A dual perspective tale of a girl with cancer and her mother.
Some lovely bits but some that were a bit weird like the Pizza Express scene.
An incident about halfway through needed more fleshing out as some of the characters felt a bit 2D.

This is a heartbreaking story but never maudling. I am usually the first to blub over a sad tale but this one managed to be also heartwarming and so the tissues were unnecessary.

The narrative is two fold, that of Maddy, a teenager with cancer, and also her mother Eve and I think it's this juxtaposition which thankfully stops the story becoming over emotional.

A very well written , true to life book which as someone who has lost both a son and a niece, I think I am qualified to judge .

I really enjoyed this book. The character of Maddy was great and the relationships she has with her friends and parents are believable - especially her grandparents. I didn't quite buy in to the character of her mother as much as the others but this did not detract overall.

An absolutely lovely written book with all the ups and downs of a teenager and her mother, with the added heartache of cancer !!

Maddy is a sixteen year old girl with all the normal worries of a teenager plus the added worry of having cancer. We see how she deals with family, friends, a boyfriend, school work and her illness. She has to be one of the strongest young women I have read about and I absolutely loved her.

Eve is Maddy‘s mother who has plenty of worries of her own. We find out that Maddy’s father left Eve when she discovered she was pregnant and she raised Maddy on her own with the help of her parents and partner, Robin. As well as living her own live she is constantly trying to keep on a brave face for Maddy.

This truly is a lovely written book with a heartbreaking storyline. The characters are great, especially Maddy and her boyfriend Jack. I also love the alternate chapters between Maddy and Eve, so we see the story from the daughter and mother’s perspective.

Thank you to John Murray Press and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Told from the point of view of a teenager & a mum. At first I didn't know if this should have been a YA book esp when the story was told from the point of view of Maddy but nonetheless I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it.

All the water in the world-Karen Raney
Aww what can I say this book really got me. Maddy is a terminally ill 16 year old between her and mum Eve we are told the story of her journey battling a childhood cancer. A really bittersweet story dealing with a most sensitive subject cancer yet done with great deal of care and honesty. It really is a thought provoking book. I know it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea as the subject matter is close to home for many of us. I thought it was lovely book. Many thanks to both the author and net galley for the opportunity to read this book.

I was sent a copy of All the Water in the World by Karen Raney to read and review by NetGalley.
This is a poignant, heartfelt, insightful read. Full of tender moments and harsh realities this novel is really in a class of its own. While I wouldn’t say that it is one of my absolute favourites it is a well written exploration of family love and loss, drawing you into the most intimate heart of the family concerned and treating a difficult and heart-rending situation with compassion and understanding. Well worth the 5 stars in my opinion.

All the Water in the World is a heart-wrenching and poignant story. Eve is mother to Maddy, who has been battling childhood cancer for some time. The story switches between the two perspectives and in this way, the reader is able to gain a deeper insight into the feelings of each as they navigate their way through life, growing up and learning what it is to live with heartbreak. Maddy is a remarkable character - whilst being consumed with her illness and the treatment of it, she is nevertheless determined to live her life fully. She falls in love and inspires a generation with her art. She traces her absent father and develops a relationship with him, which is something her mother only discovers in the second part of this novel. Eve is a selfless mother who devotes herself to ensuring her daughter is loved and cherished. It is only in the second half of this remarkable book that we get to know her as a woman, one who is forced to confront the past and in doing so, is able to face the present. This story will make you cry and want to hug your loved ones a little harder. Beautifully understated and life-affirming.

Teenager Maddy has cancer. Her treatment is debilitating. She lives with mother Eve and her mother's boyfriend. Her Spanish student father left before she was born. Maddy and Eve narrate the story.

A gentle story of teenage awakening. Maddy is the primary narrator and it has the feel of a Young Adult novel. I didn't find it compelling, persevered, but bailed out part way through.

This is the story of Eve and her daughter, Maddie. They each tell part of the story from their own perspective. Maddie is 16 and has cancer. She has that teenage mix of being sometimes quite grown up and, at other times, so young. She is also in touch with her father by email secretly, not having seen him since she was born. Eve’s own perspective is very moving as she unravels in the face of her daughter’s illness and makes some questionable choices of he own. Robin, Eve’s partner and Jack, Maddy’s boyfriend, are also very real characters who bring their own confusion and sadness to the story. There is enough looking forward at the end to save this from being a wallowing book. I would recommend this. Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Decent story good backdrop
Good characters if you can empathise with them
Worth a read if you are in to this genre.

