What a hearbreaking but beautifully written story. This story will stay with me for a while. A easy five stars.

This isn't your average book.

This is the story of a normal family. Rob, his wife, Anna and their longed for son Jack. Their ordinary world comes crumbling down when Jack is diagnosed with a life threatening illness.

It is hard to tell you more without giving it all away, but this story focuses on the love parents have for their children, and the lengths they will go to in order to see them safe, happy, and well. And it asks the question, to what ends will we go to save our children?

I made the mistake of reading this before the school run and turned up looking like I'd had a very emotional afternoon - waterproof mascara and tissues at the ready because you will definitely need them.

5* and going into my top 5 of 2018

What a beautiful book...
It is incredibly moving and the relationships within it appear warm and real. The connection between a parent and child is particularly well portrayed and this is shown with both the character of Rob and his son as well as Rob's relationship with his own father which so clearly impacts the man that he became. The book deals with the emotional issue of child illness but it is full of love rather than sadness and that makes it somehow empowering. I loved it!

Wow - such a beautifully written story that draws you in straight away. We Own The Sky captures despair and every raw emotion any parent would experience in this situation.

The scene and backstory in this book was so well set, it was impossible not to be swept along and I found myself in the situation of wanting to know what comes next.

This book is a fantastic and very emotional read, that I would highly recommend armed with a box of tissues and the time to emmerse yourself in the story.

A beautifully written story from a dads point of view. I very rarely cry when reading however this book had me sobbing into the small hours. The book is so powerful, written in the words of a father, Rob, who's family have been turned upside down when they discover their son is poorly. As most men do when they have a problem they want to solve it with answers, this is one answer Rob can't find and you really feel all the emotion flow from the pages. Anna his wife has a different approach and is there to keep her son strong and not let him see whats killing her inside.
While this book comes with a tissue warning, I also found strength, and uplifting tales of the future that complete the book and makes for a very moving story.

In We Own The Sky, Luke Allnutt tackles grief head on and he’s not messing about. I was utterly destroyed by this novel, in which a young couple fall in love and have a child, Jack, and then a few years later, notice that something isn’t quite right with him. I’ve read so many crime novels lately that I’m a bit numb to disappearances and grisly deaths, but this, this quiet deterioration and utter despair, had me in pieces.

For me, what was so compelling were the ways in which their son’s illness drew out crucial differences between the two parents, and forced them apart at the time when they needed each other the most. I felt invested in Anna and Rob’s relationship, from their easy early love to their final clinging on. I wanted Jack to survive, of course, but I wanted them to survive, too.

Novels that tackle these sorts of themes, the day-to-day of family life and of relationships, the awfulness of a child’s illness, are usually written by women, in my experience, narrated by mothers. It was refreshing to read a father’s take, to focus on family from a different perspective. Allnutt writes beautifully about grief and desperation, and about love in all its forms. This is a novel that will rip you apart, slowly but surely, and then have a go at piecing you back together.

This is a story of family and loss . It’s heartbreaking in places with good strong characters . I just felt something was missing at times .

I am not one for sentimental tear-jerkers but this book stays just the right side for me, giving a gritty, realistic, honest account of dealing with tragedy. Rob is a flawed but likeable character who reacts to a desperate situation by grabbing at a slim slice of hope but Anna, despite her grief, weighs up the facts and takes a measured approach. Rob is our narrator and so our viewpoint is somewhat skewed but we feel his pain, see his hurt and shame and the process of his grief after losing his child. Some of the stuff with Nev and the treatment centre seemed a little hard to believe but it added to the tale. At the end there is a glimmer of hope for life to go on with some meaning.

Wow! What a fantastic book.

Jack is Rob and Anna’s son, after two miscarriages he is very much wanted. He starts falling over and blacking out so they take him to the doctors who then sends him for further tests.
A story from when Rob and Anna meet, through the miscarriages and then the birth of Jack and then finally through his illness and the decline of their marriage.
A wonderfully written book full of emotion, love loss and most of all hope. I loved the way it was written and told through Robs point of view. A book that will go in my favourites pile and will stay with me for a while yet.

Many thanks to NEtgalley and TBC for a chance to read this fantastic book.

How do I even start to review a book like this one? It touched me on such a personal level and is a book that will stay with me forever.

It’s the story of a family, of the love between a father and a son, a mother and a son, and a husband and wife. How their lives are changed in the blink of an eye, and how they deal with the devastating blow life has dealt them in very different ways.

Beautifully written, it shows the harsh reality of grief and how it effects us. But it’s also a book of hope, of coming through the other side, of somehow moving forward whilst holding the memory of your loved one in your heart.

