Amy and Lan: The enchanting new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Outcast

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It is not to be read as a comment on the viability of communal living – there being at least as much good as bad in Frith.

When their families make the leap from city living to a farm in the West Country they have untold freedom.

The adults are far too busy to keep an eye on Amy and Lan, and Amy and Lan would never tell them about climbing on the high barn roof, or what happened with the axe that time, any more than their parents would tell them the things they get up to - adult things, like betrayal - that threaten to bring the whole fragile idyll tumbling down. The adult drama of Frith and the way in which it was filtered through the childish perceptions of its narrators, often relayed through overheard conversations, was a highlight. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs.

I was dissapointed at the outcome of the story and the disregard for the innocent children and adults. We get clues to what are the issues with the adults through their childish observations, which they patently do not understand.I absolutely adored this book, I loved that it was told from a child’s perspective, really gave it an edge. All the way through, there is a tension, as you know something dreadful will happen at the end, but it still came as a shock and left me crying with Amy.

The story of Frith and the families that reside is told through the childish eyes of its two leads; trying to comprehend and navigate the complex dramas of the adults on the farm.

I also kept waiting for something awful to happen involving any one of the characters, especially after the early scene involving the axe. An orphaned calf (“Gabriella Christmas”) arrives one December, a gift from a neighbour, nursed indoors for months by Lan and Amy.