A story of friendship and the frailties of human beings. I was compelled onwards at every turn and thoroughly enjoyed this.

Sorry I missed the date for this.

I really enjoyed the book - thank you.

I picked up this book as the book blurb sounded interesting and it had a sense of mystery to it.
The story is simple, Ravine is bed-ridden due to Chronic pain syndrome and the she goes back in time in her memories to her friendship with Marianne and her disappearance.
As the pages turn, the story develops and Ravine's pain also decreases till it completely vanishes.
The story goes very slow and I have to admit I did skip over some pages to get to the ending. I did not like the main character Ravine and found her to be self centered and selfish. I just couldn't connect with any of the characters.
This is not my kind of read but the author has done a great job in describing the living conditions of Ravine and her words add to the story.
A good coming of age story but a slow read.

Our sincere apologies. We missed the deadline to download the book. It was archived before we could download it. We apologise for this mistake.

To label this book as simply a coming of age novel would be unfair. I say unfair because it is so much more. It explores themes like childhood friendships and their complexities, experiences of growing up on a council estate, challenges faced by single mothers and those that fall prey to alcoholism. Finally, it delves into the more intricate details of a Bangladeshi immigrant family grappling with their daughter’s medical condition that is not completely understood by the medical fraternity – Chronic Pain Disorder.

A story about childhood friendship and the lessons learned growing up. The book tells of Ravine's daily struggles and the past events that have made her how she is today. Ravine's upbringing and her struggles are an interesting read.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I read the blurb for this novel, but it was completely different to what I got. The plot was slow and I found it difficult to keep picking up to read but as I reached the second half of the book, the story came into its own and I really enjoyed it. It's hard to review without giving too much away but I loved Ravine's relationship with one of the central characters. The mystery alone kept me reading but the lovely prose was a bonus.

The Things We Thought We Knew is a beautifully written story of Ravine who has chronic pain syndrome. An emotional and thought provoking book.

This weekend I read The Things We Thought We Knew by Mahsuda Snaith. I got a copy via Netgalley. Ravine and Marianne are best friends and do everything together. And them, one day, Marianne disappeared. Ten years later Ravine is plagued by chronic pain syndrome, writing down the things she remembers.
I requested this book because of the chronic pain syndrome represantation. And unfortunately I was a bit dissapointed. This started well, Ravine in bed all day and describing living with chronic pain. But then, very early in the book she spontaneously revocovers but keeps lying to her mom about her pain. That made me uncomfortable. The rest of the plot was allright. It wasn't something I had to keep reading to discover what happend, but it kept me sort of entertaind. But I couldn't let go of the spontaneous recovery and Ravine's choice to keep lying about her condition. So this gets 2.5⭐️.. it wasn't for me, but I think there are people out there who would like this story.

It's not every day that a book comes along set on a Leicester council estate, so I was immediately intrigued by It's not every day that a book comes along set on a Leicester council estate, so I was immediately intrigued by The Things We Thought We Knew. Ravine, our narrator, turns 18 as the book opens; an occasion marked by the playing of Stevie Wonder at top volume and an assortment of neighbours gathering in her bedroom, where she's bed-bound by chronic pain.

Given a notebook by her mum (who she calls Amma, Bengali for 'mother'), Ravine begins to write to her childhood best friend Marianne and in the process finds herself dredging up memories of the past. As she writes, Ravine is forced to remember things she'd perhaps rather forget and the pain of loss and guilt permeate her recollections.

The Things We Thought We Knew is an evocative coming-of-age novel filled with wonderfully rounded characters, with Amma - determined, strong and loving - being a particular highlight. However, it was in the central mystery that I found this book lacking: the Something Bad Happened But I Can't Tell You What school of narration is overplayed at the moment. The characters of Ravine and Amma, and the ways in which they deal with trauma and loss, could have stood alone without falling back onto this trope. A solid 3.5 stars.

Loved this book! Set in the council flats in England where Ravine, due to chronic pain, been stuck in her bed being waited on by her mother who serves her chilli meals. Ravine reminisces her friendship with Marianne by writing them down in a book in the hope this will help her manage her pain or at least forget it for awhile. The friendship that she and Marianne had was one of pure innocence and fun until Marianne disappears. The relationships they have with each other, Marianne's brother and the other important adults - how it influences and creates the future for these girls makes this book hard to put down. It still resonates for days since finishing.

I was completely sucked in to Ravine's life. And I wanted to find out what happened. However I did think she was very articulate and insightful for a girl who hadn't been out of bed for 10 years. The author's drawing of characters is amazing and they felt very real. Would love to see what ste writes in the future.

