Stepping Up: The joyful and emotional Sunday Times bestseller and Richard and Judy Book Club pick. Adored by readers

I haven’t been as gripped by a book in a long time and I raced through it in a couple of days, despite living with demanding children and a woeful attention span.This debut novel manages to combine warmth, humour and beautifully drawn characters with a tragic tear jerking story at its core. A family is left in turmoil when Doug and Emmy, loving parents to a teenage girl and a young toddler, are involved in a tragic accident, leaving one of them dead and the other in a coma. The stepping up of the title refers to Beth, Emmy’s sister, a free spirited wild child who has always run a mile from commitment, but is unexpectedly appointed as the Guardian of the two children.It would have been easy for this book to descend into something akin to a parenting blog - a mish mash of children-do-funny-things and parenting mishaps to get some quick, easy laughs. And certainly, Sarah Turner does draw from her Unmumsy Mum experiences to keep the humour coming. Anyone who has lived with a three year old will appreciate Ted’s humorous tantrums and comedy mispronunciations. But the characters are so richly drawn and believable and the events that unfold are beautifully told, that I frequently found myself crying on one page and laughing on the next.I’ve only just finished this book and I miss it already. Congratulations, Sarah Turner, for writing such a heartwarming tale. The stepping up of the title could just as easily refer to you going from blogger to brilliant author.

A lovely happy/sad read with a satisfying if predictable ending.I enjoyed this book and will look out this for author again.

Great read, easy to follow and flows well. Funny and not unrealistic.Will look for more from this author as I like the humour and style.

Really enjoyed this book and I could not put it down! It even made me cry a little. Truly lovely.

Oh this book! It’s one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, a beautiful and heartfelt story. It was just fantastic. Captivated from the first few pages, and before I knew it, I’d finished!Without going into too much, the tragic event was dealt with so brilliantly, it really showed the feelings across all characters in a sensitive and realistic way. The whole storyline was just written perfectly.I loved the characters, so likeable and full of life. Beth was absolutely wonderful throughout, she made me laugh and she also made me just want to give her a great big hug. I feel like so many people could relate to her one way or another. She was great throughout, dealt with the difficult moments with her niece, Polly, so very well.An incredible debut novel, warm, uplifting and full of so much love. I couldn’t put it down. The pacing was perfect. I feel like everyone needs to read this! It’s definitely one of those books that will stay with me for a long long time.PS. Definitely feel like a sequel could follow 👀🤞🏻

An interesting idea of the thirty-year-old who is landed with the care of her niece and nephew, aged 14 and 3 year old. I wanted to shake her at times She had a lot of help from her parents and the story was well written for the current genre of cozy story. Not sure I would rave about it though.

This beautifully written book made me giggle, laugh out loud and cry-a lot. I adored Beth and was really rooting for her. my heart broke for little Ted and poor Polly. I loved the touching friendship between Beth and Albert. This is one of the few books that I feel is so worthy of a sequel. By far and away the best book I have read in a long time!

I didn’t think the synopsis of the book was too interesting, but upon reading the book it was how the story unfolded is what kept me “invested” from start to finish.My view is that the main message is that in times of desperate need, it is likely for us to step up and rise to the challenge even though it seems impossible at first. Plus, there are many ways to do things - not doing something “right” by someone’s standards does not mean you are not doing it well enough.Characters - The best part of this book is definitely the character development, mainly Beth. The side characters in the story are lovable and at the very least, relatable. The teenagers were portrayed quite well in terms of their behaviour and mannerisms so it was mostly believable. I loved how the characters involved in the tragedy (not giving out spoilers) were very much part of the story, sprinkled throughout their lives.Plot - The main plot point is in the synopsis but there were sub-plots that are weaved throughout the story. Said sub-plot actually fell flat to me at the end as it was not explored further but I can overlook it. Some things didn’t really make sense, but it was more of the case that it wasn’t explained further rather than it taking anything away from the story.The only things I disliked were that there were a few typos and minor errors that made the writing seem less smooth. The other matter I had mixed feelings about is the romance sub-plot. It was cute and I liked it for the most part, but it is a typical case of miscommunication which can be frustrating and easily solved by having a proper conversation. It was cliché, but I felt it was thrown in the mix just to add a bit more zing to the story.

J’adore Sarah Turner que je suis régulièrement sur les réseaux donc sans aucune question j’ai acheté ce livre qui a reçu tant de magnifiques commentaires. Il est vrai que la première moitié est incroyablement bien écrite, agrippante et prenante en émotions. Malheureusement la deuxième moitié tombe dans le cliché de la littérature de jeune fille, un peu comme un film de noël dont on devine la fin heureuse.

I just loved this book. Ordered from Amazon Germany as live outside the UK and had to resist starting it as was saving it for an upcoming holiday. Didn’t regret it one bit. Devoured it over three days in Spain, just a really lovely story. Thank you for writing it! 😀

I would like a second book to find out what happened to the characters. The book is a light read, slightly predictable but fun

I laughed I cried, such a wonderful book!