As a Yorkshire lass, who was born in Sheffield, grew up in Rotherham, and attended University in Huddersfield and Leeds, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to read this book early – described as the ‘best thing to come out of Yorkshire since Wensleydale cheese’. So did it live up to the claim?

The book starts with an introduction to Evie, who has just finished her last ‘O’ level exam (GCSE equivalent to those of you younger than 40) and is driving her dad’s MG. By page 5, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as Evie saw old Mr Hughes – this has to be the most unusual start to a book I’ve ever read – please don’t eat or drink whilst reading the first chapter.

I’m not going to give a round up of what happens in the story – I am going to tell you is why you should buy it. I loved the way the characters developed, how Evie deals with the prospect of having Christine as a step mum and helps her neighbours reconnect. This is a book that also made me realise how much life has changed for the young people of today in terms of career opportunities and life choices.

This year has been a challenging year for many of us with the anxiety of a global pandemic, and this book was a chance to escape and to laugh out loud. My mum would have been slightly older than Evie and I’m much younger than Evie, but lots of the Yorkshire phrases and characters seemed so familiar from my own experiences and stories from my mum. I read the Adrian Mole books back in the day (and watched the TV series) and this is so much funnier.

In addition to the humour, the attention to detail was superb – the descriptions of rooms, clothes, music and food etc. My favourite chapters included the visit to the Royal Beverly hotel (chapter 5), the village fete (chapter 12), a trip to Leeds with Caroline (chapter 14) and starting work at the hairdressers (chapter 16), all building up nicely to the finale.

This is a stunning debut novel and I’m pleased to hear that another novel is underway. After reading the novel, I’ve enjoyed discovering the Betty’s website and the music of Adam Faith (he was an actor in my day). I’m happy to confirm that this book is better than Wensleydale cheese (and I do love a good piece of Wensleydale with cranberries). My recommendation is to order the book and some Fat Rascals from Betty’s, find a comfortable chair, turn off your phone and enjoy revisiting the summer of 1962 with Evie.

It is 1962 and Evie Epworth has just finished her O Levels. Over the course of the summer she has to decide on her future, marry Adam Faith and most importantly, save her kind-hearted dad from the clutches of 'wicked stepmother' Christine.

Perhaps it was the stark contrast to what I have been reading lately, but I found the first few pages of this so fluffy and silly that I almost gave up. I am really glad that I didn't. Before very long, this book had me totally charmed. It's very light and daft, but it's extremely well-done. The characters are depicted with great comic realism, particularly Evie herself and the period detail is really excellent. The author's love of Yorkshire comes across beautifully. Recommended as a lovely warm, funny read for the summer.

This is a true coming of age story, depicting that awkward in-between age where you’re not quite an adult but you’re not a child either, where you’re trying to figure out who you are and what you’re doing.

Being an East Yorkshire girl myself I would be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely thrilled to be getting some representation for once, like hello interesting things do happen outside of London too you know! I requested to read this book on Netgalley the second I saw where it was set, and I was not at all disappointed. The characters are larger than life and filled with the ‘no nonsense’ Yorkshire attitude that I have grown up around.

The Miseducation of Evie Epworth is a homey, comforting, and feel-good read, and I would definitely recommend giving it a read!

Evie Epworth - what a girl....well almost woman..!

As a northerner, I understood Evie’s character at once. A no nonsense Yorkshire lass, milk deliverer, and tea and cake lover, with an Adam Faith obsession. This is set in the 60’s just as the Beatles were coming out. It’s an absolutely hilarious book, I just loved it.

Evie’s life with her dad is turned upside down when a young harlet comes along and woo’s her dad to get her hands on his money. Evie and her neighbour know what’s going on but her dad thinks it’s love. Can Evie save him from her?

I just loved this so much, it’s so funny and the characters are all brilliant!

My thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for the copy.

As a born-and-bred Yorkshire woman I absolutely could not ignore this book and it definitely didn’t let me down. I may be biased but I loved the nods to Leeds, the stereotype of the Yorkshire farmer and the northern wittiness this book is riddled with. Evie Epworth is an only child, learning the ropes of adulthood whilst battling with scarlet women, glamorous characters and finding out about her family’s past. I really enjoyed the coming-of-age aspect of this book and the relatability of the Yorkshire setting made it all the more likeable.