All the Water in the World by Karen Raney manages to deal with very difficult subjects like cancer, death, relationships and the impact of anger and regrets on behaviour and life choices. The relationship between Maddy and her mum Evie is a close and loving one yet you know that Evie is distanced from her own mother. As a grandmother it’s so lovely to have an insight into that special bond between Maddy & her grandparents regardless of Evie’s almost transactional approach to them “I was not beholden to my parents anymore. I no longer had to bide my time or hold my tongue because I needed them for Maddy.” The book explores the complexity of relationships in this way, placing hope and love alongside resentment and perceived wrongs. It’s one that I know will stay with me for quite some time and I’ll revisit some of the issues and thoughts. Overall I just love the underpinning message of Hope delivered by Jack “Did you know....that all the water in the world is all there will ever be?.....We’re made out of water. But the thing is, there’s a fixed amount. It can’t be added to or taken away. It just changes into another form.” How precious a thought!

A very well written, descriptive story, dealing with some very tough and thought provoking issues. Will keep you gripped and involved with the characters. The story is sad, but still very inspiring.

This is a really moving novel told from dual perspectives – Maddy who is sixteen and has cancer, and her mum Eve. We hear from both of them in alternating chapters and it really is an exploration of coming to terms with loss and of trying to connect when things are going wrong. I really enjoyed that it fully explored both perspectives not just from the point of view of them as mother and daughter but also who they are as people. There is real honesty in this book and these two characters felt so real to me. This book really got me in the gut for so many reasons and it’s one that I keep finding myself thinking about. It’s tender, honest and stunning – I definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to netgalley.co.uk for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, I loved the characters. The book was quite slow at the beginning of the novel, and honestly I thought about giving it up, however, it got so much better towards the end. The writer seemed to like she needed time to really get to grips with her writing style which I hope will improve as she writes more.

All the Water in the World is basically a book about how a normal family cope with the grief of losing a child. Told from the perspective of Maddy, a terminally ill 16 year old, and her mother Eve. I liked the split between the two ladies, and found both of their narratives equally interesting. The introduction of Antonio was what really made the story interesting, and I'm glad that thread of the story was fully explored.

I felt that some of the book was a little flat, and because of this it didn't always hold my full interest. Some passages of dialogue were a little confusing, and there was just something lacking from the general writing, that is perhaps due to the book being a debut. Having said this, I did enjoy the book, and it would be ideal for anyone who enjoys a gentle contemporary.

All the water in the world - Karen Rayney

Tender, poignant, full of love, I loved this book. So amazing book for a first novel – I can only look forward to whatever Karen Rayney produces next. The writing is so subtle that I hardly notice my eyes moving along the page – I am inside this story and alongside these characters.

Maddy is 16, lives with her mother and is creative, brave and scared. She has cancer and knows that her life is under constant threat. But how she wants to live! She has a close family – her grandparents, her mother, and her kitten Cloud. But there are secrets – who is her father and why was he always absent? Is it alright to want to know even if it could upset the delicate balance of mother-daughter intimacy?

At one point the author gives us the meaning behind the title and this has stayed in my head for days. All the water in the world is all the water there ever was or will be – just in different forms. This brings us close to the sort of questions an intelligent girl of 16 who knows she may die soon is thinking. As well as falling in love and having her first sexual relationship, as well as seeking out the truth about her Spanish father, she is trying to understand the mysteries of life. A beautifully written book. I loved it.

This is a decent read about family / mother / daughter relationships, facing a terminal illness and death.

It’s a good premise and I loved it at the beginning. However, part way through I began to struggle and lose concentration with it and the characters.

It’s told from the perspective of Maddy a young girl with cancer and her mother, Eve and this differing of perspective worked for me.

Overall, a good debut novel and I’m grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

This is a brilliant read. There is so much sadness in this story. This is a thought provoking story which will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is a poignant, emotionally charged and well written story that kept hooked till the end.
I loved the well thought cast of characters and the style of writing.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.