Sea Babies by Tracey Scott-Townsend

Another emotional story features today on my stop on the blog tour for Sea Babies. Many thanks to the lovely Kelly at Love Books Group Tours for inviting me along and Wild Pressed Books for providing my review copy. 

The Blurb:

Lauren Wilson is travelling by ferry to the Outer Hebrides, about to begin a new job as a social worker. When somebody sits opposite her at the cafeteria table, she refuses to look up, annoyed at having her privacy disturbed. But a hand is pushing a mug of tea towards her, and a livid scar on the back of the hand releases a flood of memories.          

     

Some people believe in the existence of a parallel universe. Does Lauren have a retrospective choice about the outcome of a terrible recent accident, or is it the bearer of that much older scar who has the power to decide what happens to her now? 

Sea Babies was published on 21st February 2019 by Wild Pressed Books. You can purchase it using this link:
https://amzn.to/2S4gydb

My Review: 

Gosh, I've been through the wringer emotionally with with my recent reads! This one had me all over the place. 

I really enjoyed Sea Babies but found it a hard book to review without giving anything away, but I 'll give it a go. 

The story is told over a dual timeline, in Edinburgh in the past, and on the Isle of Lewis (and the ferry over) in the present. The Edinburgh scenes are written in the third person, but the present  day chapters are in the first person, from Lauren's point of view. An interesting idea, it threw me a little at the beginning, but as the story moved on, I appreciated it. 

We learn a lot of Lauren's back story - her large family and growing up in Ireland before moving to Edinburgh to study, and meeting Neil, the love of her life. But when we first meet her properly, on the ferry to the Outer Hebrides, we're three decades on and she's on her own, about to start a new job as a social worker.

The story is teased out little by little throughout the book, which was great as it kept me turning the pages. Lauren carries a lot of sadness and guilt, and I felt she was taking the new job to try to atone for previous perceived wrongdoings. She is easy to warm to and care about, and I felt her joy and pain.

The island scenery plays a big part in the book, almost a character in itself -  beautiful but intimidating too.

 I don't think I've done any kind of justice to the book here, but it's one you really need to read for yourself. It's a beautiful, unusual story about love, loss, grief, hope, endings, new beginnings and second chances. 

The Author:

Tracey is the author of The Last Time We Saw Marion, Of His Bones, The Eliza Doll and Another Rebecca. Sea Babies is her fifth novel. So Fast, her first poetry collection, was published in January 2018.

Tracey is also a visual artist. All her work is inspired by the emotions of her own experiences and perceptions.

Tracey is the mother of four grown-up children and now spends a lot of time travelling in a small camper van with husband Phil and their rescue dogs, Pixie and Luna, gathering her thoughts and writing them down.