Matson Taylor does a great job of flitting between decades, expanding on character storylines without throwing you off the track of Evie’s timeline. I enjoyed the 60s references and the introduction of new characters in the second half of the book, keeping the momentum up and keeping me wanting to turn the page. It’s a very fun fiction with a lot of snippets of hilarity, some of which could’ve been left out and it not have affected the storyline at all but without, the book wouldn’t have the clever charm that it does.

It's 1962, and Evie Epworth is 16 1/2 and 5' 11". Arthur, her widowed father is a farmer. She's borrowed his beloved red MG to do her milk round. She loves Adam Faith and loathes her would-be wicked young stepmother Christine a.k.a the ''housekeeper'. There are flashbacks to Arthur's former life, and to her late mother Diana.

A coming of age comic novel. With a good set of characters, the narrative rattles along and has considerable charm. It is billed as adult fiction, but it seemed to me to be rather young adult. Maybe I'm wrong, it's getting enthusiastic adult reviews.

"The Future is strange. Before my 'O' levels, it seemed far away, something that only other people worried about (scientists, politicians, old people). It was a hazy, unreal half-thought that involved weddings, jobs, babies and tailored suits, not necessarily in that order. But all of a sudden it's here... What am I going to do in The Future? I still have no idea."

It's 1962: Evie is 16 years old, as tall as a tree and the fastest milk delivery girl in Yorkshire. She loves Adam Faith, reading and her next door neighbour's baking. She doesn't know what she wants to do with her life but dreams of a glamorous life in London (or Leeds). Standing in the way of this dream is Christine, a manipulative and nasty woman who has managed to get engaged to Evie's dad Arthur. Now Christine wants to sell their farm, spend all of Arthur's money and get rid of Evie. With the help of her friends, neighbours and a bit of Yorkshire magic, Evie plans to rescue herself from the future that Christine has planned for her, and along the way she might just figure out what kind of woman she wants to be.

If Adrian Mole was a girl and lived on a farm in the 1960s, this would be that book (and Adrian Mole is one of my favourites 😍). The Miseducation of Evie Epworth is a comic tale about growing up and the importance of local community. I really enjoyed reading this one.

This was a hilarious, sweet, coming of age novel.
I laughed pretty much all the way through this book, it was uplifting and touching in equal measure.
I felt so much affection for Evie - she was a great protagonist. I was initially a bit put off with her being so young (some teenagers in books get on my nerves) but although she was young, she was feisty, quirky and so likeable.

The book follows Evie after finishing school for the summer, navigating future plans, figuring out her place in the world and battling her dad's awful partner Christine. The pace was spot on, there were no lapses in events during the plot so I was never bored and I devoured it in one sitting. The writing is excellent, and natural so it makes for easy reading. Seeing Evie's exploration of her own identity made me nostalgic for being 16 years old and having so many options and the world at your feet. Evie was supported by a quirky, eclectic cast of characters. Each character was written well, they were memorable and charming although in Christine's case; awful. Although there were many funny moments, there were many poignant themes explored too, with grief, acceptance of others, friendship and being true to yourself.

The ending was perfect, but has left me wondering and hoping we will see more of Evie Epworth!
This novel felt like a cup of hot yorkshire tea, with extra sugar - leaving a warm feeling long after you have finished it.

I am afraid that this book was an ok read but I had very little to identify with the characters.
Based in the Dales, Evie is on the cusp of adult life deciding what to do for a career. She has grown up and identifies very much with her father's farm. Her main challenge is how to deal with the new woman her father has found and who has very different ideas to Evie along with many changes. The book is light hearted with lots of tales en route.
Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy. I guess that I was the odd person who didn't identify with all the rave reviews.

Evie's voice grabs you from the very start of the book, as she decides to do the milk round in her father's MG and is distracted by the old farmer having his way with a cow in the field. At 16 and a half in 1962, Evie needs to decide what to do and who to become and is frustrated by her choices. Equally frustrating is Christine, their 'housekeeper' who has firm designs on Evie's dad and and what Evie should do next. With a cast of colourful characters, this story zips along delightfully. I think I'd love to have the same miseducation!

This is just what I look for in a book. A nostalgic comedy with heart and exceptionally-believable characters. I was thrilled to read this one, to see such a perfect evocation of a time and place.

