Warm, humorous & poignant coming of age story that feels simultaneously fresh yet also familiar. Characterisation is especially strong & it's a wrench to leave these six at the final page! An exceptionally enjoyable read.

I've been intrigued by this book since reading the sampler at YALC last year and I was lucky enough to be approved for a digital eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Floored was a quicker read than I had anticipated it to be but this might be because I barely put it down...Written from the perspective of six different characters makes this a very interesting read. For the most part I enjoyed each different character but it did take me a little while to stop getting confused about who was who, I would be half way through a chapter and have to go back a few pages to make sure I was reading about who I thought I was and this wasn't always the case. Once you got to know each character a little better however it was easy to tell whose narrative you were reading. I thought that each character would sound quite different as I assume a different author writes a different perspective but they all had a very similar feel and it was instead circumstances and characteristics that set them apart. That being said I did enjoy the different characters and the differences between their lives and points of view as well as the way they feel bound together. I especially loved the progress each one makes through their own character arc.

Throughout the story each character goes through challenges, successes, failures, changes and relevant real world problems that I think will resonate with so many different people. This is my favourite thing about Floored, it feels like a book that covers a plethora of topics without being all about that single topic or making one problem the only problem that is considered important. They are all going through things and reading about the way they support each other, making no ones issues unimportant made me feel lighter and more appreciative about the friends I have in my own life and I could react to their situations differently. I love when a book like this can make you feel changed for the better after reading (see also Starfish and The Exact Opposite of Okay).

I did find that being told about things that had happened rather than experiencing them did annoy me a little to begin with but the way most events unfolded outside of the written narrative worked well, making sure that we didn't have a repetitive retelling of each event, rather we hopped from one point of view to another as time passed. I think this way of moving forward and glazing over some scenes reminded us that it isn't necessarily the things that happen that are important as much as they way they are reacted to and dealt with afterwards.

I do think that the ending was perhaps a little abrupt and I kept turning pages in the hope of more content and although initially I was quite unhappy with the open ending I feel like this is left open to interpretation and that by the end the characters have reached the place they all need to be and therefore feels satisfying in that sense. I still think however I would have perhaps liked a quick 5/10 years later quick line or two about where each character is now and what they're doing etc just to round it off.

Overall, Floored is a novel which I think is about its characters and their emotional journey rather than the physical events they go through which makes for an enjoyable read and due to its short length I think something I will definitely be reading again. I liked that I could relate to different parts of each narrative and that important topics are addressed in a way to give readers common ground and a view into the lives of others they may not have understood before. I highly recommend this book, especially if you're looking for a quick refreshing read that isn't too fluffy and is important without being too heavy the whole way through. It feels a little like a nice bath after a long hard day.

'Poles apart' teens brought together by shared tragedy.

4.5 stars. A group of teenagers, all converging on a famous TV production studio on the same day, enter a lift together and circumstances instantly give them something in common.

A group of Breakfast Club disparates - one rich and entitled, one losing her sight, one desperate to keep her father's approval, one former child star, one TV producer-wannabee, one girl who can't escape her looks - are brought together for one day. Social media then helps them stay in touch and they meet again and again, with their shared experience keeping them connected.

We see the change in them over time as each grows up, has different issues to contend with, some fall in love, some fall out of love. It's a nicely paced story over several years of late adolescence as issues that arise are showcased in the six young people. Some of them are more interesting than others, I liked the way stories and lives intertwined.

I couldn't tell, which I found a plus, which authors had contributed to each character - if each took a different character's story I wasn't aware of it. Which made for a good flow between their stories and the jump in years.

The use of social media to keep the six communicating was spot-on, highly relevant and gave the story authenticity.

I enjoyed watching the characters grow and mature into adults, I thought this was very well done, and the ending also brought it to a satisfying conclusion. I wouldn't compare this to 'One Day' at all, they don't meet on the SAME day each year, and I'm not sure the audience of one will necessarily be the same readers of this, this is a YA that I'm not sure is so much a crossover into the adult market.

Everyone will have a favourite character, though some go through more changes than others. It's a great concept for a novel, and I'd read future collaborations.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy.

Floored is an incredible force of writing that mixes a huge array of diverse characters and background that all pull on your heartstrings. I was desperate to read on as I wanted them all to have their happy endings so bad and it was great to read from year to year to see how each individual grew as a person. Ultimately Floored is about love, friendship and growing up - one step at a time.

