Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. The Classroom by A L Bird is a psychological thriller with many twists and turns. When Kirsten's five year old daughter Harriet starts school, Kristen like all parents is worried about her safety. She is pleased that Harriet is happy with her new teacher Miriam. I am not sure what review I could write about this book as although I liked it I actually did not like any of the characters

Kirsten and Ian are career driven parents to a five year old Harriet. It's time for Harriet to start school and Kirsten is a little over protective of her, yet she still needs to work full time.
Ms Robertson is Harriet's teacher and has selected her as her "special" child for the year and gives her extra attention.
The book switches between past and present at the beginning of the book and I wasn't;t sure who some of the characters were. It all becomes clear when we learn that Ms Robertson is actually Harriet's birth Mum who has found her and wants to be in her life again.
The remainder of the book was interesting with a few twists and turns as we have to decide who was keeping what secret from who between Kirsten, Ian and Ms Robertson.
I enjoyed the book but thought the ending was a little abrupt.

I was expecting something a little different when I read the blurb of this one- as the story inside this book isnt really what you expect to get after reading the blurb.

I wont say too much as not to spoil it for other readers.

But I'll be honest I didnt really enjoy this book- it had a ok-ish background story and it could have turned into something really spectacular- but that didn't happen.

There wasn't a single likeable character in this book and I couldn't root for any character in particular- Even 5 year old Harriet was grating on my last nerve!

We were left with a patch work ending that was very rushed, predictable and unfulfilling.

I personally thought the ending was terrible.

A story of 2 women and 1 man which was interlinked between them. A triangle is never a good thing in a relationship, and neither was this...

One was mother Kirsten who said she loved her daughter but never found time for her. One was a teacher Miriam who had a special eye on the child, more than what was required. And last was husband Andy as slimy as an eel, who loved only himself. This was a story about them.

The debut by A. L. Bird had me wondering initially where the story was leading up to. And the real secret was revealed at 40% of the book. Then what was remaining, asked my brain? And the mental games started. The ladies used their ways and means to get the child. The man used his wiles to get rid of both.

This book was a psychologically twisted tale of human psyche where I could just read it with wild, unbelievable eyes wondering how low a human can sink just to get a child. And the games kept playing on till the last page!!

Fast pace and highly twisted unlikable characters made this book a fast 2 hour read. The plot itself was a bit meh, there were only reactions no planned actions. But that was the charm of Bird's writing!!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. Loved it and what a fab read well written and will. Recommend. Fab till then end

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After many years of IVF treatments Kirsten is devoted to her daughter and has a very hard time letting her head off to school at 5 years old. As all parents she is concerned for her safety but children are safe in school. Or are they? Not when they have Miriam as their teacher. Who has been waiting for the perfect child to enter her classroom.

Lots of plot twists has you turning pages until the magnificent ending.

Really enjoyed reading this book a lot. The story seemed to flow very naturally and the characters were believable.
The story itself had some gripping and tense moments and I was very happy I got the chance to read it.

I loved this book, but I've got to admit, I'm still a little bit confused.
I loved how different it was, I've not really read anything like it before, the whole situation with the daughter and the things that happened in the past really gripped me. I couldn't tell where the story was heading at any point in the book and I was taken aback by so many things. I was on the edge of my seat most of the time just trying to cope with everything that was going on. I would have 100% given this a 5 star rating if it wasn't for one little thing that bugged me - the confusion

I was confused because it was set out quite different from all the thrillers I've read, normally with thrillers, you get a bit of a story, then a few twists, a bit more story, a few more twists and then a huge twist at the end that completely blows you away, but I just didn't get that with this book. The huge twist was revealed about 40% in and then the rest of it was basically story. I kept feeling like something crazy was going to happen, then I reached the end and I was left a bit confused.
There were quite a lot of thing that left me confused actually, obviously the fact that there was no other massive twist, I suppose you could count something that was revealed as a twist, but I found it quite obvious and I can't see how anyone didn't. The things with Ian also left me a bit lost and obviously the fact that the characters were so calm about the whole situation? If you've read it I think you'll understand what I mean.
But, I guess it's meant to be like that? To leave you to guess, to work things out for yourself. There's no dead set answers to anything. It wants you to wonder what's going on. And I suppose, in a way I liked that because it kept me reading, wondering, wanting to talk to people about it to see what they think, which is always good isn't it?
I'd definitely recommend it, the story is just too good to miss to be honest, you won't expect what's coming and you'll love working it all out.

