'I have had a life-long relationship with colours. Enduring them, accepting them, surrendering to them.'

Alice realised at 8 years of age that she could see the colours of people's moods swirling around them, changing with their thoughts and desires; manifesting their actions. Bewildered by her curse (or is it a gift?), it causes her to be distracted, distant, and different, as others' auras reach out and attempt to affect and influence her too. She must even deflect people's happiness because, 'you shouldn't steal someone else's happiness. You have to make your own.' Alice needs to find a way to live with herself and live her life, in spite of the colourful insights she sees, 'wondering why it is that I see every part of everyone and most of them never see me at all.' This book is her journey: hiding, deflecting and manipulating and finally accepting: her differences become her strength.

This book is special. Cecelia Ahern writes in such a descriptive and evocative way. The feelings and moods she describes are visceral. Beyond that, the reader is presented with a unique premise with which to digest not only human behaviour but mental health. I loved reading about Alice's journey and was captivated by her colourful insights into the people she met. 'One by one and all at once, I have seen and felt, All the colours of living.' I highly recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was absolutely compelling, Alice is probably one of my favourite characters so far this year. Written with empathy, she is so strong even at her weakest moments. A wonderful insight into the struggles of trying to fit in to a world that challenges in ways most of us can only imagine. One of the author’s best books!

I really loved this book. The main character was really interesting and seeing her learn to grow and use her gift really drew me in. I enjoyed this story a lot.

This was an incredible book. It wasn’t one I would normally rush to start reading but the concept and style of writing had me hooked from the beginning. Alice, despite her unusual gift felt so relatable and the idea of people giving off colours seemed totally believable. All of the characters and the settings were beautifully written and Alice’s journey through the book was filled with real lows. The descriptions of the colours related to a persons mood or character must have taken a lot of thought and connected up different elements of the story well. I’ve already recommended this to my husband, which I don’t often do. A joy to read and I’m sad it’s finished!

In a Thousand Different Ways by Cecelia Ahern is a story about a young woman who has ‘Synaesthesia,’ which means that Alice sees the best and the worst in people. She sees and feels a thousand different emotions every day.
She sees everyone in colours by their auras, the gold, the black and all the colours in between. It makes her life harder that people could ever imagine.
When she is older and left home after being her mother’s carer, she lives in London and her neighbour helps her to live with the condition.
She then meets a young man who has no colours and no auras, she then searches for him again, knowing he will be important in her life. She has met the man she will marry and have three children with.
The storyline is interesting and reminded me of a book called’ The Colour of Bee Larham’s Murder’ by Sarah J Harris,where the young boy has this condition.
Highly recommended

This book feels drawn out and yet correct.. its a strange thing to think about.
This story has so many layers like an onion..
if you have any triggers go away as this was has a HUGE focus on child neglect/abuse.
it rips your heart out, then mends it and then crushes it all with the colors that surround people.
I think it was a refreshing way to tell a story.

It is quite difficult to review this book as it falls, for me, into many genres. The basic premise is that Alice can see people’s auras/colours. Despite this the author doesn’t writ in a complete fantasy way, she writes as if this is a common occurrence. Alice tries to keep people at bay and avoids touching them as she does not want to absorb any of their negative colours, including her mother’s and younger brother’s.

The story takes us through Alice’s life and shows how she deals with this “gift” and what happens when she meets someone with no colours and how that relationship develops.

Despite the somewhat strange subject, I really enjoyed this book.

This is a beautifully written and detailed book. Based on such a different subject but thoughtfully and effectively delivered. The depth of the characters and the story is fantastic and the overall effect is a very enjoyable book that I will definitely recommend.

I loved this book. I really enjoyed getting to know Alice and seeing life through her eyes. I felt quite bereft when I had finished and am taking time to process it before I start my next book!

Alice sees people’s emotions as colours - her gift developed through learning to interpret her mother’s moods and emotions. Her gift led her to being deemed a troublemaker at school and being sent to a specialist boarding school. She had to look after her mother who suffered from cancer and ended up in a wheelchair. Once her younger brother left prison he took over the caring responsibilities and Alice was given the opportunity to decide what she wanted to do with her life.

She left for London, found a flat and ended up working in a nursery. Eventually she met her husband - with no colours - who she has to learn to read.

A fascinating story - I felt for her and the pressures of such a gift.

A book I have already recommended!

The best book I have read in a long time. I was engrossed from page one. I absolutely couldn’t put this down and ( sadly ) finished it in 3 days. This was a book I wish would never have ended. The story telling was fabulous and Alice is a character that’ll stay with me for a long time. I will buy this in physical copy and recommend to everyone. Thank you

Absolutely beautiful story, it sucked me in with the wonderful characters. I wanted to nurture and protect poor little Alice with her not so magical powers and her brothers, I was initially concerned there was so much sadness and neglect, but pleased to see chinks of light and love. I enjoyed Alice’s school days, her friends and the lessons - and how she found her way!
Later in life I especially loved how she overcame her adversities, through the help of a friend, hearing about her jobs, and willing her to find her passion. And then there was love, I liked how Andy was normal, not a hero - a real person, with emotions, sarcasm and anger! And watching their relationship grow…. A stunning read with a proper ending and one I’d happily read again!

