Sometimes you need your sister for a fresh start

Synopsis

Joy Chandler has had enough!

All she wanted was a lovely family Christmas with perfect turkey and luxury crackers. Instead, daughter Sara announces she’s getting divorced…and where is the fizz? And son, John and perfect wife Vanessa announce they are leaving for New York… and are the vegetables organic? And not one of them has made her a cup of tea!

So Joy decides she’s going to leave them all to it and head to France to visit her younger sister Isobel – a break from it all is just what she needs!

Isabel’s potato farm in France might be rustic, but Joy is hoping to find a bit of the old her again. Do her family really only think she’s their dogs body? Where has Joy’s joy gone?

Being with Isobel is loud and chaotic and being together brings out both sisters’ mischievous side! And being in France adds a welcome touch of ooh la la to Joy’s life again. Soon, she has a new job, a new man and maybe even, a second chance at living!

An uplifting and hilarious story about living life to the full and always, always having fun! Perfect for fans of Judy Leigh and Dee Macdonald

My review

Joy Chandler is looking forward to spend Christmas with her children. But what she hoped would be a drama free and heartwarming family reunion, turns out to be a real disaster. Not only does her daughter Sara tell everyone that she is getting a divorce as her husband is having an affair, but also Joy’s son John has news. News that will bring him and his own family on the other side of the world, as he will be moving to the States after a promotion. With nieces bickering and fighting over everything, Joy starts to feel more and more just like housemaid and taken for granted. So now Joy decides to put herself first, and heads off to France, where she will be staying with her sister Isabel on Isabel’s potato farm. Joy and Isabel couldn’t be more different, as Isabel is for sure more free – spirited. Yet the sisters couldn’t be more happier to be spending much more time together. And together they have more fun than expected, and Joy finds her own joie de vivre again. She does things that bring her joy, and loves staying in France. But could it be that love itself can also be found in France?

I know that Maddie Please writes about characters that are in a further stage in life than my own. And I say this with the greatest respect, but you cannot deny that me with my 38 years old, have not the same experience and matureness as the characters in Maddie’s books. Yet the age difference doesn’t stop me from reading these books! 😊

At the start of this book, I didn’t know what to think of Joy. Not that I didn’t like her, on the contrary, but there was this sadness and tiredness over her. Without a doubt she is a great and loving mother and grandmother, as we can see with all the preparations she has for the celebration of Christmas. But at the same time, we also see how she put everything and everyone before herself. She takes everyone’s opinions and wishes in account, making things more complicated for herself.

And while she isn’t that old, sometimes she lets herself feel older than her actual age. That truly saddened me, because you shouldn’t let age hold you back, and you can always chase your dreams.

But what angered me a little bit, was how her children and even her grandchildren take Joy for granted. In a way they all acted selfish in my opinion. Yes, it isn’t Sara her fault that her husband cheated on her, so her dramatics were somehow justified. Yet I couldn’t not feel annoyed by her behaviour, ruining Christmas for the whole family in fact.

And her brother John isn’t that much better honestly. Yes, his promotion is great news, but couldn’t he have told it before and perhaps taking Joy’s feelings more in account?

So I couldn’t agree more with Joy to leave everyone behind and finally go and visit her sister in France. Because in more than just one aspect, that is exactly what Joy needs, to get away from everything and everyone, and just think about herself for once and find some joy back in her life.

I truly liked seeing Joy and Isabel together. There is that all so common and recognizable banter between siblings, and that palpable love. Because no matter the literal distance, they are still very close. And even their differences, because let it be clear that Joy and Isabel couldn’t be more opposite, they know they will always be in each other’s corner.

And it was just hilarious to see how (un)subtle Isabel was tying to play matchmaker! And yet that is also just something that a sibling can get away with!

But the most beautiful bits were seeing how Joy finds happiness again, how she learns what brings her that, and that she should do more things for her and not for someone else. And it was funny to learn what brings Joy joy (and no, I won’t stop making this stupid word joke 😊). I don’t know if I will ever enjoy the things that Joy does, but that is also the beauty of this book, how joy can be so many different things for everyone.

Slowly we see a whole different Joy emerge. Or perhaps a Joy that has been hidden for too long. Being outside her comfort zone of her home, with the influence of her sister, Joy has so much more fun than she had in years. And she even is finding herself courageous enough to start dating again!

I truly enjoyed reading this book, as we see that it’s never too late to have a second chance at just life again. And sometimes taking a step back from what we know is what it takes to understand what we truly want from life.

This is an inspiring book, that takes you on a real journey, filled with laughter, mischief and warmth. A journey showing us that age is just a number and that you can always start chasing your dreams!