From the age of 8 Alice Kelly realises that she has a unique gift: she can visualise people's thoughts and emotions as colours surrounding them. She is not sure why she has this ability, but she suspects it is related to her mum Lily, who struggles with depression. Perhaps she has developed this as a coping mechanism so that she can read Lily's moods more effectively and protect her younger, more impressionable brother Ollie, so that the darkness doesn't rub off on him.

As she gets older Alice finds that although this gift is useful, it can also be ovewhelming as the colours dazzle, distract and worry her and she finds it hard to form relationships. Alice beomes withdrawn and isolated and her behaviour is a problem at school. We follow her journey as an adult - can she find a way to adapt, without being shunned as a freak?

This is a beautiful book, almost poetic, and the storyline is a really interesting  concept. I particularly like how Alice can read the feelings of plants and finds comfort from their positive energy - I suspect a  lot of houseplants would have a longer life if we all had this ability!

Since the age of eight Alice Kelly was able to know what others were feeling just by the colours surrounding them because she has synaesthesia, as a child she couldn't deal with it and was labelled a troublemaker, even being sent away to a school for unruly children, but over the years she has got used to being different, even using it at times to her advantage and for helping others.

In A Thousand Different Ways follows the story of Alice, who is clearly a misunderstood young girl, trying to deal with this special 'gift' and not really knowing why she is different to others. The story is told from Alice's perspective throughout and alternates between her childhood and life as an adult. It is an intriguing story with a unique plot and some interesting characters. I felt it was a long drawn out tale that came to life in the last few chapters, this made the rather poignant ending seem quite rushed.

I'd like to thank HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Alice sees everyone in colour . She knows what everyone is feeling and how these feelings affect everyone and everything around her. Sometimes this is pleasant but at other times it isn't. She comes from a dysfunctional family and is trying to find herself in the world.
Will she succeed and at what cost?

Alice Kelly sees colours, or auras, this alone causes her challenges however coupled with a turbulent childhood it is a tough for Alice.

The book follows Alice as she navigates through life, it’s a well written book (as you would expect from Cecelia Ahern) however personally I struggled to warm to Alice - I think that may be the point, I’m not sure!

The book did end well, all loose ends tied up but it was a struggle for me to get there!

Cecelia Ahern has stolen my heart with another wonderful book. The blurb doesn’t give much away so, to give this review a bit more context, the main premise is that at eight years old, Alice discovers can see a colourful aura for everyone she meets. This impacts the rest of her life, both negatively and positively.

Cecelia Ahern often injects more magical elements into her books. There was a time when I didn’t enjoy that and started to move away from her as an author. However, I really got back into her books in the last two years and now I love when she adds something like this. I feel like she has found the perfect balance between adding something unique to her stories and keeping the plot more realistic, for those who enjoy that angle more.

Speaking of unique, I found Alice to totally sit in this category. Of course, her ability makes her stand out from other characters but I also loved her journey from scared child, to navigating a challenging family, and finally making her own way in the world. To be honest, I didn’t think I would become so attached to her (or this book, for that matter), but I ended up feeling very emotional closing the last few chapters and saying goodbye to In A Thousand Different Ways. I’m a sucker for any character who is a bit different. I love finding flawed characters who make us feel we aren’t alone in the world.

This is rare for me to say but I think I would certainly read this again in the future. I also think it would be a great gift for someone looking for a little hope in their lives right now.

In a Thousand Different Ways by Cecilia Ahern is a character driven book that will tug at the heartstrings while completely engaging the reader.
Ever since she was ten, Alice knew that there was something different about her, she could see peoples emotions as colourful auras that surround them and if she is not careful she draws those emotions, be they positive or negative towards herself. This makes life very difficult, any situation involving crowds simply overwhelms her. Her negligent and abusive mother sees it as attention seeking , her father abandoned the family years ago and her little brother Oliver is too young to understand , only her older brother Hugh tries to understand and make things easier for her. Over the course of the book we move back and forward in time, seeing the struggles Alice faces while growing up, her difficult years acting as a full time carer for her mother and then her blossoming freedom as she moves away and finds a job she loves, a friend who can help her deal with her abilities and even a man who will love and understand her in a way she never even dreamed of. This is the beautiful story of an extraordinary and complicated woman's life, exquisitely told. I enjoyed the way the narration moved between the past and present, giving me as a reader a chance to better understand Alice. This is a gentle read in many ways, despite some difficult subject matter at times, and readers who enjoy fast paced action packed books may find that this is a little too slow for them, but if you love to sink into another life experience this will be perfect for you. I have read several of Ahern's books and this is my favourite to date.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher ,all opinions are my own,

A rainbow of emotions ★★★☆☆

After her difficult childhood becomes too much, Alice begins to sees people’s emotions in colour. Life as a synaesthetic empath is extremely overwhelming and Alice finds solace in cutting herself off from the world.

