Unbecoming - Softcover

Downham, Jenny

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1910200727 ISBN 13: 9781910200728

Publisher: David Fickling Books, 2015

Synopsis

Three women - three secrets - one heart-stopping story.Katie, seventeen, in love with someone whose identity she can't reveal.Her mother Caroline, uptight, worn out and about to find the past catching up with her.Katie's grandmother, Mary, back with the family after years of mysterious absence and 'capable of anything', despite suffering from Alzheimers.As Katie cares for an elderly woman who brings daily chaos to her life, she finds herself drawn to her. Rules get broken as allegiances shift. Is Mary contagious? Is 'badness' genetic?In confronting the past, Katie is forced to seize the present. As Mary slowly unravels and family secrets are revealed, Katie learns to live and finally dares to love.Funny, sad, honest and wise, Unbecoming is a celebration of life, and learning to honour your own stories.

About this title

Review

Praise for Unbecoming

A Stonewall Honor Book

Entertainment Weekly Must List pick

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

A Bookpage Best Teen Book of the Year

Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize

Shortlisted for The People's Book Prize

An iBooks Best Book of the Month pick

"This beautiful rumination on the relationships between mothers and daughters should be on every woman's reading list." --Buzzfeed

"[A] beautiful, funny, and heart-breaking story of family and life itself." --Bustle

* "Her prose gets right down inside human fragility, tenderness, fury, gusto, and strength -- leaving sweet, sharp images that are impossible to forget. Exceptional." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Downham's third novel offers implicit commentary on the historical and contemporary constraints on young women's lives and their freedom to love with abandon." --Horn Book, starred review

* "Extraordinary." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "A strong choice for thoughtful readers." --School Library Journal, starred review

"Fluid, perfectly paced, and can be easily read in one sitting. This is a heartfelt book that sensitively and honestly reveals family issues, and it's one that teens won't want to miss." --Bookpage, Teen Top Pick

"This life-affirming story about a complicated family . . . is stunningly told." --The Times (UK), Children's Book of the Week

"A beautifully drawn portrait . . . hugely ambitious in its interwoven examination of sexual identity, family secrets, torn loyalties, and the life-affirming power of breaking away from suffocating conventions." --Daily Mail (UK)

"A rich and complex coming of age story." --The Guardian (UK)

"Compassionate, uncliched and involving." --Sunday Times (UK)

"Rich in detail and tone." --Telegraph (UK)

Praise for Before I Die

*"Lucid language makes a painful journey bearable, beautiful and transcendent."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*"The eloquent dying teen can seem a staple of the YA novel, but this British debut completely breaks the mold. Downham holds nothing back in her wrenching and exceptionally vibrant story."--Publisher's Weekly, starred review

"In luminous prose that rings completely true, Downham earns every tear she wrings from her readers. I trust there will be many of them--many readers, and of course, many tears. A-"--Entertainment Weekly

About the Author

After Jenny stopped wanting to be a ballerina (aged around seven) she felt as if there were only two choices of career for her - an actor or a writer. In 2003 she won first prize in the London Writer's Competition and began writing her first novel. In February 2007 it was finally finished and it was swiftly snapped up and published as the internationally bestselling Before I Die.

About this edition

• Publisher: David Fickling Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1910200727
• ISBN 13: 9781910200728
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256