Half a World Away - Mike Gayle

I bought this book based on the hype I'd seen about it on Instagram and I really highly enjoyed it, reading the entire book in almost one single sitting. Mike Gayle is a new author for me and I will definitely be checking out his other work as I really enjoyed the writing style and found it immensely absorbing and readable. The novel is set in London and focuses on two primary protagonists - siblings Kerry Hayes and Noah Martineau. Both of them were put into care as children, but as Noah was too young to remember, he has no recollection of his older sister Kerry or his life before he was adopted into a privileged and loving family. Kerry, on the other hand, was deeply traumatised by her life with her birth mother and her separation from her brother, and was juggled between foster homes before finally being put into an orphanage.

As adults, Noah and Kerry's lives couldn't be more different. Noah is a successful barrister living in a wealthy part of London, with a wife and child. Kerry lives on a tough council estate with her son Kian and works cleaning rich people's houses in order to support them, after Kian's father left before he was born. Kerry has been attempting to contact Noah for years without success, and when she finally reaches him he is shocked to discover that he has a sister at all. After initial trepidation, the siblings rekindle a beautiful and supportive relationship which helps to overcome their own personal boundaries. 

Gayle's writing style is, as mentioned, terrifically readable and emotive, and I went from laughing out loud to sobbing my eyes out at this novel in the space of a few pages. It is a wonderfully heartwarming and eye-opening read which tackles themes of race, class, belonging and family - despite difficult subject matter it is a lighthearted and delightful book which I would highly recommend!