Little Wing: A beautifully written, emotional and heartwarming story

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Don’t you just love it when characters in a book become to feel like friends or family? That is precisely what happened with the characters in Little Wing, Nell and Dougie especially. They just brought such warmth to me, and I wanted nothing but the best outcome for them both.

Little Wing by Freya North | Goodreads Little Wing by Freya North | Goodreads

I think some individuals might be more concerned about their past than others. My husband lived decades before he felt compelled to find answers. In Little Wing, Nell is determined to find answers. Nell's 'mother', Wendy, is settled in a nursing home suffering from advancing dementia, and her father is out of the picture . More recently, when Nell visits her mother, Wendy denies she ever had a daughter and thinks that Nell is someone called Florence. A couple of things bugged me. Firstly, I question whether someone could really be in their mid 30s and have never seen their own birth certificate/know where they were born. Having a passport or a birth certificate for ID is a pretty standard requirement in this day and age, so that's something you have to suspend disbelief about. Florence Lawson, a 16-year-old schoolgirl who dreams of being an artist, finds herself pregnant and banished to one of the most remote parts of the UK. The book has two timelines - the late 1960s/early 197os, and the early 2000s. The book jumped between the two timelines, which isn't my favourite type of book structure. As I read on and got to know the characters better, I got used to the time jumps and in the end didn't mind it.

I adore books about ordinary people living extraordinary lives and Little Wing is liberally but sensitively strewn with characters full of longing and hope, despair and resilience, where the minutely observed detail of everyday life and relationships remind us how the little moments are the biggest part of our beings.

Little Wing: A beautifully written, emotional and Little Wing: A beautifully written, emotional and

Oh my gosh - what a blindsider of a read! Emotional, poignant, tender, and with descriptive prose to die for, this hit me with all the feels. I expected light and fluffy and got instead the most affecting, absorbing story of identity, belonging and second chances. And the clincher: the ruggedly beautiful setting of the Outer Hebrides. I drowned in it and savored every word. North gets to the heart of relationships very well. They are messy, glorious, heart-breaking, soul soothing and complex. Nell's relationship with her mum Wendy (who had very challenging mental health issues) gave so much more depth to Nell's personality and patience. Nell was overflowing with love and kindness, she had dedicated her life to working with and supporting those who needed it most. It was this inherent kindness that made me really fond of Nell. North has crafted her characters so boldly, so intricately; endowed them with qualities so inherently human, you cannot help but take them into your heart. I cared for all of three. For Florence and her exile to a foreign place. For Nell and her heartbreaking search for the truth. And for Dougie and the scars that refuse to heal. Believe it or not this is my first Freya North book, I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was utterly captivated by this multi generational story of families and love and secrets. I listened to it on audiobook and the narrator was superb and enhanced the story massively (not that it needed it).As the past begins to close in on them both, they find themselves travelling to a remote village called Harris in the Outer Hebrides; Nell to explore her family connections that have been long-buried with the woman she learns is her real mother; Dougie, for a long overdue stay to reconnect with his father, Gordon, and confront events that he has tried to ignore for too long. Inevitably, their paths are destined to cross! Decades ago it was easier to keep secrets. Families, neighbors, and/or friends were likely to care for unwanted, abandoned, or neglected children and raise them as their own. In addition, a great deal of shame existed for the family that experienced a teenage pregnancy. Without DNA technology, it’s more difficult to unravel the past as you question an older generation that might feel the need to keep secrets. The story weaves its beautiful way to the conclusion, which was exactly how I wanted it to end. But to be honest, I didn’t really want it to end at all.

Little Wing: A beautifully written, emotional and - WHSmith Little Wing: A beautifully written, emotional and - WHSmith

Although there are many sad aspects of this book (and some very sensitive ones, which North writes about with aplomb), ultimately this is a book of hope. Dougie and Nell find out who they really are once they face some hard things about their pasts. They make peace with their traumas and resolve to keep moving forward. Ultimately, isn't this what most people want? The characters are warm, emotionally complex and vulnerable in particular Nell and Dougie who are trying to find out who they really are and where they belong in the world. We join these main characters on an intimate emotional journey tracing their past and connecting with loved ones. Little Wing is a lovely read about family and the importance of place. It unfolds in dual timeframes. In 1969, a sixteen year old girl gets pregnant and is sent away to live with a relative in the Scottish Hebrides. In 2005, we meet Nell and Dougie, both in their 30s and living in Colchester and London respectively. Nell is running a cafe and dealing with her mother's early onset dementia. Dougie is a photographer who is battling depression. It's apparent that the three storylines will connect, but it's unclear how that will happen.Also, this is the second book I've read recently with a young mother raising a baby completely on her own in an isolated location and absolutely revelling in every minute of it. I have to admit I think that would be my idea of hell and I'm not sure it would have been helpful for me to read this when my kids were little. Maybe that's just me?