I must admit that prior to being invited on the blog tour for ‘The Classroom’ I hadn’t come across A. L Bird before. ‘The Classroom’ was my introduction to her work and what an introduction it was too. I really enjoyed it but more about that in a bit.
I have to say that the main two female leads irritated me in equal measure but in different ways if that makes sense. I don’t doubt that Kirsten, who is Harriet’s mother, really, really wanted a child. Anybody who goes through the IVF process hopes to have a child in the end. It also takes a strong person to go through the IVF process. However, I think that Kirsten has her priorities wrong. For one reason and another Harriet has accompanied her parents into work when there has been nobody else to look after her. I can’t believe that two people so desperate to have children can’t take some time off work occasionally to look after their own child. There’s more to life than money. Children grow up so quickly these days and I wouldn’t have thought that Kirsten would want to miss a think. Taking Harriet to school seems to be a relief for Kirsten in the sense that her child is somebody else’s responsibility because it means that she can focus on her work. Some of the things Kirsten does or says, make me want to slap her with a wet flip flop. Miriam is Harriet’s new school teacher and for some reason she has fixated on Harriet. I got the impression that she would do what she could to get Kirsten out of the picture and which would allow Miriam to step into the mother role. Miriam seems to be too good to be true- like a modern day version of Mary Poppins. She seems to get on well with the children but some of the things that she says grates on some of the parents. Why is Miriam so fixated on Harriet? Will Miriam make sure that Kirsten is out of the picture? What has happened in Miriam’s past to make her into the person she is today? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
For me, it took a fair while for me to get into this book. That doesn’t mean that it was a bad book but the story itself took a little while to get going. The story does jump about a bit to start with and it flits between past and present and I couldn’t understand what could possibly link the events that happened in the past to the events that happened in the present day. I soon got used to that and I had faith that all would eventually be explained. Once I got over the first part of the book, the story soon took off at quite a pace. I loved the author’s writing style and the way in which she entices the reader into the book and keeps the reader’s attention until the end of the story. There were more twists and turns to this book than you would find layers of paper on a parcel in a game of ‘Pass The Parcel’. I didn’t really want to put the book down for fear of missing something or missing a clue as to what was in store for Kirsten and Miriam.
I did eventually enjoy reading ‘The Classroom’ and it is most definitely a psychological thriller. I look forward to A. L. Bird’s next book but whilst I wait I will be seeking out her other books. The score on the Ginger Book Geek’s board is a well deserved 4* out of 5*.

I must admit that, before discovering April of Getting Hygge With It’s book review channel on Youtube, I was entirely oblivious to the portrayal of female infertility in mystery/thriller novels. But, now that my eyes have been opened, I can’t look away. Primarily, because they’re bloody everywhere.
It appears more and more evident to me that, from the perspective of much of society, female infertility is connected with an inherent sense of evil, or just plain poor character. As though women who have the inability to conceive, have failed in some way and are no longer able to be seen as human.
It is an idea that springs The Handmaid’s Tale to mind, primarily because my grandma and I have been binged the television series, because in that, male fertility is unquestioned and the ability to conceive healthy children (the failure of which having led to the society) is seen as a problem solely for the women to bear. Infertile women are therefore discarded, sent to shovel radiation or killed.
At first, this way of thinking seemed so alien and yet, it seems to permeate the portrayal of women, both in the media and those around us.
Most female antagonists in the hit domestic-thriller genre are infertile; driven mad by the need to have a child and willing to do whatever it takes to have one in their possession. Maternal love and affection is put out of the equation, the villain doesn’t want anything so humanising - she simply sees the child as a thing, a status symbol, a possession. It seems that, to make a woman truly evil in the laziest possible way, writers simply take away their ability to fit into the maternal role, to stop them from inhabiting the Virgin Mary archetype, if you will (paragon of virtue, mother to all, yada yada yada).
The Classroom is, without a doubt, a casualty of this laziness.

Book Review: The Classroom by A L Bird

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟 (3/5)
Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers
Source: Received from PublisherHQ Digital UK

📖My review📖

A page turner of a read, that had me swiping fast on my kindle to see how it was all going to end. I love the title and the tag line and just how that all fitted together.

It reveals it’s secrets tantalising slowly thorough alternate points of view and mysterious flashbacks. And the quick changes kept the pace snappy, and truth uncertain.