‘We Own The Sky’ is a book like no other and is one I will never forget. It is heartbreakingly beautiful, written with a brutal honesty that moved me beyond words. Devastating, yet somehow left me with a feeling of hope. Simply incredible.

Thank you to TBC, NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this outstanding book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was refreshing to read a book with such emotion and love written by a man (and I am not being sexist!). Being a mother makes it hard to read a story about a sick chid but it was written with so much empathy and feeling. The characters were developed and believable, and I particularly loved the sensitive way the author tackled the downward spiral that the father Rob took., highlighting the harsh realities of grief and guilt.

I was greatly moved by this book, which will stay in my mind for a long time. An amazing read

How far would you go to save the one you love?
What if there was no guarantee of anyone being saved, how far would you go then?
Now, if you were told that a situation was out of your hands, would you try to find an alternative route, or would you accept the inevitable?

Three rather easy questions….but are they really that easy?

Rob and his wife, Anna, have had their lives turned upside down. Both handling the situation in completely different ways, and both having different opinions on which route should be taken. But is there a correct route to go down in circumstances like these? To be perfectly honest, it doesn’t bear thinking about, yet families DO have to think about it as it’s real life. People like Rob and Anna are all over the world, trying to come to terms with circumstances which you always think would never happen to you, and why wouldn’t you think that?

It’s quite clear that the storyline is incredibly complex, seeing as my review is incredible vague and so is the blurb. Even though I had an inkling where the storyline was heading, I crossed my fingers in hope that I was wrong. I had been told before reading ‘We Own The Sky’, that there would be truck loads of tears shed – did I believe them? No, I didn’t. In actual fact I started thinking that nothing in this book would make me cry. Boy how wrong was I….

There was a point during the book where, after reading one particular sentence, my heart broke in two and the flood gates opened. I have never, EVER cried at a book like I cried at this one. It wasn’t your usual ugly crying, or snot induced crying (lovely). No. I was absolutely heartbroken which made the tears just fall out of my eyes like a waterfall. Having become invested in the storyline and its powerful characters, I found the emotion a lot harder to absorb as I felt like part of me had been lost. Never mind the fact that I was in no way involved in the storyline – I still felt like a close friend. I know that sounds daft, but once you read this book you might understand where I was coming from.

‘We Own The Sky’ describes every loved ones nightmare….and then some. There were times where I felt like I couldn’t carry on reading, that it was too hard to bear, but if I had done that, I probably would have felt like I had let down the characters. I mean, if you’re in that situation yourself you can’t really sit there and say ‘SOZ, I can’t cope, I’m giving up. Call me when it’s all done’. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of people will think that I’m sure!

Not only was the storyline heartbreakingly beautiful, the information I read about the author was heartbreaking in itself. I have absolutely no idea how the author managed to write this book considering the theme was incredibly close to Luke Allnutt personally, but he did and I am in awe. What an absolute superstar this author is, and what a phenomenal author he is as well.

‘We Own The Sky’ absolutely blew me away and became the shining star in my own sky at night. This book reminded me that even when times are hard and you have no idea where to turn, there is always, ALWAYS someone willing to be your shoulder to cry on. Whether that is in human contact, or online forums – it doesn’t matter. All that matters is someone being present. This book also highlighted the lengths in which people would go to if someone they love were in danger, even if some of those lengths were incredibly stupid…

‘We Own The Sky’ reminded me that in difficult situations, we often become someone we don’t like due to defence mechanisms and, no matter how much you try to fight it, you’re always going to do something you would rather forget. Luke Allnutt showed the importance of going through the motions because, if you can’t go through the grief, guilt, depressive state, alcoholic tendencies etc, you won’t be able to come out the other side with your heart covered in Elastoplast. Those steps are vital and it isn’t until they’re told to you in black and white, that that message is drummed into your mind.

A heartbreakingly beautiful, well written, emotional, delicate, and highly poignant novel from an author whose own life was in somebody else’s hands, and yet he owned it. Just like he, you, I, and we….own the sky.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

There is much to admire in this book. I loved the Britishness of it: situations, places and character archetypes that are so familiar from real life, but so unfamiliar on the page. The characters are beautifully done; subtle and believable. I was thoroughly rooted in the Dad, Rob’s, blinkered viewpoint. I particularly appreciated the moral complexity of the character Nev. It’s actually a wonderful love story, and there is one especially moving conversation towards the end.

But this is a hard subject. Most people may find it sweeps them up, but personally I could never quite relax into it. The story follows Rob and Anna, who have an idyllic life with their son Jack, until Jack faints and their perfect bubble is popped. As the story went on, I generally felt more uncomfortable, than involved. Awkward, than emotional. This may be an irrational response, but I didn’t want my heartstrings tugged by this fictional child, when there are so many real ones in the same situation.

