Toffee

By Sarah Crossan

Published by Bloomsbury YA

What it’s about?

Allison is escaping. Running away from her abusive father she heads to Cornwall to try and find his ex-girlfriend, Kelly-Anne.

When she finds herself with  no where to stay she ends up sleeping in the shed of an old lady. Marla had dementia, and when she sees Allison she mistakenly believes her to be her childhood friend, Toffee.

Allison hides at Marla’s becoming Toffee. And an unlikely but vital friendship begins.

What I think:

I’m not sure I can do justice and explain just how beautiful this book.

Sarah Crossan is a genius of a writer.

The abuse and neglect in this novel is heartbreaking. But the friendship between Allison and Marla is just beautiful.

They are both struggling to cope with loneliness and loss of identity.

Marla can’t remember who she is and who people are. As her dementia worsens, her anger and frustration grows. She treated like a child and isolated from the world.

On the other hand, Allison has always been treated as an adult. Expected to be tidy and quiet, she has spent her life in fear of angering her father and lying to people.

Despite the difference in their age Marla and Allison recognise something in each other. There’s a loneliness and desperation that you have to have experienced to understand.

The novel is written in free verse which adds to the haunting quality. It drags you in and remains with you long after you’ve finished. Some of the individual poems are exquisite.

This book is absolutely amazing! I cannot recommend highly enough. It’s without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read and will definitely return to for a long time to come.

I give this book all the stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can order a copy of Toffee from:

Waterstones: click here

Amazon.co.uk: click here