That Green Eyed Girl By Julie Owen Moylan

Well, I am afraid I am going to gush about this book and when it comes out next year I'm going to stand on a box in the middle of Manchester city centre with a copy of it in my hand, preaching to all who will listen. It would go something like this: "You have to read this book." "This book is so beautifully written it makes you quite breathless." "Block off forty-eight hours from your life, because you won't be able to put this down." 'I hate Judith."

On a more serious note, this book takes you back to a time when books were crafted and not just written. To a time when plot twists and storylines are original. To a time when the writer crafts each sentence so beautifully that it feels effortless. To a time when writing is a skill, more reminiscent of carving a masterpiece than painting by numbers!

I lived in New York for two years in the '90's and although this book is set in two timelines way in the past, the evocative writing and the way Owen-Moylan gave it the respect to make it a character in its own right is incredibly skilful. It took me right back there; to the heat and the vibrancy of New York City, to the eclectic mix of people that make up the city and it made me so incredibly nostalgic!. The sights, sounds, feel, were in my house for the time it took me to read it and it made me smile. 

 It's not often I read a book in two days, but I ripped through 'That Green-Eyed Girl' and was disappointed when I got to the end. I'd have just liked to have had a cup of tea with the characters, watched them wash up, sit in a chair for a little bit longer. As a result, I thought about this book for a while after I had finished it. 

I am not going to spell out the plot of this book because you just need to read it and be swept away into 1950's New York. However, without spoilers, here's a quick synopsis:  The dual-timeline, set in 1955 and 1975, features two women who will later be  linked by a strange box of possessions. The era it is written in, draws attention to a period which is rarely discussed: when homophobia was rife, when people had to conform to stereotypes expected of them. 

This book deals with difficult themes which prove to be thought provoking as you're walking the dog or washing up or making a coffee. This book made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me incredibly angry with one of the characters, but most importantly it made me curl up in the garden and not move for hours at a time. It's slick. The prose is dazzling, the storyline original and the plot engrossing. With this writer, you are in good hands.

I loved Dovie, and was championing her from the sidelines, even though some of her decisions are at times erratic and ill-thought through. As for Judith, I wanted to grab her by the scruff of her neck and visibly remove her from Dovie's life! 

Ava, a struggling schoolgirl,  is a heartbreaking character with her own struggles and a fabulous contrast to Dovie's storyline. 

This book broke me, put me back together and made me ugly cry. 
Just buy this book. You won't regret it. Cannot recommend enough.

Preorder available here:

https://www.waterstones.com/book/that-green-eyed-girl/julie-owen-moylan/9780241508015