Paper Avalanche blog tour

Ro’s mum is a compulsive hoarder... so Ro has become an expert at hiding: from social services, from friends, from having any sort of normal life. Staying under the radar keeps her ‘real’ life secret and her mum, Bonnie, safe - and she dreads to think what would happen to Bonnie without her.

Then Tanvi Shah turns up at school; full of life, and on a mission to make friends and Ro feels seen and heard for the first time ever. But if people can see Ro, they might see her secret too...

Lisa Williamson is one of my favourite contemporary YA authors so I'm thrilled to join this blog tour. Her books always have real heart, a brilliant voice and believable teen characters.

Paper Avalanche starts from the intriguing, heartbreaking premise of a girl who has had to grow up too fast and cope with her mother's compulsive hoarding. It's a subject I've never read about before and I thought it was great that the book explored hoarding from all angles, including what might motivate it.

The characters in this book are so realistic! I feel like I recognised a lot of them from my teenage years. Even minor characters are fleshed out until they feel like real people. Ro is a brilliant protagonist, as she's complex and relatable, but my absolute favourite is Tanvi. She just feels like a breath of fresh air and I would've loved to know her at school!

The voice of Lisa William's books is always so strong, and Paper Avalanche is no exception. The dialogue and narrative feel like they're coming from real people, especially the teen voices, and the book tackles a range of teen issues from family life to what it feels like not to fit in.

This book gave me exactly what I want from a contemporary, taking me on emotional ups and downs but ultimately leaving me feeling uplifted. Another excellent read from Lisa Williamson!
 

Thanks so much Ed PR for inviting me to join the blog tour! You can check out the other tour stops using the handy banner.