The Great Escape from Woodlands Nursing THE SINGLE LADIES OF JACARANDA RETIREMENT VILLAGE
by Joanna Nell

A well written book - a fabulous poignant funny and sweet told by two of the inmates(residents) of the nursing home Walter and Hattie who have a grand time at night with the wonderful night sister of the home.

A delightful read that can’t be put down to the last page is turned. We all hope if we had to end our days in a home we gave a respectful sister like them .4.5/5

This book is written so well and is so heartwarming
I laughed and cried so much reading this book.
A great read

I really enjoy reading about elderly people and how just because they are in a care home, doesn't mean that they are over the hill. A fantastic read. I would highly recommend.

Really good book about the life of a few nursing home residents who get into trouble and adventures.
Really easy read.

This is the third book I have read by this author, whilst enjoyable I didn’t quite feel the same joy as I have with the others and it was a bit slow. As you would expect it’s set in a nursing home and focuses on the friendships and antics of ‘The Night Owls’ the secret night time group formed by the residents.

Lovely book a new author for me, really enjoyed the style of writing, made the characters believable. Will definitely not be the last book I read by this author

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

A poignant and heartwarming. It's funny and moving at the same time.
I loved the characters and the plot kept me hooked.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Such a charming and delightful read, just the heartwarming escape needed to take you away from all the craziness in the world. Sweet and loveable characters, and a charming storyline. Wonderful.

Ahhhhh Hattie and Walter, what’s not to love ❤️
What a lovely book this was, a real escape from all the COVID drama at the minute going on, loved all the gang in the nursing home and their plots and escapades, it was brilliant; such a refreshing book and one which has you laughing out loud but then shedding a tear, I loved it, actually I adored it, a proper little gem! Hope to read more like this one soon!!!!

'Tom Selleck eat your heart out.' Nope, this is not a murder mystery, but like the books by Joanna Nell I read before, a splendid story with colorful characters. Somehow I really liked the subdued, introvert James. Grandson of Walter - even if he was not one of the main characters of the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

A heart-warming and wittily observed tale about life in a nursing home

Hattie Bloom is an 89-year-old retired nature writer who prefers birds and her own company to other people and who had planned to live out the rest of her days observing the feathered species that nest around the garden of her cottage home. Unfortunately, a mishap with a ladder lands her with a broken hip and an enforced recuperation period in Woodlands Nursing Home. Here she meets a colourful cast of characters, including the larger-than-life 90-year-old Walter Bloom, who himself is dreaming of a great escape on his mobility scooter – once he passes the test to drive it, that is. The pair become unlikely allies when Sister Bronwyn (the organiser of the home's late-night secret club 'The Night Owls') is dismissed after her activities are deemed to go against the feared 'health and safety' rules. Teaming up, Hattie and Walter must come up with a plan to help get Sister Bronwyn back and hopefully escape from Woodlands once and for all.

This was a delightful, warm, and funny story packed with clever humour and some emotional moments. Anyone who has worked in health or social care will certainly recognise some of the author's tongue-in-cheek observations on its idiosyncrasies through her writing. I found myself often smiling in recognition of a certain personality or moment that seemed familiar. All the characters are brilliantly crafted, and Hattie and Walter, in particular, feel real enough to walk off the page and talk to you – they are both flawed, engaging and likeable in their own ways. The nursing home setting was an unusual choice for a humorous story and certainly a challenging one to tackle without the plot becoming too bleak and depressing. However, the author does an excellent job of keeping her story light-hearted, even during the sadder moments, by maintaining a feeling of hopefulness throughout. Personally, as someone who has some experience working with elderly people, I have met several patients who, after a stay in hospital, have been sent (or should that be condemned?) to a home. It was fascinating to consider the other side of their stories. I think it's a sad truth that most people don't wish to end up in a care home when we're older, but unfortunately, a lot of us will. This story asks the reader to consider what we really want from our twilight years and how we would potentially react if our independence and privacy was stolen from us as it is from Hattie and Walter.

Despite being a touching story overall, I must admit that I did find some aspects of the plot slightly predictable, and therefore, they lost their emotional impact a little. I also wasn't sure if the clearly mentally capable Hattie and Walter could legally be forced to go into a nursing home if they can decide not to, which bothered me slightly. Regardless of the above, this was still a light-hearted, fun tale with some colourful characters and some quite poignant moments mixed into the humour. It was an enjoyable read by a talented author.

