Toffee – Sarah Crossan ★★★★

Blurb; I am not who I say I am,
and Marla isn’t who she thinks she is.

I am a girl trying to forget.
She is a woman trying to remember.

Allison has run away from home, and with nowhere to live, finds herself hiding out in the shed of what she thinks is an abandoned house. But the house isn’t empty. An elderly woman named Marla, with dementia, lives there – and she mistakes Allison for an old friend from her past called Toffee.

Allison is used to hiding who she really is, and trying to be what other people want her to be. And so, Toffee is who she becomes. After all, it means she has a place to stay. There are worse places she could be.

But as their bond grows, and Allison discovers how much Marla needs a real friend, she begins to ask herself – where is home? What is a family? And most importantly, who am I, really?

My Review; I picked this one up in the library purely for it’s cover. It’s a young adult story but I am so glad I picked it up. Sarah has a unique writing skill in the way the story is told. It is very easy to read and could easily be read in one sitting. Different. But I absolutely loved how it was set out and told, it worked for me but wouldn’t work for everyone I guess. Had me flicking through the pages for fun.

A little breakdown of the story… Alison leaves home, finds a house to stay in but there’s a woman living there Marla with dementia and they spark the most beautiful relationship together even through the dementia. Sometimes are tricky, others beautiful. I personally felt that in the end they both needed each other and the company, that fate brought them together especially towards the end of the book.

Absolutely loved it. I enjoyed it that much I’ve ordered all the other stories the author has written to binge. A well deserved four stars. Highly recommend.

Amazon Link US

Amazon Link UK