I have just spent two day in the delightful company of Evie Epworth, the eponymous heroine of Matson Taylors debut novel The Miseducation of Evie Epworth. What a hoot. Yorkshire 1962. Sixteen year old - Adam Faith loving - Evie lives with her widowed father and Christine, a much younger woman who seems set on muscling her way into the family. Evie is not a fan, and thinks her father can do much better for himself. But, how can she make her father see that? She also needs to decide what she want to do with her own life once she gets her O-Level results.

What happens next is like several reviews have said a bit like Cold Comfort Farm meets Adrian Mole, and as satisfying as both. Taylor has crafted a wonderful set of (mostly female) characters and placed them around a likeable narrator, who needs to understand her past – and her dead mother – before she can progress to the future.

Yes, Christine and her mother are a bit comedy villain, and elderly neighbour, Mrs Scott-Pym and her daughter Caroline, are – at times - almost too good to be true (Caroline, of course, just happened to have the Beatles first single on reel to reel tape), but thee is a warmth at the heart of the book and at the heart of Evie's relationship with them, and her influence on helping to mend bridges whist building her own.

Also, having spent a lot of time in Yorkshire over the past decade, the many mentions of Bettys tearooms, made me smile.

Matson Taylor apparently works at the V&A museum, where he teaches on the History of Design programme. Going by the book, I'd guess that being taught be him would be great fun.

A perfect summer read.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

What an absolute joy of a read! A tonic in current times!

I found this book utterly hilarious. I laughed out loud at each page, the Northern humour was just magical. With lines such as “she stared at me with the welcoming presence of anthrax.” And “Elise smiles at Arthur and does something French with her eyes. Christine spots this (our very own Jodrell Bank) and weaponises her chest.”

Evie is a marvellous character and even now in my late thirties, she took me right back to my teenage years.

Witty, uplifting and simply irresistible, I devoured this book in almost one sitting; staying up until 3 am to finish it.

Probably one of the reasons I loved this book so much was because it is set in my era. I was not even 10 at the time, much younger than Evie, and still at Primary School, but I remember everything she talks about, from Adam Faith (I loved him – his was the first record I ever bought) to Atora Suet (still don’t know what that is but I can still see the packaging) and our Dansette record player, though ours was red.

I didn’t live in Yorkshire or anywhere near but lots of things were still the same, unless you lived in London, but I didn’t go there until 1972. I did something in fashion like Caroline. It was still vastly different from our narrow-minded, parochial, suburban life in the Cotswolds. I had never heard of a lesbian when I was 10 years old, possibly not even at 16. Things were different in those days.

The storytelling from Evie’s point of view does at times make her sound younger than 16 or maybe we were just a lot more naïve and less street-wise back then. There are brief interludes when we hear how her father Arthur met her mother, but the rest is all about Evie.

I laughed out loud some of the time. Maybe if you are too young to recall the sixties you may not find it as hilarious as I did. The characters are richly drawn often to the point of caricature, especially the ghastly Christine who wants to marry Arthur, sell the farm and get her hands on his money. And poor Arthur is so nice he just doesn’t see it coming. But Evie does. She’s intelligent and funny and always has her head in a book – which to Christine is just being lazy. Christine loves everything manufactured from man-made fibres – Tupperware, nylon, plastic. Especially if they are pink or leopard-print. Now I am quite fond of pink and leopard-print though probably not at the same time, but it’s Evie’s description of ‘sticky-outy’ dresses that made me laugh. And the bit when she tries on Christine’s pink, chiffon, baby-doll nightie and gets stuck and has to be rescued by best friend Margaret was so funny. This actually happened to me in an M&S changing room, though not a baby-doll nightie or any type of nightie, but let’s not go there. Everything old and made from wood is rubbish to Christine. My house is a shrine to pine – Christine’s worst nightmare.

Apart from these three we have Christine’s awful mum Vera, her obese friend Mrs Swithenbank, superstitious Mrs Scott-Pym next door (you’ll find out why I say she is superstitious when you get to that bit) and her wonderfully eccentric, estranged daughter Caroline.

But one of the stand-out things for me about the book is how Matson has managed to capture perfectly the ‘playful’ (his word) voice of a 16 year old girl in the sixties. Hard enough for someone like me who was there!

So grab a copy and a cuppa and enjoy. With a slice of cake from Betty’s of course.

This is the coming of age story of Evie Epworth, growing up in the sixties in Yorkshire with her dad and soon to be stepmum, Christine. Evie is 16 and under alot of pressure to decide what to do with the rest of her life as well as stop Christine taking her dad for a ride.

