Margot & Me

Margot & Me is story of Fliss, taken to the country to help her mum recover from cancer, and Margot, her grandmother with a secret wartime diary.Even though Margot & Me is very different from Juno’s other books, I really enjoyed it. It took me a while to warm to Fliss, but Margot’s diaries made up for that. Her story of a war spent in the countryside was one I couldn't put down. By the end I was in tears for Fliss and Margot, but for very different reasons. The perfect read for a Sunday afternoon, and one I highly recommend.

I found this book so gripping at the endd of every chapter I was wondeing,whaat happened next? Did they get trapped in the cellar when the air raid happened?Who was that in the cave and dead? Who killed him? Why?Such a page turner. Not knowing all these secrets about your family mist have been difficult, especially at the time when moving in with a grandma you hate and your mum could pass way at any moment. I have no comment. One of the best books I have ever read.Wow.Just wow.I recomend to any one who loves a page turner and just a good book. I think it is aimed at 13+

what a writer!! - I don't know what I was expecting as I'd heard so much about Juno's work and wanted to read the earlier stuff - Juno Dawson is superb at voice and character and story - she's got it all - I really, really loved this book and just order Clean too !

Daughter really enjoyed this read.

loved it, made me cry.

This is set in Wales in 1998 - Felicity and her mother Julia are temporarily living with Margot, Felicity's Grandmother, so that Julia can recuperate after a battle with ovarian cancer. Felicity finds an old diary belonging to Margot, and begins to read. The strong, passionate young woman in the diary is at odds with the harsh, cold woman Felicity knows now - so what happened to change Margot? Or has she really changed all that much?I really, really enjoyed Margot's diary chapters. They're set in the early 1940s, and the story was so good. Who doesn't enjoy a good love affair set against a backdrop of impending doom?Felicity's chapters, on the other hand, were what brought the rating down for me. I didn't really care about her - yes, she has had a terrible time, but bar an inappropriate crush, she doesn't really have a storyline.I also hated that the book had typos - I'd expect (and ignore) that from an ARC, but this was a paperback purchased from Amazon. This clanger appeared 32 pages in: "She's tells me about the great rivalry...". There were others further in, and it put me off slightly.What also put me off were the constant reminders that this was supposed to be set in 1998. Every clothing brand you could think of was named, every band, every film popular at the time - it's irrelevant to the storyline, it doesn't matter when Fliss' story takes place, so why keep driving it home? Also, were "messy buns" and eyeshadow primer really a thing for 15 year olds in 1998? Granted, London was more than likely more sophisticated than the backarse of nowhere in rural Ireland in the late 1990s, but I don't remember a lot of the stuff mentioned being popular in 1998. One of the characters says she knew Fliss did ballet because "I looked you up online" - where online? There was no Facebook, no Twitter, no MySpace, no Bebo, where did she look her up? Did she Ask Jeeves? I know that this stuff doesn't matter to most people - it's fiction - but when it's trying to be historically accurate by mentioning another "thing" every chapter, it sould be historically accurate.Margot's story was a really enjoyable read, and I was sad when her diary came to an end. I'd recommend the book just for a read of that.

This is my first book by Juno Mawson and wow, what a beautiful and moving story. I'm pretty sure it won't be my last from this author. The story is told from Fliss' point of view, a teenager who moves to the countryside in Wales from London. Actually, Fliss and her mother, who is finally recuperating from a long illness, move into her grandma's farm. A place full of secrets and stories. As you can imagine Fliss is not happy with this move. Especially when she is not exactly welcomed in her new school.Fliss and her grandmother Margot's relationship is not the smoothest one either, it's like a battle of wills, both of them pushing but with no intention to give in. But from the moment Fliss finds Margot's diary from WWII, everything changes. The Margot from those pages is nothing like the Margot Fliss knows nowadays. But as she uncovers stories that were supposed to be kept buried, their whole relationship starts to shift too.I have to admit that I was as fascinated as Fliss with Margot's story. What a badass and sassy young girl she was! I loved how sometimes you could still see her younger self in her, especially as we got to know her better.Margot and Me is one of those stories that makes you feel special, like the author is sharing a secret with you. It was definitely a pleasure for me to discover Margot and Fiss' stories and I would highly recommend this story to YA readers but also to historical fiction readers. Actually, scratch that. I highly recommend this story to everyone. I finished this story a couple of weeks ago already and I still find myself thinking about it constantly.A story about coming out of age in two very different times but that reminds us about all the good and important things in life. A beautiful novel that will move many hearts.