I do not thin it was my time to read this book: I put it away for now and I will be coming back to this once in the mood for that genre.

This book had a good plot but I felt like it rambled a bit in the beginning and it was only until the middle when she finally went back in time and even then the ending was a bit rushed. Maybe it just wasn't my sort of book.

Cute but didn’t do much for me. I liked the 70s nostalgia but some of the aspects were too much if a stretch to believe (like for the fur who time travelled from 2021 how would an iPhone work in the 70s?!?!?) fairly likeable characters but forgettable. Not terrible just not for me.

Excellent work from Jenny Eclair, perfect summer read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

An endearing young adult novel about finding friendship in the most unlikely places.

In 1975, Helena loves boys, Marc Bolan and David Bowie. She is facing a summer alone after her friends go on holiday without her. As a treat she is allowed to redecorate her bedroom, and decides to write a message beneath her new purple wallpaper.

In 2021, Hermione has just moved with her mum to live with Paul, her mum’s new boyfriend. Bored and far away from her friends, Paul says she can decorate her room, where she finds a message from 1975..

What follows is a time-travelling adventure which sees Hermione end up in 1975. She must be there for a reason. Will she find out why she is there, and fix things before it is too late?

A relatable story about teenage girls growing up. Fancying boys, family strains and changing friendships; despite changing fashions and new technology, the perils of growing older stay fairly unaltered.

Helena is a funny and feisty character, yet naïve when it comes to to relationships with boys and issues of consent. Her going to an all girls schools means boys are alien to her.

The difference in time is clearly highlighted when Helena laughs off pervy male attention, whilst the modern Hermione fights back with anger.

Hermione is more street smart, with what seems like an older head on her shoulders. Do modern teens grow up faster than in previous generations? It does seem that way. The world is at their fingertips in an instant, and although social media can be divisive, it certainly gives young people a voice and the need to be both seen and heard.

I enjoyed this book, and found both lead girls endearing; I grew fond of them both over the course of the story.

The added element of peril truly gripped me and I was hoping for a happy ending throughout. I’d have loved to see Hermione and Helena meet again in 2021, but can understand and appreciate the ending as it stands.

An approachable and relatable young adult novel that teen girls (and maybe their mums and nans) may also appreciate and enjoy!

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

2.5 stars.

My initial interest in this book was piqued by the author herself being local (or formerly local?) to the area of London I live in - I was curious to see if her YA offering had any local interest, since there is such a density of secondary schools in this part of the city. It does, just a little, but most of this book is set in t’ North, where our Londoner protagonist, Hermione, is forced to move when her mother takes up with a new beau. When the new boyfriend, as an olive branch, encourages Hermione to redecorate her room, she discovers a message from a girl named Helena, to whom the room belonged in the mid-seventies.

What follows is a lengthy passage (I think it takes up roughly a third of the book?) from the perspective of said girl, Helena. Helena is a sort of Georgia Nicholson type - in fact, the resemblance is quite uncanny, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find that it’s a conscious homage to Rennison’s work. Helena’s a teenager who’s flaws manifest in predictable ways - her friends are too childish, so she treats them with disdain, abandoning them for the cool kids and the attention of a boy, any boy. Her parents are even disappointed when she lifts a box of Milk Tray from the local off license, and receives a tepid school report. So, as Helena’s segment ends the reader is left wondering how she is finally going to realise her behaviour is shallow and make amends with the people she truly loves.

Instead, we get a strange time travel narrative where Hermione goes back in time and befriends Helena, becoming the summer friend she wants, though I am not convinced that she is the friend Helena truly needs. They go on a few excursions mostly of the “Ooh wasn’t the past strange and alien” variety, with Hermione being the shining beacon of the feminist movement and sexual liberation. Helena finally gets the summer she wants with a cool friend and the conviction that she can get the guy.


However, it feels like nothing is seen through to its satisfying conclusion, as if Eclair has tried to do the working out to fashion a satisfying twist or resolution, but when it came to writing it simply couldn’t bring herself to do it, for whatever reason. The ending falls entirely flat, with us not fully understanding what Hermione learned from the experience.

This just didn’t quite do it for me. It’s not badly written and is extremely readable - I managed the lion’s share in one day. I’m just not sure this will play as well with teenagers as it will with their parents, with the nostalgia factor promising rapidly diminishing returns.

*n.b. I almost took a whole star clean off this book for use of the expression “front bottom” to describe the vulva. No fifteen year old has ever.

A heart warming, feel good read. Classic YA style with a time travel twist. This would be a very quick and easy read for anyone who wants out of a reading slump.

I really enjoyed this! A warm, heartfelt YA with a time travel twist, The Writing on the Wall has a unique premise, and kept me reading with its likeable, sensitively rendered characters. This is a love song to growing up and girlhood, and I loved the parallels that Eclair drew between the two timelines. Both characters were great role models for her teenage readers, and I know that my pupils will love this feel good novel.

Great story combing past and present
Summer 1975: Helena is bored out of her mind - there's absolutely nothing to do and her supposed "best friends" Gwen and Elaine are holidaying in the South of France without her. The only saving grace is that she's allowed to re-decorate her room - bring on the purple floral wallpaper.

