All the Water in the World
Maddy is sixteen. Deeply curious, wry and vivacious, she's poised at the outset of adulthood. She has loyal friends, a mother with whom she's unusually close, a father she's never met, devoted grandparents, and a crush on a boy named Jack. Maddy also has cancer.
Hungry for experience despite living in the shadow of illness, Maddy seeks out her first romantic relationship, ponders philosophical questions, finds solace in music and art, and tracks down her father, Antonio. She continually tests the depths and limits of her closeness with her mother, while Eve has to come to terms with the daughter she loves and only partly knows, in a world she can't control.
This is Karen Raney's debut novel.
The story is told from two points of view. Maddy, who is a 16 year old who is undergoing chemotherapy for cance, and Eve, her mother.
Maddy has been brought up by her mother after finding herself pregnant and the father not wanting to have a baby, or at least not with her. Maddy was supported by her parent's Walter and Rose and latterly by her new partner Robin.
During Maddy's treatment she is encouraged by her grandfather to email her father, he tells her which university he was at and his first name.
This is a very poignant story and beautifully told.
The narrative does jump around a little and can get a bit confusing at times, this may have been down to the copy that I had.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for my ARC in return for an honest review.