Never say never (Never Say Never - Melissa Hill)

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Product:	Never Say Never - Melissa Hill
Date:	26.04.06 (183 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good characters, good portrayal of relationships, easy read, some surprises

Disadvantages: a lot of cliches/stereotypes

Just before graduation, a group of friends spend a lovely evening at St Stephen’s Green in Dublin contemplating what the future might hold for each of them. Having spent many years together, everyone seems to have figured out precisely in their minds what is in store. Leah, an ace in the kitchen, is certainly destined to become a chef. Robin, who is a little quieter than everyone else in the group, probably will find herself in the role of an accountant. Olivia, a little on the plump side and motherly, is bound to get married to childhood sweetheart Peter and have a wealth of children, while Amanda is destined to become famous. Dreaming about the future, the friends make a pact to meet again in five years time, just in case they do not all manage to keep in touch.

Not everyone follows the path so clearly predicted by their friends. Robin runs off to New York, Olivia finds herself in a long period of grief, Leah is fast approaching thirty and not sure about her future at all. It is only once Robin returns home for a visit seven years later that the friends can sort out their problems and bring themselves back onto a better track of life.

If you think that this description sounds rather vague, then this is entirely done on purpose. If you think that this description sounds boring, then you are entirely wrong. Although this is yet another book in the chick-lit genre and certainly many twists of the story are entirely predictable, the reader is actually in for some interesting and unexpected surprises on the journey through the lives of this well-portrayed circle of friends. Saying anything else about the plot would be spoiling it – so all that is left for me to do is to tell you the strengths and weaknesses of this particular literary creation.

The way this book is structured, the reader follows different characters through their lives, chapter-by-chapter. Although written in the third person throughout, some chapters will focus on an individual character’s thoughts, others will home in on a particular relationship between two or more characters with all its up and downs between the characters. And again others will bring together all the friends in one big unity.

Melissa Hill does well at getting the characters across in her writing. To me the most special character is Robin, a quiet and lovely individual who suffers from a severe peanut allergy that strongly affects her everyday life. Watching Robin come to terms with this allergy and other issues that have made her life complicated, is enjoyable from start to finish. Another lovely character is Olivia, who despite her caring and forgiving nature has one major flaw – she has difficulties forgiving herself for past mistakes. Leah is amusing, what she lacks as a driver she makes up for as a cook and chocolatier – and the reader cannot wish her anything else than happiness. Hill concentrates mostly on these three characters and gives everyone else a more peripheral role.

One of the things that I slightly disliked about Hill’s character-building is the strong adherence to stereotypes. The really skinny, attractive women that society dictates is what men really are after, are portrayed as bitchy, backstabbing and selfish individuals. On the other hand, the more down-to-earth and lovely characters all have some kind of flaw when it comes to their looks or their condition and personality. Perhaps it is Hill’s attempt at redressing that feeling amongst women that skinny and gorgeous is the way to be – but it is too obvious to the reader that it certainly feels wrong.

What Hill does even better than painting individual characters is to capture the reality of human relationships. She manages to get deep inside every characters thoughts and portrays them so vividly that each and every one of the characters seems real – as do their relationships with one another.

The writing style is highly accessible and readers will find themselves flying across the pages. It is often not even necessary to read every word to capture the essence of the situation, but I should forewarn that this could lead to missing some vital clues as to where the author is heading with her story.

The only downfall in the story is that it is pure chick fluff and as such, it comes with all the clichés, the hopes and dreams that may turn reality. In a couple of situations it may not be predictable how the story will end for a particular character, certainly in one instance I was slightly fooled. But you will sigh from time to time and think to yourself that “you’ve read it all before”.

With 512 pages and 50 chapters, the book can be easily put down if necessary, however, in practice this is rather difficult to do. It is perhaps less of a read for the train than a read for your holiday trip and lazing on the beach – or perhaps even for a boring rainy Sunday afternoon.

In short, the read is fluffy, heart-warming and engaging – the perfect choice if you are up for a light read.

***Further information***

Publisher: Arrow Books
Price: £6.99 for new paperback
Pages: 512
ISBN: 0-09-948693-8

Summary: A nice bit of fluff that only suffers from a few cliches.