I loved this book from the very beginning. It's full of light hearted humour that never gets to silly. Just reading it made me smile. Its heartwarming and just lovely.

I love Evie's attitude, she has so much energy even if she not sure what to do with it! Her discovery of who she is and who she wants to be comes across so well with the help of the great cast of characters.

Some elements of Evies life, like her obsession with a pop star, not knowing what to do with her life, and wanting to protect her dad really endear Evie to the reader.

I really loved the story with Mrs Scott Pym and her daughter and how we discover more about them. I loved the bond between Mrs Scott Pym and Evie and how intertwined we discover their lives are.

Overall, I loved this book. Its a lovely lighthearted book which is a pleasure to read. Definitely one to pick up!

I found this book to be a really lovely coming of age story, with an incredibly likeable lead character. The style of writing took me a little bit of time to get used to but this was a quick read for me and brought me some cheer.

Evie is a relatable heroin and the story almost reminds me a little bit of Cinderella, with the evil step mother. As someone who loves all things Yorkshire, the setting and references throughout the book really made it for me and I would definitely recommend it to some of my friends for a nice easy book to read. The only reason I gave it 3/5 not higher is because it felt a little bit lacking in substance and was perhaps a bit predictable for me but I still thought it was a well written book.

This book was an absolute delight! I thought it would be a humorous 'chick-lit' type book (although I hate that term), but instead I got a charming coming-of-age story that made me laugh and love the main character. Evie Epworth has been compared in other reviews to the great Adrian Mole as a brilliant, naive, fictional teenage narrator and I can definitely see the similarities. However, Evie has a voice and quirks that are all her own!

Sixteen-year-old Evie lives on a farm in Yorkshire with her father and Christine, a gold-digging 'scarlet woman' who is making changes to Evie's (dead) mother's farmhouse that Evie is really not happy with. The plot follows Evie's attempts to rid herself of Christine and also to find her own way in a world full of choices.

As mentioned already, Evie is a lovely narrator and this gives the book warmth and depth. However, the joy of the book for me was in the comic characters - the plot is hardly complex, but Evie's 1960s Yorkshire village is brought to life by the people. Christine is gloriously awful, a vision in garish pink, while other villagers are hilarious - I have a particularly soft spot for Mrs Swithenbank and her digestive issues! The humour is somewhat broken up by the poignancy of Evie's mum's story being included in the story as interludes to Evie's narrative, but this also adds depth to the novel and another reason why the terrible Christine needs to go.

I really loved this book - it made me laugh and root for Evie as she navigates her tricky teenage landscape. This is a charming novel and one that is both genuinely funny and a comforting read in turbulent times.

I really enjoyed this light, fun, coming of age tale set in the 60's. I quickly fell in love with Evie as, I too, am a bracket-loving, celery hater! (read the book and it will make sense). Taylor really manged to capture the characters essence as you fall in love with Evie, feel sorry for her Farther and strongly dislike Christine.

I really enjoyed the small interludes that gave us quick snippets into the past and felt they worked really well to give us the parts of the story we were missing with it being in first person narration. I loved Taylor's style of writing and will definitely look out for his future work!


Also I cant not say it, I LOVE THE COVER!

The only thing that I didn't buy into was how old Evie was, she came across as very young for her age, had I not been told she was 16 I would have put her at 12. This may have been done purposefully by the author to give us a sense of how grown up our teenagers are now or may just be that I feel teenagers are older, either way it didn't take any enjoyment away from the book, was merely a feeling I had whilst reading.

Thank you to @ScribnerBooks @matson_taylor_ and @randomttours for my #gifted copy in exchange for review.

I’d never heard of the author before and the book sounded a lot of fun so I was looking forward to it. I knew I was going to enjoy myself when I’d laughed myself to tears and stomach pains only a few pages in. Evie is the narrator. I’m a big fan of first person narration when it work and it certainly does in this book. Evie is wry and funny and insightful and her snide remarks and sarcastic insights had me laughing fit to burst. There is a darker side to the book as well around Christine shoe-horning her way into their lives and trying to use her dubious charms to turn Arthur’s head. There are flashbacks giving insight into the marriage of Evie’s father and deceased mother and some heart-breaking memories of her death. I had such a good time with this book.