<p>I never know what to write about books that are just <i>meh</i>. And <A href="https://www.librarything.com/work/19287784/book/141660130">The Things We Thought We Knew </a> isn't even <i>meh</i>. It's definitely better than <i>meh</i> so why can't I find something to say about it other than I liked <a href="https://www.librarything.com/work/17897154">Swing Time</a> more, which <A href="https://www.librarything.com/work/19287784/book/141660130">The Things We Thought We Knew </a> is thematically similar to (although then, obviously, <A href="https://www.librarything.com/work/19287784/book/141660130">The Things We Thought We Knew </a> is thematically similar to all British, female-narrator, multi-racial, coming-of-age, lower-class, novels since that is what <A href="https://www.librarything.com/work/19287784/book/141660130">The Things We Thought We Knew </a> is). </p>

<p>So <A href="https://www.librarything.com/work/19287784/book/141660130">The Things We Thought We Knew </a> is a first novel, with some first novel foibles: the voice getting clearer and stronger the further in we go, wishy-washy beginning, an open-ended ending, pull-the-heartstrings-plot lines to buttress up the organic story, secondary characters of more depth than the main ones. All that sounds bad, but it's a first novel and none of these quirks are too off-putting. I got into the story by the end, until the open-ended ending (blech -- start your story later and write a real ending instead), but it took me a while to get into the voice at the beginning. I always feel sort of awkward about recommending books by saying <i>Stick with it</i> but what else am I supposed to say? Throw your kobo across the room (I've only ever thrown one book across the room, and that was <a href="https://www.librarything.com/work/141102/book/91786228">Mail Order Wings</a> when I was a kid, and I threw the book because it freaked me out so much that I just wanted it gone)? Maybe skip the first twenty pages? </p>

<p>Decent book. Good first try.</a>

<p><A href="https://www.librarything.com/work/19287784/book/141660130">The Things We Thought We Knew </a> by Mahsuda Snaith went on sale June 15, 2017.</p>

<p><small>I received a copy free from <a href="https://www.netgalley.com/">Netgalley</a> in exchange for an honest review.</small></p>

Ravine and Marianne are best friends. Friends 4ever, the two 8-year-olds believe. Ten years later, Ravine is suffering from chronic pain syndrome and can hardly leave her bed. However, it is not only the illness that makes her suffer, but also her memories and now that her 18th birthday has come, she seems to be ready to confront the past. She is writing to Marianne, narrating what she recollects about their time together and with Marianne’s brother Jonathan, about both their dysfunctional families – Ravine’s father who ran away before she was even born and Marianne and Jonathan’s mother who was an alcoholic and didn’t really care for them – about Marianne’s uncle Walter coming to live with them and disappearing again and about that one evening which changed the lives of all the three of them.

“The Things We Thought We Knew” is an unusual coming-of-age novel. First of all because the protagonist who narrates the story is seriously ill and bedridden – how can a major event happen to such a character and change her life? Well, this happened already years before and thus we get a teenager’s view on the things which happened when she was a child. This is quite uncommon since we do not encounter the grown-up, rationally thinking adult who analyses what happened and has reflected on everything. Ravine is still in this process of becoming an adult, unsure of how to proceed and where her life will lead her. She is struggling with her mother and you can still at times see the child she once was in her.

The flashbacks, her memories of the past, the childhood which should have been carefree and was everything but are narrated in a child-suitable tone somehow as if Ravine could really slip in her former self and tell her story from the 8-year-old’s point of view.

The plot, alternating between the present and the past, has some suspense to offer. You surely want to know about the whereabouts of Marianne and about her family’s story developed. And there are secrets of the past to be revealed by Ravine. Yet, also the 18-year-old Ravine is at a crossroad of her life and it is not obvious which way she will decide for and is she is ready to make a decision at all, apparently, something needs to trigger her so move on, so what could this momentum be for a girl lying in bed?

What I appreciated most was the tone of the novel which made the characters come alive and which was well adapted to their age. All in all, a noteworthy debut novel.

This book was amazing. Written with a delicate prose that has feelings and real life in high standard, follows the story of Ravine a girl bedriden due to chronic pain as she gets to grips with a sth that shattered her life.
I loved how the author gave voice to her character so she could tell the story of her friend Marianne and through the story of her friend, hers. this books reads like some peebles thrown into water and you see how the ripples reach each other and interact in a whole. I LOVED this book. Really.
The characters are so compelling, so real-life like that you can't help falling in love with them, wanting to know more of their life then and what happened. In that the author succeds as she combines narration on the present moment and accounting of the past weaving the full scope of the story right in front of our eyes. Everything is bealiable, everything is real. I read this is the first book of the author... and I want more! :)

This is a great debut novel and it tells the story in flashbacks to the past where Ravine remembers her friendship with brother and sister Jonathan and Marianne. We also get to know a bit more about chronic pain syndrome and Ravine's life in her lifebed. This book is also about secrets and growing up in an estate. I don't know if I really like Ravine but I did enjoy her story.

This was not something that I usually read but I still enjoyed the book and I loved the title.

Thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers via Netgalley for the copy.