My Map of You

by Isabelle Broom

[Leah]

My Map of You is one of those books I've been dying to read. First off - just look at that gorgeous cover. If that doesn't make you want to head to your nearest airport and head to Greece right this minute, then reading the book will certainly do that. I am ITCHING to go and visit Greece. To see everything Holly saw. So the next time I go on holiday, I'm heading to Greece. Thanks, Isabelle! I also wanted to read this because I am alarmingly jealous of Isabelle's day job. She edits Heat's book reviews page, which is literally the DREAM JOB for a book lover. It has also seen the past three editors of that page become authors - Paige Toon, Jo Carnegie, and Isabelle!

I really, really enjoyed My Map of You. There was very little wrong with this book - in fact, the only thing that made me roll my eyes was the inevitable arrival of Rupert into Greece. Apart from that teensy thing, this book was fabulous. I love books set in exotic locations, and Isabelle very much brings Greece to life through the pages. I could feel the warmth of the sun, feel the sand between my feet, picture the gorgeous, clear-blue sea, it was magical. I'm almost sure that reading a book about a gorgeous sunny island can improve your mood 100%, because reading about Greece made me literally happy.

Holly's story was an interesting one, she was a very closed off person, not helped by the third-person narrative, and I'm very curious as to whether that was purposeful - because in first person, you really need a warm character, someone you can take to, and Holly was very self-sufficient. It made it hard to like her, because you almost felt detached from her life, like she was recounting her emotions, without actually feeling them. At least in London, anyway. I felt like she opened up more in Greece, as she found out more about her family, and the life her mother had lead before her death. It was a fascinating story, and I liked the little letters we saw between Jenny and Sandra, from years gone by. It helped open us up to the story more. The addition of Aidan, helped to soften Holly a little bit, too. And suffice to say, I loved Aiden's dog, Phelan.

Overall this was such an amazing story. Isabelle Broom is such a good storyteller and My Map of You is such an amazing read. The ending in particular made my heart so happy. If you don't warm to Holly immediately, persevere, she's worth persevering for, and if you'd had the life she'd had, you'd be closed off, too. I feel like this is just the start of Isabelle's fantastic fiction writing career, and I can't wait to see what she writes next. I'll be buying it the day of release.