I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a good book but the way it was written took me a while to get into it. I did finish it but it was nothing to rave or recommend.

When I read that this was a Sliding Doors type novel, I was almost expecting an upbeat, quirky romcom which was very foolish of me! Catherine Gray has already written a series of compelling non-fiction books about the dark places she's been to - her experiences of alcoholism, of loneliness, of looking for love and all that experience is folded beautifully into this alternate-reality story.

In one universe, Fern stays in America with her loving but chaotically alcoholic father. In another, she flies back to London to live with her chilly, privileged and perfectionist mother. This is where the stories diverge in wildly different ways, exploring how the events in our lives make us into who we are, and taking both characters through some tough times. And Fern's parents have an event like this too - a secret which propelled them both into their own mixed-up lives, and which Fern must uncover to find her own happiness.

Catherine Grey is a gifted writer and storyteller and I can't wait to see what she does next.

This has a very interesting concept. Fern has a choice to make - should she stay with her mother or return to her father? Then we follow the consequences of both decisions, and Fern becomes Flick when with her mother. The underlying mystery of what happened to Uncle Rory is solved in both timelines. The character development is excellent and the plot is well- structured.

A convoluted mix of an unresolved murder, disastrous life choices leading to addictions and self sabotage, all told from two versions of the girl that was at the centre of it all. None of the characters are particularly likeable and the story does seem to get lost at times. However you do read on through this just wanting to see how it will all tie together in the end.

I adored this novel! It follows a young woman who until she was seven her story is linear but then at the point she is seven we then see a split where it follows two timelines of her life. It's easy to follow the timelines as in one she is Fern and the other she is Flick. We see how her life plays out in each timeline - with the happiness and heartbreak in each. I like how both times had their difficulties and complications - it wasn't that she would have been happier had life gone one way rather than the other; we simply see what could have been. The reader seeing both lines gets to know more about her than she knows which makes it fascinating. I loved Fern/Flick and was rooting for her to find happiness and a settled life throughout. This was such a good read that is staying with me, I keep wondering about her and what she's doing now - always the mark of a great novel. I highly recommend this one, I loved it!

I enjoyed this, it really reminded me of IN AT THE DEEP END by Kate Davies, which I also loved, will look out for Gray's next novel!

An unusual family drama, set in Ireland, London and the US. Heavy drinking and drugs causing all sorts of problems for the various family members, to the extent one in particular went into rehab. The daughter around which the story is based, was illegitimate , born to a best friend who asked her friend to take the child to a hospital and get her adopted. The friend kept the baby, married the father of the child, pretending that the child was theirs after a one night stand. Though Imogen only wanted to marry the father for her own gain, the daughter was just a tool in the plot. Hence she was a lousy mother and in the end the father ran off to the States thinking that his daughter had killed his brother - an accident that would look like he did it,
The second half of the book divides, which to be honest I don't think worked, one story continues with the daughter staying in the States and eventually sobering up by herself. The other half of the story has the daughter returning to live with her "mother", becoming a successful ballerina, only to seep into the depths of drug and alcohol addiction. This part of the book was difficult to follow, and I'm not sure what the author was trying to achieve as the two endings were not so far apart.

I've read a number of Catherine's nonfiction books and really enjoyed her writing style so I was excited to get access to her fiction debut. I enjoyed the alternate lifelines theme and I found that the story developed well.

Absolutely loved this book! It’s an emotional novel that packs a punch and I couldn’t put it down, especially once I learned the twist -- it absolutely had me hooked and I was so intrigued the more I read. A reflective piece of writing, I found Gray’s writing beautiful and it absolutely pulled me in, between the plot and the twist, the characters, the emotionally charged themes and the writing, this was an absolute pleasure to read and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction.

I haven’t read anything else by Catherine Gray but this novel will definitely have me looking into her past works because her writing is lovely and so enjoyable to read.

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

Versions of a Girl is a superb novel. Beautifully written, highly insightful and, well, USEFUL!

There are two timelines, where we follow the same girl through two different potential life paths. The backdrop to both lives is roughly the same: she has the same parents but at age seven, the novel splits, showing how her life would be lived out in parallel ‘universes’. One life takes place mostly in London and the other in the US.

It's actually very easy to follow the two timelines because the girl has different names in each life (Fern/Flick), and both her character and personality evolve differently. She’s the same person but – nature/nurture – she grows up under different circumstances that mould and shape who she becomes.

