Because of You: The beautifully uplifting Richard & Judy bestseller

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It examines the bond between mother and child, family, love and acceptance and is at times an emotional read.

i really liked Minnie, liked her spirit, her passion and the very beautiful and honest relationship she has with Hope. Really, save your time and don’t bother - how can complex and sensitive subject matter be treated in such a blunt way?year old Anna is a quiet and resolute person, unhappily married to Julius, an MP and a more obnoxious man you could not meet. In fact, she tries to justify her crime by claiming that she fell in love with the newborn right away and that she was hers from the beginning. Quite staid - stoic even - her husband, Julius, is a complete arse, egotistical, misogynistic and interested in only his career, and there are many times I wanted her to tell him to jog on.

I have to say that I wasn't utterly overwhelmed by the plot line and found the writing style to be a bit too 'chick lit' for my taste but I persevered and I did warm to the book soon enough. The story ends by Minnie having to cope with Hope taking her own life, while recovering from a heart transplant. I heard Dawn French being interviewed about this book, and she was articulate, interesting and engaging. I'm finding it difficult to review this novel as I'm not sure I read the same book as other people, I certainly didn't find it life affirming, warm or witty as the reviews suggest. After taking the time to really look at the emotional impact of events in the first half, the pace ramps up to such an extent that certain key moments felt rushed, with characters accepting huge revelations in their stride.The author clearly has had a lot of fun constructing him but then, she has a very suitable ministerial model from which to work, in all his full awfulness and venal ugliness. You would expect Minnie to be outraged and, well, beside herself, apoplectic, devastated and traumatised (at the very least) when the situation is laid bare and the “ugly things” expressed would be the least of their worries.

I’d like to ask her if letter writing features regularly in her real life, but I guess the opportunity to do so isn’t likely to arise! She did accents and inflections so well, it was so easy to tell which character she was voicing and she even managed to convey the frustration and eye rolling of some characters! The premise is interesting: two women in labour in a maternity hospital on New Year’s Eve 1999; only one of the women will leave with a baby. But above all, the idea that you could ever forgive someone for stealing your baby and causing you pain and worry every day for 18 years is just unbelievable and in my opinion, offensive.

if you want something special and a well done and written story, that is heartbreaking and makes you feel with the mothers and the child that goes through what’s happening in this book? I've been meaning to tuck into one of Dawn French's books for a while and being invited to join the tour was just the perfect excuse to do just that.

The biggest irony here is, I don't think I would've read it at all if it wasn't longlisted for the Women's Prize. Julian is portrayed as a narcissistic man, so we never get to experience his grief over the loss of his baby. Fundamentally I found the plot uncomfortable and whilst it’s not a bad book, I’m not sure why it’s being so highly praised. He is power hungry, so ambitious that he will use anyone and anything to further his career including Anna, and Florence, but is so intolerable, with his unbearable, peacock attention seeking personality, that even the Tories are wary.This book oozes compassion and empathy, especially concentrating as it does on a difficult and emotive subject matter. I probably wouldn't be so harsh criticising this novel if I weren't reading it in the context of a book prize because I think it's mostly enjoyable, but I don't think it's as impactful as the other books listed for this award. It’s to the book’s credit that there is a surprising amount of thematic nuance touched upon, with both families caught up in the story being mixed race, and Hope’s parents suffering with addiction problems, but sadly I felt none of these issues were explored with the depth or impact they could have had.