I received an ARC of this from Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I am familiar with 3 of the 7 authors of this novel so I definitely wanted to see what this was about. I imagine I would have bought the book based on that alone but getting an ARC of it gave me the chance to "try before I buy".

Luckily the blurb interested me as well.

"When they got in the lift, they were strangers (although didn't that guy used to be on TV?): Sasha, who is desperately trying to deliver a parcel; Hugo, who knows he is the best looking guy in the lift and is eyeing up Velvet, who knows what that look means when you hear her name and it doesn't match the way she looks, or the way she talks; Dawson, who was on TV, but isn't as good-looking as he was a few years ago and is desperately hoping no one recognises him; Kaitlyn, who's losing her sight but won't admit it, and who used to have a poster of Dawson on her wall, and Joe, who shouldn't be here art all, but wants to be here the most.

And one more person, who will bring them together again on the same day every year."

Only a few pages in and I had a feeling I was going to enjoy this "What happened to the face that launced a thousand Dedman fan edits and head-castings? Dawson Sharman as Harry Potter. Dawson Sharman as Luvian Fen..." Yes I loved that reference to "State of Sorrow" (also I was a bit obsessed with Luvian when he was introduced so yaaaas).

The format of this novel is quite interesting, we have the day of the initial lift meeting told from each POV, then each year for 6 years, again each character has their own chapter, but in between these we also have various group-chats among our group.

From the beginning I did not like Hugo at all, he was just infuriating, definitely someone who liked to tell people that he was better than them.

I like that it was set in Manchester and that there is a mention of Bridlington, I read a lot of books that when based in the UK they are either set in London or Brighton (not that there is a problem with that but it's nice to have some Northern and even Yorkshire representation.

As the novel progressed I loved it, honestly, it was interesting to see how the characters changed in those years, most of them I liked all the way through, there were 2 characters though who my opinions did change, by the end of the book I actually sort of liked Hugo, and well sorry but I disliked Dawson a little bit- if you've read the book then you might understand why.
But I do think he can redeem himself so all is not lost in regards to him.

There are relationships, breakups, crushes, but all throughout the main "thing" is the friendship between them all, at one point we see our group of 6 as 2 trios which is interesting. It was nice to see individual friendships forming instead of just the one group one.

By the end of the novel the characters have all grown up and have all gone through some "shit" of their own, some of them feel left out and like there isn't a place for them in the group but ultimately they all find their way back to each other- I have to say I can definitely relate to not feeling important within a friendship group, and to be honest it sucks, you do start to pull away because "what's the point?" I actually wish I had friends like these at the end because... well little spoiler here, 5 of them leave a fancy event in London, drive all the way up to Manchester in a tiny car to find the other member of the group, I can certainly say that none of my friends would do that.

Throughout the whole book Joe was definitely my favourite character, Kaitlyn is a very close second, she wouldn't let losing her sight hold her back from living her life.
As for that person who brings them back together each year, I wish there had been a little more about them, they are brought up every now and then.

Unfortunately I can't see this being anything other than a standalone- although if there was to be a sequel somehow I think I would be quite interested in finding out what could happen in the future.

I would 100% recommend this... in fact I have already purchased a physical copy of this for myself because I enjoyed it that much.

This book was probably one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Because it brings together a few of my favourite YA authors into one big project, and I have a real weakness for books that include multiple POVs to read. I just find them more interesting. I have to say I enjoyed reading this too, it was an interesting experience trying to guess who wrote which character and also following my own emotional turmoil about which characters I did and didn't like. And believe me, my thoughts changed over time.

Okay, so let's start with the goods - character development was a plus in some ways. I liked watching each POV grow up, the way that they changed (some went through a major epiphany and others very subtly) and uncovering their stories. I had a soft spot for certain characters - Dawson being one of them, Velvet another, and of course Hugo. Hugo because I hated everything about him and everything that he represented and yet he made me laugh SO much and he was the character I really found myself rooting for despite everything. I looked forward to his chapters. I also thought that the book really touched upon some nice themes, and showed how much of a difference a year could make.

