The Blurb
Neveah is fifteen. A schoolkid. With a secret life.
She’s a digital freelancer, and is having an affair with her biggest client.
Giles is married. He thinks Neveah is twenty-two.
She’ll do just about anything to stop him from finding out her true age.
But secrets have a way of spilling out.
With devastating consequences.
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My Review
Gosh, there is such a lot to unpack in this novel. It's a story of a middle aged, married man's affair with a much younger lover but it's so, so much more than that.
Neveah is beautiful, confident, self assured and bright. She runs her own business very successfully, all the while doing well at school and taking care of herself and the house. For Neveah is only fifteen but seems so much older. Her mother is uncaring at best, neglectful at worst. Her father, a musician, is irresponsible. But Neveah is determined to make a success of herself, in spite of all these things. Her most recent, and now biggest, client is Giles, and they have fallen into a passionate affair, although there is clearly genuine feeling on both sides. Giles doesn't realise Neveah is underage... Things get messy, and along the way we meet Neveah's half sister, Giles's wife Christine and their daughter Serena, who is a similar age to Neveah.
Neveah is a fantastic character, beautifully written. Confident, brave, caring and reliable, she is willing to use what she has to her advantage. But there is a vulnerability to her too. She is older than her years, having had to grow up quickly, but she's still a child, easily hurt. I was rooting for her all the way through. I wanted to bang her mother's head against the wall, she was so frustrating and, frankly, awful. Again this is great writing, because I detested her and really felt for Neveah. Her father deserved a good talking to as well and, in fact, it's his friend who is much more of a father figure to her.
Giles is also a complex character. One might assume he is uncaring, and he is certainly no saint, but his family life is unsettled. His wife has been dealing with trauma for several years and this has, inevitably, affected their relationship. And he's parenting a teenager, which is not an easy thing to do at the best of times, but in this strained situation... There are all sorts of questions around his relationship with Neveah. He truly believes her to be of age - she looks and acts it, has her own business - so how wrong is his behaviour? If he doesn't know she's underage?
In a related subplot we get to know Serena, who is dating a man a few years older than her, and feeling the pressure to move things on in their relationship. I was struck by the differences in her experiences and those of Neveah - how they behave and how they carry themselves.
I have skirted around things because I feel going much deeper into the story will spoil it. But the author addresses some big issues here - race, sexual abuse, neglect, alcohol, drugs, underage sex, trauma, peer pressure and the dangers of social media. I have a love hate relationship with social media - it can be great but, equally, it can be so dangerous. There are all kinds of unhealthy influencers preying on everyone, but particularly young people, and it's so easy to make a private thing very public, just a click and it's done. There's enough pressure on them, they don't need that. I wasn't particularly bad or wayward (very tame, actually) but I'm very glad I lived my teenage years before social media was a thing.
I'm rambling but what I'm trying to say is that All Grown Up is a timely, powerful and often brutal novel. The author should be commended for including these difficult topics and doing so in a way that will make you think. It's not a book you will forget in a hurry.
The Author
Author/Publisher Social Media Links
Websites: www.cathyevans.com, www.inkspotpublishing.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inkspotpub
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