My only complaint was that it went beyond the point of believability. But I granted poetic licence, and didn’t leave that spoil the tension packed read.

If you enjoy books with ordinary seeming families hiding extraordinary secrets, then you might enjoy this. Fans of authors such as Liane Moriarty and Lucy Clarke should also appreciate this book.

Thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book for review consideration. As always, no matter what the source of the book, you get my honest, unbiased opinion.

📖Book blurb📖

Letting go of your daughter for the first time isn’t easy…

After years of IVF, Kirsten White is a devoted mum to Harriet – and she can’t believe the time has come to send her little girl off to school. But Harriet has now turned five, and she can’t stay Kirsten’s baby forever. It might be hard, but it’s time to entrust her daughter’s care to her new teacher.

… the classroom is the one place she should be safe.

Miriam Robertson has been waiting for the perfect little girl to walk into her class. She’s very picky… but when Harriet walks in, Miriam knows: this is the child she’s been waiting for.

Harriet knows not to speak to strangers. But her lovely new teacher isn’t a stranger at all. In fact, she’s her new best friend. And you can always trust your friends… can’t you?

I didn't find it to be very gripping until more of Miriam's past came to light but then one of the plot twist wasn't great. For a thriller, this isn't the best I've read but it was ok. Bird did a really good job of making me change my opinions of each character over time.

This is a great psychological thriller with lots of twists, one in particular that I didn’t see coming. The first part of the story jumps a little from present day to the past and at first I didn’t see how the two storylines were connected but then everything becomes clear, so definitely stick with it. The pace definitely picks up in the second half of the book and you will find yourself willing the pages to turn so you can see what the conclusion is.

A complex and very interesting read!
Firstly I really enjoyed it
Secondly there are plot flaws and areas of the story that were not quite believable BUT because the book was so well written and fascinating I glossed them over in my mind ( like you do a good tv series or film )
Harriet is starting school, her teacher is also starting her new job at the school....Ms Robertson takes a shine to Harriet....then ‘just happens’ to walk past her house one Saturday afternoon....Harriets Mum Kirsten invites her in, Harriet is thrilled......Ian ( the hubby ) arrives home and is aghast when he walks in on the scene...but why? Well Im not going to say except you will never guess!
Then follows a shocking, riveting and page turning story as the lies, secrets and pasts of these 3 all come together, horrifyingly..
The author has a great vivid imagination and a knack of telling a story that was so unusual and it kept me turning, well swiping
I loved the insight into Kirstens struggle with being a Dr and a Mum, Ms Robertson’s determination and Ian, well you will see what you think of him
The characters were scary, at times horrifying but wonderfully described and the style of writing easy and welcomed the reader to be part of the book
Every chapter had a new side/revelation to the story and it just kept coming with no let up
Really enjoyable and different
10/10 5 stars

4 stars. A book that definitely makes sure you pay attention. The thought of all mothers, are your kids really safe at school and the nightmare of no being the answer, is what makes this book so chilling. Well written, characters keep you intrigued and wondering what's going to happen. Will highly recommend.
Will use in my daily challenge, recommendations, and review in Chapter Chatter Pub this week. Thank you for the early copy!

I had some difficulties getting into the book, but after a few chapters I found myself wanting to know more. I liked the story and even if the characters weren't that likeable, I found that I liked the story and the abrupt ending came somewhat as a surprise as I thought there was so much more to come. That said, good story, worth three stars.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital!

The twists and turns this author made in The Classroom suprised me. It was a refreshing read and I definitely enjoyed it!

An unusual concept for a story- I raced through this unsettling book, not totally sure how it was going to be resolved. From the beginning I didn't trust Miriam, but I wasn't sure why not.


Unfortunately, I didn't actually like or sympathise with any of the main characters- and at times felt quite judgemental about their behaviour. I'm not convinced that in 2018 some of the events could have happened in a school (trying to avoid spoilers here!) - but I'm certainly glad my children aren't starting in Reception this year...


Regardless, it did keep me guessing, with some significant twists right until the end, and is a very uncomfortable read- so I do think the author has achieved her aim.

I found this book very difficult to get into and really struggled with it. Not as good as I had expected/hoped

I didn’t find the characters very likeable but liked the writing style & the story. All in all I enjoyed this book & would read books by this author in the future