You need a big Do Not Disturb sign up when you begin this book because you will just not be in a good state to talk to anyone while you are reading. This is an emotional charged story that just rips you apart and glues you back together but you won’t be the same person that you were. This will be my chosen read at the end of the year for February and I know that I will still remember this story like I have just read it. It really is so powerful.

On paper, as you say, Rob and Anna just aren’t a match. He is hi-tech, believes that the impossible is just the future that hasn’t happened yet and a take a chance sort of guy, while Anna is more solid based, believes what is at front of her eyes, a realist, but they do work, they fall madly in love, get married and eventually want a baby. The simplest most natural thing in the world but miscarriage after heart breaking miscarriage happens with no real cause or reason, then at last a beautiful baby son Jack.

Jack is a bright happy little boy, then things go wrong, something that no child should have to go through and no parent should have to face. Oh boy does this writer wear his heart on his sleeve for everyone to see, feel and experience. There are so many raw and honest emotions in this story. The thoughts that you know must be in everyone’s head that this happens to but no-one dare say out loud. The desperation and grasping anything with the slightest chance of hope, no matter if it costs you everything.

This story is where most would end but it doesn’t I am just blown away with it and think I cried more at the end than in the middle of the book. This story has some of the most frustrating, angry, heart breaking and tender moments in it that you will ever read. It captures the pivotal moment of life and death when you feel so empty there is nothing left. Oh wow! It is just bloody awesome. Absolutely loved the whole book, so very beautifully written, it really is. It gives you far more than hope.

Warning. This is a dreadfully sad book. Unless you have a void where your heart should be, you will need tissues and possibly, some consoling biscuits.

we own the sky coverOn the face of it, it’s a bog standard boy meets girl story. Rob meets Anna at university where she is wowing people with her accountancy skills and he is planning a computer revolution. Rob is the narrator of the story and nice enough, though I imagine his school reports read “Could do better if he applied himself.” He is the son of a taxi driver and studies at Cambridge without any of the hang ups I would have there, for example. Anna is more complicated, the product of an odd family life and Rob states a number of times that she could come across as cold or distant.

They marry after graduation, move to London, make money and then tragedy strikes. Anna miscarries two babies. Anna is devastated, or so we imagine – Rob says very little about this at this point. And then they have Jack, a lovely little boy. Rob is the primary carer, all seems well until Jack starts to fall or lose his balance.

I won’t go too much further in the plot as I don’t want to spoil what happens next, but it is emotionally very difficult – for Anna and Rob, and for the reader. All we know from the book’s opening is that Rob is now living alone in Cornwall, drinking hard and picking up women for one night stands. He spends time taking panoramic photos to put on his website We Own the Sky, and the relevance of this title becomes clear as we learn more about Jack.

As you may gather, Rob is not the most sympathetic of characters, but he is very real and flawed in ways that make you know him – he’s that bloke you’re friends with on Facebook. One of the loose themes of the book is how casual acquaintances deal with other people’s losses (spoiler: badly) and how all those posts you see on Facebook can be a by-product of a thousand poor attempts to empathise. When it comes down to it, few of us will always say the right thing in the face of another’s tragedy – either through embarrassment or inexperience – but this book does offer a raw lesson in how to think about enormous life changing issues.

Anna and Rob face their tragedy in different ways, and again, these are absolutely relatable and filled with flaws. These are both very human characters, and excellently portrayed. We Own the Sky is the product of the author’s own cancer diagnosis, and also a way of coming to terms with his father’s death from cancer – and the theme of father-son relations runs throughout the book, with Rob and Jack, Rob and his own father, and other fathers and sons that Rob meets. Between the lines of this is someone who knows exactly the kind of pain experienced and resilience required to face hard times, and someone who also knows that we’re only human and that people fail, especially when facing the loss of a loved one.

Essentially, this is a simple story, well told and full of facts as well as human emotions. It will break you but it does offer you a hand back up again, a way home. It’s a shattering debut.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars

I felt like reading something different so read this as an alternative to all the crime books I usually read - and I’m so glad I did.

From the minute I started reading I was drawn into the world of Jack, Anna and Rob, the way only a great book can do, when it makes you feel like you know the characters personally and makes you want to keep reading just so you can be a part of their world for longer.

Now I’m not a mushy soppy person however this book really got to me and yes I confess, made me shed a tear or two - only the second book ever to have made me cry I might add!

I read this book over the weekend, but know it will stay in my head for a lot longer.

Highly recommended.

Now and then a book comes along that finds a place right deep inside you, perhaps the characters touch you or the storyline, possibly having something in common with your real life, gets inside you. We Own The Sky is one of those books. 

