There’s a reason we should leave our ‘best of’ lists until the last possible moment… because sometimes you read a winner in the last few days of the year. Love and Missed by Susie Boyt is such a book.

It’s the story of school teacher, Ruth. Her daughter, Eleanor, is a drug addict who has just had a baby, Lily. Ruth makes a somewhat impulsive decision to take over the care of her granddaughter, and her life is transformed by Lily. At the same time, she despairs over her relationship with Eleanor – tentatively making advances and then retreating, Eleanor’s responses prickly and unreliable.

Sometimes I thought the more Eleanor evaded and erased me the more I needed her.

As Lily grows into a teenager, Ruth reflects on the curative power of love.

Here’s what I loved: Continue reading →