Or any time! What a pleasure! Spend a delightful day with the quirky and lovable Angie Winkler at her favorite place in the world, the seaside resort town of Jaywick Sands. Can she be a grandma for a day?
The Borrowed Boy is the debut novel by Deborah Klee. Her protagonists are often people who exist on the edges of society. Despite the very real, but dark, subject matter her stories are uplifting, combining pathos with humour. They are about self-discovery and the power of friendships and community.
What do you put on a bucket list when you haven’t done anything with your life? No interesting job, no lovers, no family, no friends. Believing she has only weeks left to live, Angie Winkle vows to make the most of every minute.
Going back to Jaywick Sands, is top of her bucket list. Experiencing life as a grandmother is not, but the universe has other plans and when four-year-old Danny is separated from his mum on the tube, Angie goes to his rescue. She tries to return him to his mum but things do not go exactly as planned and the two of them embark on a life-changing journey.
Set in Jaywick Sands, once an idyllic Essex holiday village in the 70s, but now a shantytown of displaced Londoners, this is a story about hidden communities and our need to belong.
Purchase Links
Amazon.com – https://amzn.to/2CZIEAz
Amazon UK – https://amzn.to/2CZJ6yL
JENA’S REVIEW
The Borrowed Boy by Deborah Klée
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“Who exactly is Angie Winkler?”
Who indeed!
Angie Winkler is the star of author Deborah Klee’s debut novel, The Borrowed Boy. Part mystery, part whimsy, and full of heart, this book will make you want to jump into your own life and live it! Yay! (My spell check wanted me to change “live it” to “love it”. That works, too.)
Angie has kept to a quiet, invisible life ever since a traumatic experience when she was fourteen. For her, life was a sentence of not belonging, always the “weird one”. (She once found a toothbrush in her wild hair.) Until one magical day, when a health scare shocks her back to life.
Fearing that she has only a short time to live, Angie does what many of us dream of doing- going back to an idyllic childhood place. For Angie, the place she felt happiest was the seaside holiday village of Jaywick Sands. As she travels to Jaywick Sands, she encounters a lost little boy. Could she be his grandma, just for a day?
Angie is a character that you will love and always remember. And there are more special people in this charming book. The little boy will melt you. Nikoleta, a young Polish woman, will remind you that it takes love and caring to help you find your way. Yes, there’s a “bad guy” and there are plenty of wonderful, quirky people living in Jaywick Sands. You’ll want to spend the summer with all of them.
The author creates postcard of the seaside town, with its pier, amusement park and lovely beach. A place where everyone belongs and has fun, even if just for a sunny afternoon. A place where anyone can feel beautiful for the first time. Action, humor, and thrills are sprinkled throughout the story.
I highly recommend this gem. Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for an advance digital review copy. This is my honest review.
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Author Bio – Deborah has worked as an occupational therapist, a health service manager, a freelance journalist, and management consultant in health and social care.
Her protagonists are often people who exist on the edges of society. Despite the very real, but dark, subject matter her stories are uplifting, combining pathos with humour. They are about self-discovery and the power of friendships and community.
The Borrowed Boy, her debut, was shortlisted for the Deviant Minds Award 2019. Just Bea, her second novel will be published in 2021.
Deborah lives on the Essex coast. When she is not writing she combines her love of baking with trying to burn off the extra calories.
Social Media Links – http://abrakdeborah.wordpress.com
Twitter @deborahKlee
Instagram: Deborah Klee Author
I am a writer, blogger, book reviewer, and bon vivant and encourager. I have lived my entire life in Tropical Ohio. My goal is to make friends with everyone in the world. I wrote a fiction series, The Golden Age of Charli, that presents the problems and praises, and the love and laughter of family life and retirement. My passions are blogging, reading and reviewing, and writing. My life is a WIP.