While, in parts, this was how Sue Teddern’s book could be described, it turned out to be much more than that.
The storyline also reflects on heavier issues, such as how different people deal with grief, and how that grief can make people do things for both good and bad reasons.
The book starts with the death of Annie Stanley’s father — her last remaining parent.
When her step-mother — who her dad has been with for only four years — decides his ashes should be spread in Austria where they had holidayed together, Annie takes matters into her own hands and steals the ashes.
She then decides to take them on a trip around the British Isles, following the sea areas listed in the daily shipping forecast on the radio.
For much of his life, her dad had listened to the shipping forecast, and it seemed to Annie to be a fitting tribute to him.
What ensued is in parts hilarious and will have you chuckling out loud, including how Annie started by stealing the wrong man’s ashes.
It is also a trip of reflection on her own life, as Annie meets up with ex-boyfriends, a childhood friend, and the godmother and son of her most recent ex.
Her sister and her dad’s partner also pop in and out of her life throughout the trip, making Annie re-evaluate her relationships with all of them and what actually constitutes a family.
While the main premise of the book is about their journey to all the different sea areas, Annie also learns a lot about her life and decisions she has made in the past.
She also has a chance to finally redeem herself in the eyes of all those around her and get her own life firmly back on track after it spiralled out of control when her mother died a few years earlier.
Ultimately, I would recommend this book as a good read.
It has the elements of being a nice easy read, but also has a bit more substance to it.
Annie Stanley All at Sea by Sue Teddern is published by Pan MacMillan, RRP $32.99.
HOW TO ENTER
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WINNER
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