Title: Five Years From Now
Author: Paige Toon
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Romance
Format: Novel
Number Of Pages: 275 (Print), 323 (Digital)
Publish Date: April 30 2018
Five Years From Now, written by Paige Toon, is a warmly emotional and twisty novel. Set in Cornwall, this story captures the beauty of nature, the innocence of childhood adventures and much more. This is the latest book review for our site, following reviews of Looking For Alaska and The Flatshare. So, let’s see what Five Years From Now has to offer!
Five Years From Now
Synopsis
The story of Five Years From Now begins in the present, with a 40-year-old woman comforting her injured and emotionally wrecked 15-year-old son in a hospital bed. She tells him, “One day, maybe five years from now, you’ll look back and understand why this happened”. This is something that she once heard when she was young and has stuck with her to this day. The story is wrapped around this phrase and as she reminisces you are absorbed into the world of Nell and Vian.
Each chapter of Five Years From Now tells a different age of Nell’s life, in five-year jumps. With 5-year-old Nell’s parents separated and her Dad living far from her London home, she only stays with him on school holidays; enjoying summers at his tranquil cottage by the river, surrounded by beaches and wheat fields. She longs to stay in Cornwall with him, but one day she finds herself staring at an unfamiliar, curly brown-haired boy sat on her bed. Why is this boy here and is he here to stay?
Analysis
Paige Toon uses such gorgeously written metaphors that her style often feels slightly poetic. It’s as though she is painting the story of Five Years From Now rather than simply telling it. Her descriptions are beautiful and I could picture certain scenes and characters so crisply. She creates a day-dreamy feel that has frequent meetings with reality! Also, it’s a story of friendship, love, separation and new beginnings. She not only writes about the difficulty of these things with such poignancy, but creates twists that surprise you (sometimes even shock you) within a world of artistic dreams and a whole lot of sentiment.
The only thing I find difficult about Five Years From Now is the length of the chapters. I like to be able to read in chunks, choosing whether to continue on to the next part or have a quick break and maybe make a coffee, or speak to a friend, and then pick it back up. Understandably, though, most chapters were hefty as each one told of a significant part of her life. I did get used to their length, and if anything, the longer chapters meant I was completely drawn in and dedicated to the story. I particularly love that Toon created characters that the reader is able to follow throughout the years. Life’s experiences become memories; some to regret, and some to treasure. And the characters learn the complexity that comes with growing up.
Summary
As a read of surprises, packaging an array of emotions, Five Years From Now is a cosy, heartfelt novel. Paige Toon balances the devastation of distance and loss with wild devotion and honest desires of the heart.
Overall Rating: 8/10 – Very Good
Further Links
To purchase Five Years From Now online, click here.
For additional information about Paige Toon, click here.
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So, those are our thoughts on Five Years From Now by Paige Toon! But what do you think? Let us know by leaving a comment below!