I wish I had been able to get to know the characters and their backstories a little bit more though. While I got their personalities, the context surrounding their lives was a little vague and hazy, for some more than others. As I said, I thought that Hugo struck the balance well, but others needed a little more exploration to add depth to their lives. This was definitely more of a book about fleeting moments than it was a full on analysis of teenage life, but in the end I enjoyed it for what it was. The narrator's parts were necessary in helping to draw themes together too and they did it really well. A nice idea pulled together by some really talented authors.

I really enjoyed this book. Initially I was wondering how so many authors could come together and write a story that didn't feel choppy or have sub-plots that didn't blend well with the over-riding theme etc. but this was incredibly cohesive! In fact I found it to be seamless with regards to my complete inability at being able to discern precisely which author was writing which character. Although I had my suspicions about some characters because of my familiarity with the authors' previous works. Yet each character's viewpoint felt thoroughly distinct while also sharing enough similarity of humour and writing style that the narrative had the most wonderfully easy flow.
But most of all what I loved about this book was the diversity of the characters' personalities with each one having a unique (even if sometimes clichéd) identity.

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I had a sampler for this and really liked the concept. And the way it’s written is different and fun. I really enjoyed the catching up year by year.

However having a largish main cast and large gaps in the narrative means we don’t get to spend a lot of time getting to know them. This is actually handled very well by the authors, but I just couldn’t quite connect with them as much as I wanted.

I did really enjoy it, but nothing jumped out at me as a “love” so I’m giving it 3.5 stars.


Review will go live on my blog on Sunday 15th July.

Contemporary is not my genre of choice, I have a very small number that I have read and enjoyed but hearing that one of my favourite authors (Melinda Salisbury) had contributed to it I decided to give it a go. And it was a wonderful surprise. I really enjoyed it. I love the point of view writing from all the characters and the way the story moved along well. I ended up liking all the characters (even one who I hated in the beginning) and truly cared about their stories. The one down point was the ending seemed abrupt with little closure. I wanted to know more!

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars and I recommend you read it!

I've been so exited to read this book since I heard about it last summer, and also really curious to see how so many authors would approach, structure and write it.
Interestingly it reads like one author has written the book, so it's really interesting to see how their writing styles have been presumably combined into the different voices of the different characters. As a school librarian I think that it would be suitable from around age 14, due to the mild swearing, sex and drug references, but these are fairly minimal, and necessary within the story being told. The characters were extremely well-written, and I imagine must have been fun to develop!
I personally read it over one weekend as it was a real page-turner, and I'm hoping that they can spare the time to write another book collaboratively soon!

Floored was good but it had the potential to be great. I wish we could have spent more time getting to know each character and building on them. You can feel the difference nuances each writer brings to their chapter and i found the story very interesting.

Floored is a wonderfully easy read that I thoroughly enjoyed. With so many writers contributing to this story, giving their characters different voices, I was concerned that a jump in writing style might cause this to be a jarring read, but the different voices flowed together really well and allowed each character to be incredibly distinctive.

I liked the structure of the story, focusing on one day over a number of years, as it allowed us to see these young characters evolve over a longer period of time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves stories that really delve into their characters.

I haven't read anything like this before, considering the book is written by 7 different author's it flows very well and you can't actually tell that different people are contributing to it. I really would love to know which author wrote each character.
Floored follows 6 teenagers who all end up in the same lift for different reasons when an event happens that instantly bonds them and they then reconnect at the same time for the next 5 years. Its really interesting to see where each character is at with every year that passes. While its true you don't get a lot of time to truly bond with them I really enjoyed seeing what they were up to in a briefer way than a typical novel and how their relationships with each other change.
I think it would be really cool if the author's collaborated again and showed us where these characters are in another 5 years.

You'd think that a book written by seven authors would be difficult and disjointed to follow, but surprisingly it was cohesive and easy to absorb. Also it was written by the best UKYA authors, so it was as I'd expected from them - enjoyable!

The characters were very distinct and different from each other. Their personalities shone through their scenes and they represented all kinds of things, like class, disabilities and sexuality. These were all covered in pretty satisfying, sensitive ways. They were diverse and many things reflected the true reality of people, especially the youth. I liked that they all had their own problems, stories, etc. It was easy to imagine it like a show in my head, cutting to scenes with different characters and their lives.
However, a part of me didn't enjoy having so many characters to focus on because with the time skips and character jumps, I found myself about to get attached to a character but then deflate as they'd get taken away from me to make way for the next bit. I liked Hugo, Kaitlyn and Dawson a lot, but didn't connect with Velvet so much. Overall, I thought they were likable and unflinchingly real.

