Author:Sarah Tucker
There are 50 places at The Oaks, the best grammar school in Letchbury, and 1,000 children applying. Competition is fierce and parents are prepared to do anything and everything to get their child one of the coveted spaces.
Close friends Lily, Julie, Karen and house husband Paul aren't overly concerned. After all, aren't their children bright and sociable enough? But they're quickly shaken out of their complacency when enrolment time approaches and turns out to be little more than a rigged lottery, where only the most ruthless hold the cards. Marriages and friendships crumble under the pressure, fake addresses are abound and tutors rates soar.
As measures get more and more extreme, the four quickly rally their troops and throw themselves into the battle for big school. Initially wary to be in competition with each other, they realise that the only way of out-smarting the rest of the pack is by coming up with a plan. Because getting their kids into The Oaks will demand determination and strategy akin to Mission Impossible ...
Scandal, backstabbing, illicit affairs ... a fab, girlie read!
—— New WomanMums will be able to see the truth behind this fun novel
—— In The KnowA real laugh-out-loud tale
—— OK! Magazinefunny and engaging
—— www.richmondmagazine.co.ukPlayground fighting goes beyond the school gates in this fun, feisty read. A group of parents risk marriage and friendship to win coveted places for their kids at top grammar school The Oaks.
—— Sky MagazineThis really is a must-read - entertaining, humorous and topical!
—— My Weeklyentertaining ... an enjoyable read
—— Ilford Recorder SeriesPart social commentary, part mystery and part dangerous liaison, this poignant story casts an unflinching gaze at the historic treatment of mental health disorders.
—— Financial TimesSuch a magnificent setting definitely demands a story that delivers, all guns blazing. It does, and then some . . . Fiction at it’s finest.
—— Irish IndependentBeautiful
—— StylistAn exquisite love story
—— Good HousekeepingA terrifying, moving and uplifting story
—— February Hot Read , Woman and HomeA poignant against-the-odds love story
—— GlamourTender . . . Hope is the emotion that unspools the delicate connections between these brilliantly drawn characters
—— Psychologies MagazineThe Ballroom is a beautifully wrought novel, a tender, heartbreaking and insightful exploration of the longings that survive in the most inhospitable environments.
—— Sunday Express 5/5 starsMagnificent…a luminary of historical fiction…writing history from the margins, the personal stories behind the era, she delivers profound, poignant stories that stir the emotions.
—— Press AssociationAll the intensity and lyricism of Hope’s debut, Wake
—— Daily MailThe Ballroom confirms her as a novelist of immense power...Exquisitely good. Sensitive, engrossing and highly recommended
—— MetroThe Ballroom is a beautiful, gripping, heart-wrenching, thought-provoking book. I was so enthralled, I read it in an evening, unwilling to put it down.
—— thewritesofwoman.wordpress.comAn atmospheric and thought provoking love story
—— bookslifeandeverything.blogspot.co.ukAn absorbing read from beginning to end . . . I'm already excited to see what Anna Hope does next.
—— thetattooedbook.blogspot.co.ukThis novel is at once romantic, thought-provoking and extremely poignant, with a rich narrative and an ending that moved me to tears
—— culturefly.co.ukGripping final chapters ramp up the suspense towards a hearth-wrenching conclusion ...explores the tensions and trials of the human condition with grace and insight.
—— New York TimesAbsolutely fantastic . . . I'm in real awe of her writing.
—— Elizabeth Macneal, author of THE DOLL FACTORYA romantic and fulfilling story, beautifully told. Isabelle writes with a humorous eye, and the evocative poignancy of her writing brought Holly's story vividly to life. I was hooked from first word until final page and was left with tears on my face and an urgent need for a holiday!
—— Katie Marsh, author of My EverythingA mysterious legacy, family secrets and slow-burning romance - My Map of You's the next best thing to a one-way ticket to Zakynthos, the Greek island that makes a perfect setting
—— Fanny Blake, Author and Books Editor for Woman & HomeWitty and big-hearted . . . leaves you smiling for days
—— Maria Semple, author of , Where’d You Go, BernadetteFor those unable to jet off to a Spanish island this summer, reading The Vacationers may be the next-best thing. . . . [A] gorgeously written novel . . . When I turned the last page, I felt as I often do when a vacation is over: grateful for the trip and mourning its end
—— The New York Times Book ReviewDelicious . . . richly riveting . . . The Vacationers offers all the delights of a fluffy, read-it-with-sunglasses-on-the-beach read, made substantial by the exceptional wit, insight, intelligence and talents of its author
—— People (four stars)I loved The Vacationers; funny and poignant and beautifully observed
—— Jojo Moyes, author of , Me Before YouStraub's novel is cast from the same mould as the likes of Liza Klaussmann's Tigers in Red Weather and Maggie Shipstead's Seating Arrangements . . . The Vacationers is a holiday read in every way with a gently witty narrative that slips down as easily as a beachside cocktail
—— IndependentEmma Straub is a gorgeous and witty storyteller
—— Elizabeth GilbertIntimate, epic, beautifully observed
—— Jennifer EganWitty and big-hearted ... leaves you smiling for days
—— Maria SempleCharming and absorbing
—— Maggie ShipsteadFunny, poignant and beautifully observed
—— Jojo Moyes