Leah
Written on Sep 9, 2014
One Step Closer To You is a very interesting novel. It's multi-layered, with the kind of story that swings back and forth from the present to the past, clueing us in on Polly's life before and that's quite important because very early on we learn that Polly is living a sober life. It was somewhat of a surprise, somewhat out of the blue, as it's not hinted at in any way until Polly just comes out and says it. I've not read many novels about addiction before (I've read two in fact - Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes and Best Kept Secret by Amy Hatvany, the latter was magnificent) and I always like to read more about something that's entirely alien to me. I've grown up with two parents, happy as Larry, so it's somewhat baffling to read Polly's story and read she started drinking at 11. At 11 I didn't even know what alcohol was. But I can't judge because I don't know - perhaps I was just a very sheltered 11-year-old? Who knows!
I liked that the novel showed that you can fix your life. You can go to AA meetings, and have a sponsor, and you can completely turn your life around, and I very much admired Polly for that (and Ben, come to think of it). It can't be easy giving up on something you're so dependant on (and the before scenes we see are horrible - we as the reader are all aware Polly is an alcoholic and she just can't see it and it was heartbreaking. Seeing her pregnant and drinking, in labour, and drinking...) and I admire Polly for pulling through. Not only did she have to beat the alcohol but there was also her destructive relationship with the odious Matt to get free of. He was an awful man. I liked that her new life was simpler. She had a job, she looked after Louis, and then when Ben came on the scene (oh, Ben!) they fell into a very easy friendship, with lots of things in common; staying sober, raising children by themselves (in Ben's case, Emily isn't even his daughter, but his niece), and they click from the off, and it's quite beautiful to see how they help each other be better, and keep each other company.
The blurb for the novel mentions the return of Matthew which, after reading the novel, surprises me because it happens so late on. It left me on tenterhooks for the whole book, waiting for Matthew to return and the shoe to drop. It was awful, actually, because I suspected nothing good would come out of the return of the scumbag. Though I did appreciate knowing beforehand because otherwise it might have annoyed me even more. It was a typical Chick Lit reunion, which always makes me angsty, and was probably the only sore point of the novel for me. But, it wasn't too awful, so I can't complain that much! Apart from that one bit of unpleasantness, I really enjoyed the book. I loved that it delved into Polly's history and we learned how she had come to live the life she lives today, Peterson did that really well, giving us Polly's story in snippets, to leave me wanting more, each time we were done with Polly's past. Polly's present, however, was the pull for me. Her easy friendship was Ben was just the best part of the novel, with Polly and Hugo's relationship a close second (I want a brother like Hugo!!!). This is definitely my favourite of Alice Peterson's novels - One Step Closer To You is warm, and refreshingly honest. I couldn't recommend it more!This review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read