The way it was written was pretty impressive. The tone was light and humorous in all the right places, brutally real in others. It really appealed to me in the way that it felt like I was hanging out with a bunch of people and watching them from above as they went about their lives.

Overall, enjoyable and wonderful for those who love character-based stories!

I loved each of the characters, I thought they were very distinct from each other and well drawn. I liked that at least three of them came from working class families; I felt like class was a big theme within the book actually. I liked the stuff around disability, both with Kaitlyn and with someone else's family member, which I won't spoiler. I liked the stuff around sexuality, which I also won't spoiler but which I felt was dealt with in a really good way.

I don't have a clue which author wrote each part. I hope we do get to find out! I thought the person writing the narrator parts had the most difficult job, but they were well written parts which sat nicely alongside the other more personal parts. I am talking about writing a collaborative novel myself with a friend, so I really liked to see how Person 1's point of view segued into Person 2's, and so on, and how that was done without a lot of repetition.

I also liked how we first saw everyone at 15/16, on work experience, and then saw them get older, saw them grow into adults. I thought the character progression was shown really well.

With a tagline of "The Breakfast Club meets One Day", and a roster of YA authors including two particular favourites of mine - Non Pratt and Holly Bourne - I was keen to get my hands on Floored. And it largely delivered on its promise.

The multiple narratives following seven teenagers were confusing at first, as each writer established their voice (some more successfully than others). But it's worth persevering: not long after wondering if I should give up entirely, I suddenly found myself hooked. With seven characters, there's an impressive amount of diversity and I particularly liked the fact that working class characters were well represented (with the exception of former actor Dawson and the pleasingly villainous Made In Chelsea-alike Hugo, all of the characters come from working class backgrounds and deal with economic troubles in some form or another). Meanwhile, the narrative device of returning on an annual basis to the seven narrators at first seems like it skims over important points, but becomes an excellent way of dealing with multiple events and issues. Overall a good read for fans of contemporary UK YA.

By the time I got half way through Floored I was really struggling with it. It jumps point of view characters so frequently that I wasn't really feeling anything for any of them and the break away bits to the third person omniscient narrator are particularly jarring. At times they feel like they are there to make sure readers haven't missed out on particular points the story wanted to stress, (the rich boy is really secretly unhappy, please feel something for him and don't just despise his rich, lazy, entitled arse.) and at times they felt like they were there because having six first person perspective chapters with six different perspectives left narrative gaps that needed to be filled.

However, the second half really worked for me. I think by then I'd got to know the different characters enough for the story to flow a bit better. They seemed to come together more, which also helped. It still felt like there was just too much going on though, six different character arcs, all with their own serious and significant issues is a lot to keep track of in a single novel. And it does cover just about everything, from homosexuality and bisexuality, to disability and blindness, to manipulative, possibly abusive relationships with boyfriends and parents.

At first I thought this was a novel about the enduring power of friendship, and how friends are always there for you. But I realised that's not true. It's a story about friendships, and how it's okay to leave them behind and to move on, to grow past them. So many of the characters only really find themselves by leaving their old friends, their families, their past behind them and walking away from them. This was a really interesting spin on friendship that I wasn't really expecting.

There's some really interesting characters in Floored, and some excellent writing, but there's so much going on that it's hard to keep track of, and the ambitious format doesn't entirely hold up.

After looking forward to this for almost a year, I found it a bit disappointing. It was quite hard to get into with the way it jumps a year each time. I did like the characters though I got them mixed up at first. I liked how they interacted with each other and the various relatonships that grew between them.

WOW. This book is a fantastic example of a collaboration done right. The voices of each character (and their authors) flowed so well together that I truly felt like I had a deep understanding of how each character thought. This is a heavily character driven book, but I found the small plots that linked throughout perfectly subtle enough to retain my interest. Overall a brilliant read, that truly leaves you caring for every member of 'The Lift Lot' (well, Hugo is still questionable..).

I loved this book, told from the perspectives of six very different people who meet when they are 16 and following them for five years, meeting up on the anniversary of the day they first met. I would definitely recommend it.