Seen as a freak by her neglectful mother and angry younger brother, Alice withdraws into herself and builds barriers between herself and others, some figurative and some physical – gloves, mask, sunglasses. Her only joy is nature.

Eventually Alice must choose between existing and living, and helped by friends, her older brother and a very unusual man Alice starts to see her curse may be a gift after all.

A very interesting idea which really captures Alice’s journey and those around her, particularly her mother. However there are big jumps in timeline and events which left me feeling out of sync.

I’m a massive fan of the author’s writing between 2008 and 2013 and admire her life-affirming and imaginative novels although that period is still my favourite.

In a Thousand different ways.
A wonderful, multifaceted read.
Alice has a gift, although she often sees it as a curse. She sees colours around and in people and all living beings. The colours all mean different things to her and the book is a learning curve of Alice’s journey through her tumultuous life with this wonderful gift.
Cecilia Aherne has taken from her learning of people who can see auras and produced this magical book, which I for one struggled to put down.
A must read for those who want a different, interesting and arresting read.

Amazing…. Couldn’t put it down. I’ve read most of Cecelia Ahern’s books, and she’s definitely got a winner with this one - her best yet. Top marks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alice is able to tell if a person is good or evil just by looking at them. She grew up in a dysfunction and neglectful home. Coming home meant thatl her anxieties would always be high, never knowing what mood her mum was going to be in. At the age of eight this develops into synaethesia, the ability to see people's auras, and so she is able to protect herself and her siblings from their mums monstrous auras seeping into them. Alice sees everyone's auras though, she can tell everyone's intentions just by looking, and so her life turns into one of shielding herself away from people, preventing their negativity from infecting her, she lives a lonely and isolated life, until she she stops seeing her abilities as a curse, and realises she has a gift...
A fascinating tale.

Ahern is officially one of my favourite authors. She cannot put a foot wrong and continues to astound and amaze me with her fresh ideas, novel slant and liquid writing style. (I loved Freckles too, among many others!).

This one is about Alice, who has the gift and the curse of being able to see peoples moods (or auras) as colours. Blue for sad, pink for happy, gold for purity, metallic for sin. This can be overwhelming for a child, and we follow her journey as she learns to adjust, harness and finally embrace this ability. Her gift clearly overloads her senses and results in terrible migraines, which cause her to withdraw from the world and her toxic home life. But she manages to find support in her older brother, a teacher, a new friend, a new neighbour.

There are so many little twists and turns, that occur so naturally that its hard to break the story into pieces. The magic of the story is how Ahern is able to take complex, spiritual ideology, attach it to a character and make it feel real and tangible, and unfold at just the perfect pace. She is a master of her craft, and I read this with continual awe. She kept me captivated with every word.

She has a real gift as a story teller, and she charms me every time. Her style is so organic, and her flow so easy that even the absence of chapters felt justified. She injects light and hope in her writing, even when the topics are heavy and complex. I'm not sure I love the title, but who cares, the story was magical. Sign me up for her next book - I don't care what its about :-)

You know when you read a book and you just think that the author cannot top it because it’s just so brilliant? Well that’s how I feel about P.S I Love You but then I read this book and oh wow. This was so beautifully written and Alice is such an amazing character. I loved the storyline and the subject matter.

Alice sees the good and bad in everyone, their emotions, their feelings and she sees this every day. She can’t escape it. But it’s the darkness she sees around people that she struggles with because she can’t get it out of her head. It consumes her whole being. Alice can decide if she likes a person and wants to stay around them instantly. She is like others who have to get to know someone to know the real person. Alice can tell by looking at them.

I just cannot recommend this book enough. Truly this has become one of my utmost favourite books that I have ever read.

