Lessons in Laughing Out Loud by Rowan Coleman.

Lessons in Laughing Out Loud by Rowan Coleman.

(Arrow, July 2011.)

Review by Laura Parish.

Willow and Holly are identical twins and are everything to each other. They are alike in every way but one. Willow harbours a secret, one that makes her very afraid. It’s a secret that binds the sisters together but has meant that their adult lives have taken very different paths.
Willow feels that large parts of herself are missing – qualities she knows exist because she sees them in Holly.
One event, one moment in time has separated Willow and Holly and when it’s time to face her past, can Willow learn how to laugh out loud once more.

I loved The Happy Home for Broken Hearts and so I was looking forward to reading the latest from Rowan Coleman. This story didn’t unfold the way I thought it would. However, that’s not a negative point. It really pleasantly surprised me. Willow is a character I fell in love with immediately and a character I could really relate to in so many ways. Her story had plenty of twists to keep me interested and plot events that surprised me. The ending was not how I expected and the pace of the story was such that I couldn’t put it down. I was so easily drawn into the story.
In places, it had me happy, sad and laughing. Lessons in laughing out loud is a wonderfully warm and funny book and I totally recommend it.

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.