Summer 2021: New to the north, Hermione's mum has moved her away from London and all her friends to start a new life with new boyfriend Paul, who resembles a slab of meat from the butchers. Just as well she can paint over that hideous wallpaper in her new room.

By some miracle, the girls meet. When Hermione discovers Helena's writing under the wallpaper - she's transported back to Summer 1975 and the two instantly hit it off. But after dancing to the juke box at the infamous Blue Monkey café, and meeting Helena's multiple crushes, Hermione discovers a truth about Helena's future which suggests she is in great danger...

The Writing on the Wall is something very different from Jenny Eclair's previous books. Obviously aimed at a different audience.
This is a tale involving time travel with a twist.
A lovely feel good read that had me smiling at the end.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for leaving honest feedback.

The concept of this book was fab, but I didn't enjoy the story overall. The language for the older character felt too modern.
The time travel was exciting and I felt like this had so much more potential to be a huge hit.
The cover was exciting and thats what initially caught my eye as well as the premise.
Not sure if this is YA maybe more for an older audience but could be a bit of both.

Hermione finds she has gone back in time and meets Helena, who becomes her best friend. Everything seems really quaint in 1975 and she is really enjoying it until she gets some bad news.
They say forewarned I’d for armed so can she prevent a disaster?

I just loved both the main characters and found myself getting really tense as the end of the story was approaching. Then ended up with tears in my eyes when it did.

I look forward to reading more by this author, who I had only known previously as a comedian.

Summer 1975: Helena is bored out of her mind – there’s absolutely nothing to do and her supposed “best friends” Gwen and Elaine are holidaying in the South of France without her. The only saving grace is that she’s allowed to re-decorate her room – bring on the purple floral wallpaper.

Summer 2021: New to the north, Hermione’s mum has moved her away from London and all her friends to start a new life with new boyfriend Paul, who resembles a slab of meat from the butchers. Just as well she can paint over that hideous wallpaper in her new room.

By some miracle, the girls meet. When Hermione discovers Helena’s writing under the wallpaper – she’s transported back to Summer 1975 and the two instantly hit it off. But after dancing to the juke box at the infamous Blue Monkey café, and meeting Helena’s multiple crushes, Hermione discovers a truth about Helena’s future which suggests she is in great danger.

Hermione found the writing on the wall. But can she save Helena?

I am a huge fan of Jenny Eclair's work and The Writing on the Wall did not disappoint. Firstly, this is a teenage 'coming of age' story, Eclair captures the highs and dramas of teenage life whether that is in 1975 or 2021. Then comes the story of best friends brought together by fate and the bond they form over a summer break, both providing a vital part of the friendship that up until this point was missing from their life.

Naturally, this story is hilariously funny and Eclair masters the one liners and historical references perfectly. There isn't a big climax or a major plot twist that kept me turning the pages, however there is a relatability that kept the story real.

Jenny Eclair said "This book is for anyone with a heartbeat" and this is so true, we can all relate to a part of this story and it provides a much need escapism.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Kids for the chance to review.

I'm sorry, I just couldn't finish this book. I got to page 22 and had to put it down. It's all stream of consciousness. If was stream of consciousness and interesting, maybe I could do it. But it's not very interesting either. In 22 pages I am introduced to both main characters and there's only a few lines of dialogue and I don't really count them because they're not a conversation, they're just "and then mom said 'blah blah' and I now this is..." or something like that. 

The language is questionable. The 2021 character uses a lot of terms that will probably be outdated by next year. The older character uses lots of words and phrases that also seem far too modern for her. Overall, one will be incomprehensible soon and the other will keep being anachronistic. It also reads a little bit like a creative writing class assignment; something you have to do and want to show off with but don't really care about.

The concept is nice enough and the cover is fun, but I couldn't keep reading to find out if there was anything else to it. It reads like the very long diary entry of a very annoying child. Which in YA can be fine...maybe not this time though. I really wanted to like this, especially since there's another book I read as a kid that had a similar plot (can't remember the title anymore) and I also really like The Yellow Wallpaper. Hopefully children will still enjoy this.

DNF @ 43%

I don't think I was the right target audience for this book. For me, the characters seemed quite needy and self-absorbed but I feel like that's how teenage girls can come across to adults. The actual plot sounded interesting though, I just couldn't get past the characters attitudes.

I imagine this would be better enjoyed by tweens/teenagers rather than young adults.

Thank you to the publisher for the oportunity to read this book.

The Writing on the Wall is a sweet, feel-good YA with a time-travel twist. Friendship is at the heart of this story, and Eclair really manages to capture the essence of teenage girlhood. Hermione and Helena are well-balanced protagonists and I instantly warmed to both of them: Helena's naive enthusiasm is infectious, and Hermione's the kind of best friend everyone wants.

The ending felt a little rushed, but it didn't stop this from being one of those books that left a big smile on my face.

I was surprised by how sweet this time travel book was.

A younger teen is moved away from London to the countryside as her mum has a new boyfriend. She is able to time travel to when her mum was a kid this means that they build a friendship and understanding.

I really enjoyed this one. Exactly the sort of YA novel I really like with an intriguing storyline and a bit of history included. I didn't want it to end.