I have read several books from Cecelia Ahern previously, which I adored and I was excited to read this one.
Alice Kelly is eight years old when she discovers that she has a gift. She can read people or plants by their colours or ‘auras’ if you will. She can sense if they are good and bad or in pain. When she perceives these colours, she has migraines. So, she walks around wearing glasses and she wears gloves as she doesn’t like to be touched. As if she touches people, they could pass her their colours.
The only person in her family that understands is her older brother Hugo. Her mother Lily and her younger brother Ollie thinks she’s weird. Her brother Hugo goes away to live in Doha and she is left to look after her mother Lily. Her brother Ollie grows up and ends up in prison.
Thank you Harper Collins for a copy of ‘In a thousand different ways’ This is another beautifully written and emotional story from the author. At first, for me personally I found the story to be a bit rushed at the start until Alice became an adult. But then the story turned out to be very thought-provoking story that will resonate me for quite a while. 4 stars from me.

It is really hard to decide how to begin a review of this book. Alice is a disturbed child from a dysfunctional family so it seems a very unpromising start. Indeed there is a fair degree of sadness and confusion. The condition of synesthesia is not highlighted very often, so there was much I needed to be informed about. The descriptions of Alice's emotions as a result of her 'condition', for want of a better phrase, are so deep and moving. How little we all know about those with special 'gifts' or differences is brought to us in great detail with empathy. I enjoyed the book and the characters are well drawn. I did feel it was sometimes difficult to time shift in the narrative as there was no warning of flashback paragraphs, but on the whole this emphasised the challenging journey Alice had to take to adult life. A clever and well-written story.

Most of us see life through colour and think nothing of it, but for Alice it affects her every pore. Alice has synaesthesia and this heightens her senses around people causing migraines. But Alice doesn't know this is what she has and this causes her to be sent to a special school as she's classd as a troublemaker. The story follows her throughout her life.
I found this a strange read although I was interested in Alice's story and the descriptions of how she saw colours for people I found it quite slow in places but then felt the ending was rushed. We had about 40 years plus of Alice's life in one chapter. However it was nice to read another Cecilia Ahern book again as it has been a while

I have been reading Cecelia's books for like 15 years and all of them are magical in their unique way. This one in particular I feel is her best yet, mainly because it steps away a little bit from her usual romance type of book. I loved the concept of the colors and the character development, Alice gets to be her own person and I think everything was treated sympathetically. . For me it was very relatable. The main downside for me was how it connected all together, like something was missing. A great read!

Another amazing book from Cecelia. I never need to read the blurb of her books I just instantly know I’m going to fall in love with it,
This was certainly the case as I got totally absorbed in Alice’s life story.

From a young child, Alice has seen “colours” when she looks at people. These colours tell her what the person’s mood is, their intentions and their character. Not the blessing it would appear, the gift often gets Alice in to trouble and marks her out as different, odd or just plain naughty.

The premise of this book was really good and the “gift” a great subject. Sadly the storytelling let it down. A collection of events with little flow, statements rather than stories, made up the book, and were haphazardly connected. If it was the quality of the arc I received, then my apologies to the author, but there was little cohesion, with paragraphs jumping all over the timeline. The final chapter, written at super fast speed in comparison to the rest of the book, was maudlin and very twee.

I have read this author in the past and enjoyed her books. Unfortunately this was not one of her best and not for me.

Thank you NetGalley.

Brilliant book. Absolutely love Cecelia ahern books. Fantastic as always. Well written and a real page turner

Alice has seen peoples 'colours' since she was a young child. Each person she encounters emits a colour - her mum - always red - angry and unstable. Her youngest brother absorbs his mums colours matching her mood, her elder brother Hugh has his own colours - calmer, stable.
Alice doesn't know how to deal with her colours and people don't know how to deal with Alice until she is sent to a school for children with behavioural issues - her she meets Gospel, who is battling Tourettes.
Alice moves through her teens and into her young adult hood, her youngest brother is incarcerated, eldest brother moves to Doha and get married and mum battles cancer - Alice becoming her carer.
Later on on life, Alice find love with the only person who doesn't have a 'colour.'. Their journey is of love and discovery.

The novel seems a step away from Ahern's usual love story, but it's an absorbing read.

Good Read 🌈

Following the life of Alice Kelly, living with the ability to see every emotion of others whether she likes it or not. Many people finding her strange, including some family members. For one reason or another, Alice has a difficult family life, having this gift, making it all the more challenging.


Not necessarily what I expected it to be, but a definite should read, especially for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.