Deborah Moggach is a delight to read-her characters are wonderfully alive, and their stories grip us unequivocally... the novel is enjoyable from first to last

It is characterisation at which Moggach excels. Her gift is to perceive and describe our confusions about life... and to write with feeling about the continual quest for love and happiness that is part of the human condition

A neat plot... [with] dark flashes of hubris and nemesis

Moggach's subject is the rickety edifice we call the family, which she comes at armed with both a wrecking ball and an insatiable curiosity to note the particular way it collapses

She is a terrific plotter

'Make sure you have a lot of time on your hands before you open Lesley Marshall's debut novel, A Girl Could Stand Up. You'll find it hard to tear yourself away'

'A page-turner that will disarm and charm. A stand-out talent'

'Utterly real...rendered with truthfulness and charm'

'Lively, slightly breathless comic narrative...this game is worth the candle'

'Fun, funny, fast-paced'

'Distinctive debut novel'