The Year of the Rat

Pearl's mother has died in childbirth, and Pearl is devastated and furious, with her mum and stepdad, with her premature baby sister, still in a hospital incubator, referred to as the Rat, and perhaps most of all with herself.

Bereavement and the emotions that go with it seem to be a popular topic for young adult fiction at the moment, but I found this particular account of a very difficult year in Pearl's life very moving. Pearl's dead mum remains a vivid character in the story, not only in her memories but as a ghost with some rather bad habits, who turns up smoking in Pearl's room to talk to her. Despite the heartbreak in the story's present, these conversations are often very funny. I found the characters very moving and am still show more wondering about Pearl and how she might be doing now, long after reading the end of the story. show less

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book. This did not influence my review in any way.

Oh man. Did I only just start this book this morning? It’s not even eleven and my nose is running, my face is red, eyes are puffy. Did I mention I read most of this on a train? Yes, I like to embarrass myself that much. I’m pretty sure I nearly started sobbing at one point.

The world may tip at any moment.

Pearl has lost her mum and gained a sister, all in the one breath. She doesn’t know how she’s meant to love the new baby when she is reason that their mum is gone. Consumed by her own grief, Pearl starts throwing up barriers to the outside world and is not going to let anyone break them down in a hurry. The only person Pearl wants to show more speak to is her mum – and strangely enough, this doesn’t seem to be an impossibility, because Pearl knows her mum isn’t completely gone. But she’s not completely here either.

I’m sitting on the train after having finished this, have wiped my tears away with toilet paper and accepted the blotchiness may not fade instantly. Why was I crying? Who was I crying for? It wasn’t for the fact that Stella had died – as readers we don’t even really know Stella when we find out she has died – but for Pearl, and the fact that her grief is unfathomable. Sixteen years old and needing your mum more than ever, but only realising it when it’s too late. On top of that there’s a new baby that needs her dad’s attention so Pearl feels she has no one to share her sorrow with. No one knows, no one understands. No matter how hard they try. And this is – partly – why I was crying. (Also, it is very, very easy to make me cry!)

Other reasons for my tears? The way Pearl couldn’t see how much her dad loved her, despite him not being her biological father. He was her father in all the ways that matters and it takes her a trip to Sussex to work that out. The way she just watched her life slip away from her, not really caring where she ended up. Shit I’m nearly crying now just thinking about this, but that last scene, where everything’s not good, not yet, but maybe, eventually, it will be okay again.

I really enjoyed this book, despite all the crying. There’s a bit of dark, dry humour, there’s a bit of emotional upheaval, there’s the writing style I really enjoyed – actually being inside a sixteen-year-old’s head that I actually didn’t mind, even when I thought she was being unreasonable. Oh yeah, Pearl’s not always likable. There are times when I thought, okay your mum’s gone and that’s awful, but could you stop being a brat for like two seconds? Her off the cuff remarks could be quite hurtful and sometimes she did realise what she was doing, but didn’t stop. It’s hard to face moving on from the death of a loved one and even harder to watch the world move on without you, but these are the things you have to face, along with the consequences of the decisions made when your eyesight is blurred. Luckily, Pearl realises it’s not too late to begin to repair the relationships she has with people who are still here. I loved the emphasis on the important of family.

Just one of those really great reads. Not sure when I’ll crack it open next for fear of more tears, but it has definitely earned its spot on my bookshelf. show less

Pearl is sixteen with a mother she idolizes, a father she loves and a baby sister she is excited to meet. Then in a moment everything goes wrong. Her mother dies, her father pulls away from her in favour of the daughter that is biologically his and her long awaited baby sister is nothing more than a wrinkled ugly rat, not to mention the cause of her mother's death. Somehow no one else sees the rat as she does; no one else seems to care her mother is gone.

The Year Of The Rat is the longest, worst year of Pearl's life. One by one everything in Pearl's life goes wrong and everyone in her life abandons her in-favour of her baby sister, the rat. Her mother was her best friend, her world, and when she died Pearl's life changed in an instant, show more her world was thrown upside down and nothing would ever be the same again. A touchingly tragic story of grief, secrets, family and the unexpectedness of life. show less

The Year of the Rat chronicles the life of 16 year old pearl for one year after her mother dies from a complicated pregnancy resulting in the premature birth of a baby girl that Pearl cannot bring herself to even look at, let alone love. Overcome with grief, she withdraws from everything and everyone around her, including school, her friends, her father. The author leaves it up to the reader to decide whether visits from her mother after the death are really happening, or if they created in Pearl's mind as a way of coping with the loss.

I loved reading this book. The writing was excellent. The beginning of the book was almost too sad for me to get through, but the author saved me with some really funny parts that made the story bearable. show more The main characters and the issues they have are so realistic- you see them as complex and real people, with faults and strengths. I loved reading this one. show less

I have no idea why but I really didn't get on well with this book. I could probably have slogged through to the end, but fuck feeling guilty about not finishing books.

2.5 Stars
CW: Death of mother

A sus dieciséis años, perder a su madre es lo más espantoso que le ha tocado vivir a Pearl, un golpe brutal, inesperado, que sacude los cimientos de su vida. El dolor es tan insoportable que no puede evitar canalizarlo hacia su hermana recién nacida, a quien echa la culpa de la tragedia y no podrá perdonar jamás. Y ahora nadie, ni su padre, ni su abuela, ni su mejor amiga ni desde luego su hermanita conseguirán echar abajo el muro defensivo que ha erigido a su alrededor. Pero ¿y si la madre de Pearl no hubiera desaparecido del todo? ¿Y si siguiera, en cierta forma, presente? El mundo puede dar un vuelco en cualquier momento y, cuando eso ocurre, lo más importante es encontrar algo a lo que aferrarse...