Book review – All For You by Sheila O’Flanagan

As TV’s favourite weather forecaster, Lainey is good at making predictions. But what she doesn’t foresee is that her own life is about to hit a stormy patch. With a string of failed relationships behind her, surely history isn’t about to repeat itself with her beloved Ken? To add fuel to the fire, her estranged mother announces that she’s returning to Dublin. Deanna has always been dismissive of Lainey’s choices – particularly in men. And Deanna’s lectures are the last thing Lainey needs now.

Yet is there more to her mother than she knows? Uncovering some long-concealed family secrets, Lainey begins to reassess her life. Is the happy-ever-after she’s always dreamed of really what she wants after all?

As I opened this book and saw the Dolly Parton quote before the prolgue, I knew I was going to enjoy it!  All for You is a lovely story of a mother (Deanna) and daughter (Lainey) who have a complex past and examines their relationship as they spend time together one summer. Through Lainey and Deanna and their friends, family and colleagues the book examines debates surrounding parenthood, marriage, love and friendship, perceptions of brains and beauty, equality and happiness and is an intelligent, sensitive, funny and heartwarming read.

The story moves between the present and the past to reveal details of Deanna’s choices and the roots of her difficult relationship with her daughter. In the present Lainey is a successful meteorologist and popular weather presenter in Ireland and Deanna an internationally famous feminist, living in America. In flashback we learn about Deanna’s own childhood and her desire to see the world; her trip to California at age eighteen where she falls in love for the first time resulting in a surprise pregnancy at the age of  nineteen.

At first glance Lainey and Deanna appear to be the complete opposite of each other. Lainey is romantic to the core with a very idealised view of love and a strong craving to get married. Deanna on the other hand is almost militant in her feminism with often scathing opinions of men, love and marriage. Deanna’s choice to leave Lainey to the care of her parents in order to pursue her career has had strong repercussions for the lives of both women and I really enjoyed getting to know both characters and what made them tick. I also loved Deanna’s mum (and Lainey’s gran) Madeleine for her wise words and for managing a fine balancing act between her daughter and granddaughter.

The story is well thought out and clearly shows that there are many sides to the debates on parenthood, equality and relationships. There are a number of sub-plots which provide different perspectives on the issues concerning Lainey and Deana and I particularly liked the story of Lainey’s neighbor Shay for its take on Dads and their relationships with their children.

All for You is very well researched and I found both the meteorology and feminism really interesting.  O’Flanagan has written a novel that gave me plenty to think about as a reader, woman and mum; I’ve always had an interest in issues of equality and I felt that the story really raised some important points, giving a balanced perspective through the views of its two leading ladies and making me think about the people who are really important to me.

This is the second book of Sheila’s that I’ve read this year and I love the way that she creates strong female characters who show that they can triumph over adversity and are successful in their own right whilst also telling a really interesting story. I thought the locations, particularly the descriptions of California were fab and the element of mystery surrounding Lainey’s father had me gripped. The ending to the story was spot on and I’m looking forward to reading more of Sheila’s books very soon.

5/5

All for You was released on 7th July and I’d like to thank Headline for sending me a copy to review.

You can find out more about Sheila and her books at: http://www.sheilaoflanagan.net/