s details pretty quickly, and now all she needs to do is email him…
Told in before and after instalments, this whole story captured my heart – Raney writes with penetrating insight into the minds of a teenager grasping for hope and a mother who is desperately trying not to crumble.
There’s so much going on in this story that I don’t want to reveal in this review, as I think it’s important for each reader to immerse themselves in this story and feel the emotions alongside the characters. What I will say is this book is full of inspirational characters who each go down their own path of discovery and emerge as wiser and more open people.
Warning: be prepared to cry, so get those tissues ready!
All The Water in the World is out now in hardback and eBook versions from Two Roads.
I was very kindly gifted a proof copy of this book from the publishers
Until next time, stay safe, Chloé x
Reviews by Chloé 