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The House We Grew Up In

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The House We Grew Up In

By: Lisa Jewell
Narrated by: Zoe Tapper
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

An unforgettable story about a family with a terrible secret. From the #1 bestselling author of Then She Was Gone, The Night She Disappeared and The Family Upstairs.
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When a tragedy breaks a family apart, what can bring it back together?

The Birds seem to be the perfect family: mother, father, four children, a picture-book cottage in the country.

But one Easter weekend, something happens - something so unexpected, so devastating, that no one can bring themselves to talk about it.

The family shatters, seemingly for good.

Until, years later, they are forced to return to the house they grew up in, and to confront what really broke the family apart . . .
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Readers can't get enough of The House We Grew Up In . . .

***** 'I could NOT put it down!'
***** 'What a fabulous, fabulous read. I honestly LOVED this book and I could not put it down.'
***** 'This book is so smooth and natural that I felt like I almost knew the characters.'
***** 'Incredibly moving, delightfully funny, painfully tragic.'
***** 'It's one of the very best books I've read this year.'

©2013 Lisa Jewell (P)2023 Penguin Audio

 Domestic Thrillers Family Life Genre Fiction Mystery Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Heartfelt

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Critic reviews

The author’s best yet… A fantastically gripping story with a couple of powerful shocks.
Her best novel to date.... It’s an evocative, thought-provoking and fascinating book that gets under your skin. Just brilliant.
Clever, intelligent and believable on a subject few of us really understand. Lorrie is one of the most vivid - and complex - characters I've read in years. Wonderful.
Simply stunning.
Unputdownable
Poignant, heart-wrenching & beautifully told, the author's best tale yet.
The House We Grew Up In is a truly brilliant novel, it had me hooked from start to finish.
A poignant page-turner.
Beautifully written.
Jewell cleverly and thoughtful portrays her steady decline and the effect it has on her family which has other secrets waiting to emerge. Imaginative and well executed.
All stars
Most relevant
A thoughtful and heartbreaking exploration of hoarding and of the texture of family life. Not a thriller, but a domestic drama. The ending is joyful. In short, I loved it.

Sad and uplifting

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So, this was different to most of Lisa Jewell’s books, as there was no missing or dead teenage mother. I actually enjoyed it as much as some of her others, perhaps more. I thought it was a thoughtful and interesting portrayal of family dynamics. The characters and events felt plausible and convincing. Having said that, the only really likeable character was Meg as she was the only one who was loyal, loving and resilient. However, by the end of the book, it was possible to feel a sense of empathy for all the characters, even the most deeply flawed, as you could see how they were all damaged in their own ways, but also trying to do their best.

Interesting portrayal of family dynamics

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I started the paperback but after the first few chapters I knew I wouldn’t carry on reading it, so because I needed to know about it for our book club meeting I bought the audio version, that way I could listen to it whilst doing other things and it wouldn’t be wasting my time. I liked the narrator’s voice, which was a blessing, or I might have given up on the audiobook too. I found the storyline odd in that every one of the Bird family left me cold and uninterested despite the secrets that inevitably involved another member of the Bird family. Usually I find a few characters who’s mind I like to get into but I couldn’t warm to any of them. Kayleigh was the only character I took to mainly because she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. Lorelei irritated me, Colin was weak, Vicky too sweet… I could go on but I’m trying not to unveil spoilers. Obviously these are only my personal thoughts and others might love the book. We all have different tastes in novels.

Only listened through to the end because it was for this months book club

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I found this book quite deep and meaningful. It captures the character’s own thoughts and problems individually. Very satisfying.

Thoughtful

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great narration and story telling. just loved it, very relaxing read. All the characters came to life and each interesting in their journey through family life.

story was very engaging and enjoyable. loved the way the characters changed over the years

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