A warning if you're thinking of going on holiday with friends!! (Warnings of Gales - Annie Sanders)

Member Name: AJ26

Product:	Warnings of Gales - Annie Sanders
Date:	07/02/07 (124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good fun read

Disadvantages: Not in-depth or complicated plot lines

Warnings of Gales is a novel by Annie Sanders. Annie Sanders is not an actual person but is in fact 2 people, Meg Sanders and Annie Ashworth. They are 2 consumer journalists who have written 10 non-fiction books between them and this is their second novel, the first was called “Goodbye, Jimmy Choo”.

This is the story of 3 women who rent a holiday home in Cornwall for the summer. Add to that their children of various ages, occasional visits from husbands, emotional baggage, great expectations and the Great British summer weather, well it’s a recipe for disaster ………… or is it??

This book was lent to me by a friend who we’ve holidayed with before but only for a few days at a time, was she trying to tell me something?

There are 3 main characters in the book. Imogen is the organised one, she has chosen the holiday venue, organised an itinerary of places to go and activities for the children not to mention menu plans and enough food to feed the five thousand. She has 3 children whom she adores and organises her life around them not leaving much time for herself. She is determined this holiday will be perfect especially as after the summer the whole family is planning to move to Hong Kong with her husbands work taking the children away from all their friends and schools.

Sophie is Imogen’s old friend from boarding school days. She has 2 girls but her style of childcare is much more laid back than Imogen’s. Sophie doesn’t get flustered, she doesn’t really plan things but just goes with the flow.

Then there is Jo who steps into the holiday after another friend drops out at the last minute. She is a friend of Sophie’s and has never met Imogene (if she had she probably wouldn’t have agreed to come on holiday with them). Jo is a GP and single mother to Finn. Jo likes to do her own thing, she is very laid back (much to Imogen’s disgust), just wants to relax and she cant cook and doesn’t tidy up after herself. Her style of child rearing is very laid back, her son stays up really late and often calls her Jo rather than mum.

Three women with very different backgrounds and personalities cooped up in one house for the summer unsurprisingly results in a few arguments, some laughs, tears and some life-changing decisions. Add in a little romantic spice courtesy of the hunky surf instructor Matt and this is a great book to read on your holidays providing you haven’t gone with two of your friends!

The book has all you need for a good light read there are funny bits, a few dramas, some romance. The characters are all good fun and you get to know them and understand their little ways. You can identify with them, you feel Jo’s stress when her son goes missing and Imogen’s worries about moving to Hong Kong. This is a light-hearted read if you are looking for in-depth character analyses and complicated plot-lines then this isn’t for you. I think this would make a great summer holiday read for those of you who like a little light-hearted harmless read for fun.

Pages 437
ISBN - 0-7528-7774-7
Published by Orion Books 2005

Summary: The story of three women who spend a summer holiday together and the problems they face.