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Disclaimer - I received a free digital download of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, just wow. It’s been quite a while since a book brought me to tears, let alone left me with an ache in my heart and tears of joy tracing my cheeks. This book was an unforgettable sojourn into the very depth of human emotions and dynamic characters. I think I may carry Alice and Lilly in my heart for a long time to come.
I was utterly absorbed from the onset and that hold hasn’t left me even though I’ve turned the last electronic page. A beautiful and despairing story that really made me reflect on moments from my own life and present interactions through a coloured magnifying glass.
I related to so much of the story and learnt so much. I think this is my favourite read of 2023, maybe even the last several years. Definitely recommend!

I’d like to thank HarperCollins UK, HarperCollins Fiction and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘In A Thousand Different Ways’ by Cecilia Ahern in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This is the story of Alice at the age of eight who can see people in colours that can tell their moods, both good and bad. Alice and her two brothers manage as best they can with their dysfunctional mother Lily, their father long gone. Now grown up, her older brother Hugh is working in Doha while the youngest, Ollie, is in prison so Alice has no choice but to put her own life on hold and become her mother’s carer, all the time desperate to get away.

Cecelia Ahern is the author of many excellent novels and ‘In a Thousand Different Ways’ is completely different to the others, intriguing, with a pretty good story, interesting characters and a unique plot. At the beginning I found it difficult to get into as it was very much colour-driven but then as the story progressed I started feeling involved with Alice as a person and sorry that she was tied to being the carer of a mother who’s never loved her. This is an entertaining and well-crafted novel and although it’s not my favourite it’s definitely different and well worth spending the time reading.

Alice is different. She can read human emotions that manifest in different colours that only she can see. From a difficult upbringing, Alice navigates life with her skill as her guide, with it being both a blessing and a curse.

I think Alice being the only one to see the auras/colours is a clever and unique idea. I felt for Alice and enjoyed seeing her develop as a character. I struggled with the structure of the book and found it sometimes confusing as I found it moved around time and space with little indication. I was also uncertain about the sudden changing in the pace of the book and was disappointed with some characters seeming to be forgotten about as a result. However, I’m glad I stuck with it, as Cecelia Ahern skilfully weaves the narrative and imagery together for an emotional and beautiful ending.

I was absolutely thrilled to be able to read this one now. As soon as I started reading I was hooked. I am instantly walking alongside Alice and seeing all the colours she is seeing, and experiencing all the feelings and emotions she is feeling. The story takes us all the way through Alice's life, and it is so beautifully written. So much love, loss, sadness and happiness. Its got it all. The ending bought tears to my eyes. Really lovely original story. Thank you

Such a lovely insightful book. I did struggle a little with the structure of it, each section/chapter was quite long and at times it moved time period very suddenly in the middle of them which took some getting used to. However once I got into it it was a really beautiful story and very insightful about how we perceive people.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I have great admiration for Cecelia Ahern and her wacky ideas, which more often than not lead to highly original and compelling stories. When I read the blurb on this book and considered the subject of synesthesia it seemed fascinating, so I was hoping for another genius level story; and whilst the idea is original, I didn't feel the magic and would say it's not on par with some of her other 5* reads. It is an OK read, but I would have liked Alice to do something more phenomenal with her gift, rather than living a rather humdrum life. In terms of the storytelling itself, it felt a little clinical and I didn't particularly connect with Alice as a character.

Cecelia Ahern is one of my favorite Authors, so I was desperate to get a copy of her latest book - and whilst it didn't quite live up to my high expectations of this Author, I am eternally grateful to NetGallery and HarperCollins UK for allowing me to get a copy of the book, which is out on 13th April 2023.

I love Cecilia Ahern’s writing and her character of Alice was interesting and intriguing. She has a condition called synaesthesia, which means she sees and feel in colours and this allows her to have an insight into the thoughts and personalities of others when seeing their aura. This plot line might not have appealed to me normally as I wouldn’t be initially drawn to this style of book but I’m so glad I stuck with it as I really enjoyed it! I was really invested in the Alice and couldn’t wait to find out what happened to her next. Beautiful book!

This is the story of Alice. She has the ability to see people’s auras. This ability/condition affects her every single day in both positive and negative ways. This story follows Alice through her life and how the vision of colours impacts her life.

I have Ben a big fan of Cecilia’s books for many years but I really didn’t enjoy this one very much. The story seems to jump around too much. She will be in her house one minute and in the next sentence she is somewhere else. In ,y opinion there is no real point to the story. I expected Alice to use her abilities to help people or something along those lines. Although she does help people it is more through incident than intention.