It is beautifully written and I just loved how simple it is, there is no dramatics and it is just the story of a man whose life falls apart and how he slowly starts to put it back together again. This book ought to come with a warning because it is sad and most of those that I know who have been lucky enough to read this wonderful book prior to publication have talked about how they cried, it is not a book to read in public if you're that way inclined. I appear to be somewhat heartless.

A book like this is never going to be an easy read and some people will find the subject matter offputting for various reasons, but it really is beautiful and the author has done an incredibly impressive job of telling us about Rob and his inner thoughts and feelings. I'll miss him and while I, of course, know that Rob isn't real, I hope that his life gets better.

Thank you so much to Tracy Fenton of THE Book Club on Facebook and Orion for a copy of We Own The Sky. I was under no obligation to review and all thoughts are my own.

I’m so thrilled and honoured to be here on the blog tour for this truly wonderful book! I believe this is going to be one of the bestsellers of the year and is going to be spoken about for a long time to come.
Before the story even begins, it’s prefaced by an introduction from the author explaining that this was meant to be the legacy that he was leaving behind when he was convinced he was not going to win his battle with cancer.
I read this, and immediately sat up and thought what an open and honest declaration Luke Allnutt is making to his readers just as they’re about to delve into his book: “I was at my lowest point. I thought I was going to die. I wanted to leave something behind … I offer you this.” (That’s my basic summary of what I assume he was thinking – I’d probably make a crap psychologist!) Bearing this in mind, I figured he wasn’t going to spare us anything and that what followed was going to be pure, raw emotion. So I leapt on in. I was not wrong! I couldn’t stop reading – and I was on holiday at the time … in London … spending a lot of time on trains. This isn’t a good book to read in public, on a train with a lot of people in close proximity who can hear and see you blubbering!!
Rob, Anna and Jack, their boisterous little boy are a happy family until the day their world is shattered by a devastating illness. Allnutt draws the reader into their pain and heartbreak in such a way that we feel every single bit of their torment. We witness the initial shock that pulls Rob and Anna together, but then almost immediately, due to their differing attitudes and points of reference, they’re ripped apart by how they feel they need to approach Jack’s diagnosis and treatment. Anna’s methodical tendencies have always been the polar opposite to Rob’s more casual approach to life. As the situation worsens, and Anna falls back on the religious, rule-following ways of her upbringing, Rob becomes frustrated at this unexpected reversal into what he sees as habits from her youth, and becomes more willing to seek out whatever means possible that might help his beloved child, no matter the cost or the risk.
What lengths would you go to for your loved ones? Which loved ones … the one who is unwell or your other family members? This will make you ask questions you’ve never thought of before; questions you didn’t ever want to consider … do you have the answers?
This is a very special book for many reasons. It’s told from a dad’s perspective – not something you’ll find often. Although it’s undoubtedly heartbreaking, it is so beautifully, delicately written that it has an almost other-worldy feel to it. The way in which Rob manages to connect with Jack is so utterly breathtaking that it will inspire you long after you’ve finished reading.
This is a big fat, glittery 5- star-read!! It will stay with you for a long, long time … long after you’ve thrown all those soggy tissues away!

PS: I did find myself wondering why the author chose to write about a child becoming ill – every parent’s worst nightmare – when he himself had been through cancer. It weighed on my mind a lot … why would you want to write about a sick child?! But when I thought about it (and again, I’m making my own assumptions here), I felt that maybe if he’d made his protagonist an adult, particularly a man, it might feel more autobiographical, something he was not able to do. While I’m sure he drew on much of what he experienced, I am sure his own journey is just that: his own private journey.

Definitely not my genre of book. I couldn't get interested enough to keep going!

“Sometimes love comes from the strangest places. People don’t realise how much they can break your heart”

Oh my! This book tore out my heart, ripped it to shreds then gently moulded it back together again; now if that’s not enough to persuade you to go buy it I don’t know what is. I devoured We Own The Sky in one sitting and highly recommend that you do the same. I was so drawn into Rob, Anna and Jack’s story that I couldn’t leave them until I found out what was going to happen.

Rob and Anna are the perfect couple who go through the trauma of miscarriage before they are blessed with Jack; their gorgeous, clever and kind son. Everything is going along swimmingly until Jack falls ill and is diagnosed with a brain tumour.

It is never easy to read a story about childhood illness and bereavement but We Own The Sky is written so honestly that although it is about despair and loss there is also a lesson in there about everlasting love, forgiveness and hope. We would all do absolutely anything for an ill loved one, so can appreciate the lengths that Rob is prepared to go to if it means he can cure Jack’s tumour even whilst recognising his actions may be reckless. The journey that we are taken on is heart breaking yet also heart-warming and the story will stay on my mind for a long time.

An outstanding debut; We Own The Sky gets #allthestars from me!

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of the book.