{Book Review & Giveaway} Walking On Trampolines By Frances Whiting (@FrancesWhiting @GalleryBooks)

Praised as “a tender exploration of friendship, families, and first love” (Liane Moriarty, New York Times bestselling author of The Husband’s Secret), this coming-of-age novel from bestselling author Frances Whiting is equal parts heartwarming, accessible, and thought provoking.

“Tallulah de Longland,” she said slowly, letting all the Ls in my name loll about lazily in her mouth before passing judgment. “That,” she announced, “is a serious glamorgeous name.”

From the day Annabelle Andrews sashays into her classroom, Tallulah ‘Lulu’ de Longland is bewitched: by Annabelle, by her family, and by their sprawling, crumbling house tumbling down to the river.

Their unlikely friendship intensifies through a secret language where they share confidences about their unusual mothers, first loves, and growing up in the small coastal town of Juniper Bay. But the euphoria of youth rarely lasts, and the implosion that destroys their friendship leaves lasting scars and a legacy of self-doubt that haunts Lulu into adulthood.

Years later, Lulu is presented with a choice: remain the perpetual good girl who misses out, or finally step out from the shadows and do something extraordinary. And possibly unforgivable…

It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce.

Tallulah de Longland is a good girl.  She goes to Catholic school, takes care of her family and shoulders responsibility far beyond her years.  When Annabelle Andrews moves into town, her free spirit splashes color on the landscape of Lulu’s childhood. 

Together they support each other as their families navigate the rocky roads of mental illness and infidelity.  Dreaming of the day when they would fly away and finally be free to explore the big world beyond Juniper Bay.

Theirs was a friendship that could never be broken. Until a betrayal severs their bonds completely and Lulu is set adrift in a sea of melancholy. She goes through life half alive and it takes the wisdom of a man with platinum tonsils to show her how to live once again.

It’s going to take the support of all of her crazy friends to show Lulu that forgiveness, as painful as it may be, is the best way to start all over again.

“I’d felt like I was being erased, that things I said and did no longer mattered, that I could literally disappear into the shadows of my room, spill silently into its corners.  It felt like Annabelle had taken over my life, slipped into my shoes when I wasn’t looking, and that if I wasn’t careful no one would ever know about the other girl who had once worn them.”

“They had both been my first loves, and that night I let them go, finally realizing that your first love, no matter how big it may have been, wasn’t necessarily your true one.”

Have you ever read a book that transported you back to the carefree days of your childhood? A book that made you laugh and cry in equal measure?

Walking on Trampolines is one of those books for me. 

Francis Whiting takes Lulu on a poetic journey through the anguish of lost love, the strength of true friendship and self-acceptance and I felt like I was right there with her.  Every bout of laughter, every tear and every regret was etched on my heart.

I was completely astounded by how much I loved this book and now consider it to be treasured classic…

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