Daenerys

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of this book to review.

Miss Hattie Bloom, 89, has a bad fall that sees her spending time in Woodlands Nursing Home. Struggling to cope with the loss of her independence, she gazes out of her bedroom window each day, with its view of the carpark, as she yearns for escape, instead of watching the birdlife she so loves. Then, Hattie, an ornithological expert meets fellow resident, Walter Clements...

Joanna Nell's novel contains a poignant mix of warmth, humour and sadness, and this offering, The Great Escape from the Woodlands Nursing Home is a beautiful story. I loved spending time with Hattie Bloom and Walter Clements, two rich, amusing characters who touched my heart time and again. The assemblage of supporting colourful characters was equally delightful from Sister Bronwyn, and her elderly black Labrador, Queenie, the other Woodland Nursing Home ‘inmates’ to the staff and visitors. With its super plot-line, it was easy to cheer for the residents and their plight and the ending was quality! In short, a remarkable, emotional and immersive tale that had me both laughing and crying.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Set in Australia, elderly residents of the Woodlands nursing home are dissatisfied and some are plotting to leave.
A night time hobby club is set up for insomniacs and the home becomes a lot more bearable.
Plots and plans are drawn up for escapes with some hilarious consequences.
A heart warming story with a few sad and a few comical moments.
.For lovers of a man called Ove this wont disappoint.

This book is one of those books that you just have to read when you need a break from the real world.

It is light-hearted and humorous, but also filled with touching and heart-warming emotion.

Meeting these mischievous pensioners and laughing along with their antics brought welcome joy, and I was so captivated by the characters that I could almost feel their moments of sadness, right along with them.

Such an enjoyable read!

The World of Woodlands Nursing Home does not appear to be great at first sight.
This is a book about changing attitudes and how people are always people whatever their age.
I laughed, I cried and I loved the fact that a story about people towards the end of their life allowed them to be real, react and change to circumstance

This is a book about not writing people off.

This book started innocuously enough, and I knew I would like it. By the time I set the book aside, I also found myself wanting to give it a full five stars. It creeps up on you with all the 'feels'.
The story is based in a retirement home, the main protagonists being reluctant residents of the Woodlands Nursing home. The characters are of sound mind but not of the body, which has brought them all under one roof. First, we have Hattie who loves and understands birds but knows next to nothing about people. This is going to be her first lesson. Then, we have the man who is Walter, who is sure of his charm, but it is not helping him with anything. Until the very end, I could not be sure about the state of his marriage with his late wife, which I think felt very realistic in the time of frequent happily-ever-after books.
Hattie and Walter bond over a lot of smaller things as well as another resident's declining health, even if their first meeting happens disastrously. There are a lot of other issues bound into the narrative, along with showing how the lack of independence hinders their agendas regularly. It has its moments, but the realizations and how they change the course of action during the story endeared the book to me. It is ultimately a happy book with its own hidden nooks with jolts of reality which triggered the tears.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
A sweet yet hilarious read with funny and extremely relatable characters.
A good read.

I love an old person in a book, the grumpier the better and so I was eagerly awaiting this one from Joanna Nell after reading and loving The Last Voyage of Mrs Henry Parker.
This one was a dual narrative between Walter and Hattie, both staying for a short period in a nursing home to recover from ailments, both dream of getting out asap.
I found the start of this one slightly slower in pace and took a while for me to get used to the character quirks, but once we learn of the Night Owls, the late night club, I really started to enjoy my reading experience. I really loved the way that the author explored how the characters were not institutionalised to the way of the nursing home, how certain people understood their need to not have set times for day to day life. I enjoyed the snippets into the secondary characters life's and I would love some off shoot novellas for Sister Bronwyn and for Fanny Olsen.
The second half of the book was fabulous and I cannot wait to see what the next book will be.

Before lockdown I used to visit my mother at her care home, not just to see her but also to catch up with the other residents. In this past year I have missed seeing them immensely.
So how wonderful to find this book! It took me straight to my mother’s care home. Although set in Australia it seems all care homes are very similar, and there is probably a Walter and Hattie in every one: the friendships, the politics, the desire for freedom, for although Woodlands is not a prison, you can’t leave easily either. It’s therefore apt that Woodlands is compared to a monopoly board, the rooms are given names such as Kentish Town and Bond Street. Enjoy making your way around the board, but will you join Hattie and Walter in ‘jail’ or are you ‘just visiting?’
Loved it, highly recommend!