Sinead Moriarty has penned numerous
books, including The Baby Trail and 2005 novel A Perfect Match. Her
latest book, Pieces of My Heart, was released in paperback just last
week, and judging by Sinead's wonderful writing, seems set to be a great
success. Before reading Pieces of My Heart, Sinead's work was new to
me, but after reading this one, I may have to go back and read the rest...
Pieces of My Heart focuses on Ava - a wife, mother, and business partner whose life is hectic, to say the least. Being a mother to two teenage daughters - the overly-confident, tearaway Sarah and the shy, studious Ali - is hard enough work alongside her business, a party-planning company that she runs with best friend Sally. Ava finds herself landed with yet more responsibility when her father Charlie is forced to move in temporarily after the death of his wife (and Ava's stepmother) Catherine. The eccentric Charlie may be a good man, but his need for sex now that he's finally 'free' from his alcoholic wife is causing havoc, especially when he's almost arrested...
Ava's own sex life is dwindling too. With husband Paul constantly working on his pub, and with Ava having a household to manage, the couple don't see as much of each other as they'd like to.
For Ava, it feels as though everyone's reliying on her. Is there really any time to be herself? It's starting to seem as though she and Paul will never get time to themselves, and what can she do?
And things are about to get even worse when straight-A student Ali starts to become thin and frail, after being dumped by her school sweetheart. All the signs are pointing to an eating disorder. Will Ava be able to save Ali and put things right for her family once and for all?
I really enjoyed this book. Ava is such a lovely character and her family are dysfunctional, in a funny kind of way. There's Charlie, who's constantly on the search for a younger, glamorous girlfriend (well, mainly sex), the feisty Sally and of course, daughters Ali and Sarah. When Ali begins to show an obsession with food, it feels so real to read about - Ali is, at the start of the book, a happy, pretty student fully focused on her exams, yet having been dumped for the thin, model-like new girl at school, begins to slowly morph into another Ali, a tired, painfully thin version of herself that's food and fitness obsessed. Sinead has done well in portraying an eating disorder, and even though it was sad to read, it happens to normal families like Ava's, which was why this book was not only addictive and sweet but moving, too.
I highly recommend this book to both fans of Moriarty and newcomers to her work. Pieces of My Heart is a wonderful new release and I can't wait to read more from her.
Rating: 5/5