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Dear Lina

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Dear Lina

By: Jess Glaisher
Narrated by: Amélie Roch, Dervla Kirwan
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About this listen

England is recognisable on the surface: the buildings are the same, there is still a government, the tube still runs through London. For Lina, however, the England she knew when she was little, when her mum was still around, has disappeared completely.

Arriving home one day to find her mum gone, Lina finds in her place a leather-bound notebook containing hundreds of pages of her mum’s handwriting: letters of advice and memories, all the things her mother would no longer have the chance to teach her. Through these pages, Lina learns that her mother, Eve, left in the middle of the night to avoid being arrested. The government crackdown on immigrants meant that Eve either had to flee or risk the same fate as her friends, friends who were taken away from their homes and families and never made it back to their country of birth.

Taking Eve’s advice, Lina leaves her life behind and sets off on a journey north to Scotland to find freedom and, she hopes, her mother.

©2020 Jess Glaisher (P)2020 Audible, Ltd Genre Fiction Emotionally Gripping Scary
All stars
Most relevant
Laudable principles but low energy storytelling. Still, it's always good to hear someone sticking it to the Tories

Meh

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An all too believable look back at the next few years from the vantage of 2030: "Dear Lina" is a gripping tale of individuals struggling against the State and those who choose conformity over freedom. What would you do if the place you called "home" overnight classed you as "other"? Even if you were safe, for now, would you go along with the persecution or help to hinder it? This story is as thought provoking as it is entertaining.

A Warning from the Future

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I loved this story of a young woman’s journey to safety and freedom against the odds. The version of England depicted was strikingly and uncomfortably close to reality, imagining a terrifyingly believable near-future. Eve and Lina’s relationship was portrayed with such tenderness and heartache, and despite the dark subject matter there were joyful glimpses of queer family life, and the sweet experience of first love. An essential read for our times.

A moving story for our unsettled times

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I loved it! Looking forward to Jess Glaisher's next book, whether it's a sequel or something completely different.
The performances were lovely as well. Very enjoyable all around!

Simply lovely

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I liked the dystopian concept, thought it was believable in a sci-fi kind of way. Made me appreciate the freedoms we do have and wonder if this could actually happen, one day...
Shame the narration was so depressing and monotonous, made it hard to get to the end.

Interesting concept but so depressing!

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