Book giveaway: The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell

[AliceMumsnet]

Picture an Easter weekend when tragedy strikes; a tragedy so unexpected - so devastating - that no one can talk about it.

We're giving away 50 copies of The House We Grew Up In by Top Ten bestselling author Lisa Jewell, who joined us for a Q&A to talk about her novel The Making of Us and writing career back in 2012. Described by Jojo Moyes as 'Clever, intelligent, and believable on a subject few of us really understand', The House We Grew Up In follows the unforgettable story of a family with a secret at its core.

Apply for a free copy here, we will post on the thread once all the copies have gone. Please come back here and tell us what you thought of the book, or you can post a review.

To celebrate the release of the hardback last year, we launched a competition where we asked you to post pictures of the house where you grew up. Check out our gallery of the best photos here.

This book giveaway is sponsored by The Random House Group

I really enjoyed this book. The theme of the dysfunctional family isn't a new one, but this was a totally fresh approach. The matriarch of the family, lorelei, is a compulsive hoarder. This infuriates her family, and seems to be one of the reasons for the family falling apart. It is only when the story is drawing to a close, that we discover the shocking reasons for Lorelei's disorder.
The characters in this story are vividly portrayed and actually, apart from Vicky, not very likeable. However, I was drawn into their lives and found myself racing through the book to discover Lorelei's secrets.
I would definitely recommend this book and will have a look at Amazon to see which other Lisa Jewell books I will tackle next. Many thanks.

I have just finished this today.

At first I was not keen on this book and carried on reading out of duty. I felt it was muddled and as I was confused about some parts, not written very well. I persevered and while not yet enjoying the book I did want to know what was going to happen.

At times I felt it was lazy writing when it was just dropped in that there had been a funeral and a death and I know this could be partly because I didn't like the chopping and changing between the dates.

The attempted kiss by Rhys with his mother was for shock value and offensive when it wasn't addressed properly and just thrown in. I felt it was totally unnecessary.

The ending was weak. I had no idea it was the end until I looked at the next page and it was just acknowledgements.

All in all I think there was potential to be a really interesting story but I didn't think it lived up to the hype and not a book I would read again.

Finished! I thought the book was woven together very well, particularly by the drip feed of the emails. The ending came as a surprise even though Beth had hinted at something. Really shocked by that final twist but feel a bit disappointed by it. Thought the characters had some depth and continually managed to disappoint me in their actions. This is the second book I have read by this author - (The Making Of Us) and I will look out for more. Thanks.

I live in china, so my copy arrived on Monday and I finished it today. Interesting story about a compulsive hoarder and the effect on her family. I felt the detail about the mother's rape was almost an afterthought as if the author felt the stillborn child was not enough to explain Lorelei's childhood and her subsequent need to create a very different experience for her own children.
Not convinced about the relationship between Colin and Kayleigh. What did she see in him?

Would recommend as a summer read.

Taking this with me on holiday as managed to win a copy. Thank yo mumsnet

Took this book on holiday. Initially I found the book slow to start and thought this was about a subject that I could not really relate to. But then about a 1/4 of the way through the story and mystery relating to the family starts to come out which draws the reader in very quickly. I could not put the book down. It's a sad story about a family torn apart by their mother's hoarding issues and what effects it has on the family. Good read .

I did get the opportunity to read this book on my holiday and thought it was a great read. It conveyed a range of emotions and I have now found another novelist to enjoy. Thank you ahain

Just finished 'The house we grew up in' last night. It's a bit of a slow burner to start with, but I carried on reading. The book then drew me in, dropping little nuggets of information, which left me wanting to know how and why certain things happened. I thoroughly enjoyed it in the end and will be looking for other books by Lisa Jewell. Thank you for the copy.

Finally finished (it's me, not you, Lisa) this, and loved it!

thanks for the chance to read it, the author's writing has matured favourably since the first book i read of hers years ago.

will definitely look out for more again

and thanks for the freebie, have now donated it to the local charity bookshop

I read the book during a spa weekend. I couldn't put it down. I found it a bit of a slower started, but once I got going I was hooked! It certainly drew me in and left me wanted more and more. I felt like I needed a little more at the end of the book. It seemed to end quite short. However, a good read and made me want to check out more by this author.