Versions of a Girl is extremely insightful, showing the [potential] lifelong impacts of events such as trauma, dysfunctional parenting, attachment wounds and addiction. The psychology is not facile; Fern/Flick’s experiences and relationships don’t necessarily have outcomes that one might expect. And the characters are not cardboard cutouts, but complex and multifaceted.

From the description of the book I was expecting quite a bit of drama and an interesting story. And it met those expectations. I wasn't expecting it to be so moving and even profound in parts. I wasn't expecting such amazing writing.

Catherine Gray has written some very popular books about addiction/sobriety, which is a topic close to my heart (alcohol played a big role in my own family history, and I’ve been sober since 2006). This theme is central to the narrative of Versions of a Girl, which shows the plain awfulness of addiction and what it does to individuals and their families. But it's also about sobriety and the joy of sobriety. In this respect, Versions of a Girl is a very successful melding of Grays’ non-fiction writing into a fictional context.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who might be interested in reading about addiction and sobriety, trauma and PTSD, family dynamics, etc. Or who might enjoy reflecting on the forks in the path of life. Do we become who we are because of our past or in spite of it?

My thanks to the publisher, author (@unexpectedjoyof) and @NetGalley_UK for providing an ARC. All my reviews are 100% honest and unbiased, regardless of how I acquire the book.

#NetGalley #NetGalley_UK #bookreview #VersionsOfAGirl #CatherineGray

Versions of a Girl by Catherine Gray is a story of multiple narratives, not least family division addiction and the impact on a child over dual timelines across two contents

Fern's parents cannot be more different. Her mother is a social climber, her father a genius battling with alcoholism. Her mother was a ballerina, living in London Luxury, her father motel-hops in California. Despite sharing her time equally, a series of events give Fern the most difficult of dilemma's; does she stay with her dad in California or go back home?

Multi-faceted, mysterious and intriguing, an awesome novel

Thank you to NetGalley, Headline | Mountain Leopard Press for this ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

I was very keen to read Catherine Grays debut fiction book & I really wanted to love it but it fell a bit short for me. The story arc was interesting and some of the characters were developed well & the outcome was good.

(3.5)
I wasn't a big fan of how the book was written with a non linear narrative, but I found the story very captivating and hard hitting. Fern/Flick's problem with her parents and past trauma and how she dealt with it exactly unhealthily was interesting to read about

This novel is both emotionally intense and thought-provoking, particularly for those familiar with the impact of addiction. What sets it apart is an unexpected mystery element that keeps you engaged, adding depth to the narrative. While the dual timelines can be a bit confusing at times, the story’s emotional resonance and the character’s growth make it well worth the effort. It’s a truly impressive fiction debut that leaves you with a sense of hope amidst the devastation.

I read this quickly because I couldn't put it down. The book follows a split storyline that hinges on a key decision when Fern is 14 - whether she is brought up by her mother in the UK or her father in America. I loved how Fern couldn't escape her demons in either timeline, but her personality is shaped by her upbringing and conditioning. So many flawed characters doing their best to get through life, shaped by their own demons and influencing the world in different ways. Lots to contemplate - what really shapes us, the impact of our memories, the affect of toxic relationships and that support is crucial but its up to the individual to want to be saved. I enjoyed the modern style and found the whole premise thought provoking.

I did enjoy the principle of this book and the different sides to it. The journey the book takes you on I feel different readers will take away different parts of it.

Thank you for the publisher to giving me the arc in exchange for an honest review!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one, this is my first time reading from Catherine Gray, and start to finish this was a great experience. I was intrigued from the first page and had a great time reading the story.

MANY TERMS have entered the popular lexicon that you wouldn’t necessarily think were new, or come from pop culture. Got a bucket list? The concept has been there forever but the phrase is derived from the 2007 movie The Bucket List.

Have an impossible decision to make between two things of equal import? You may be making a Sophie’s Choice, from William Styron's 1979 novel (or the 1982 film adaptation starring Meryl Streep).

Sliding Doors is a 1998 romantic comedy, and its title has become a handy shorthand for a particular kind of event. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, we’ve all had a Sliding Doors moment – that split second decision to do or not do something, or that moment that decides whether you’re catching that bus or plane or break or not.
In Versions of a Girl we meet Fern, a fourteen year old girl who lives with her father in a motel in God Knows Where, California. He’s an alcoholic musician who can barely look after himself, she’s fierce and feisty, a self educated fireball who is best friends with a middle aged motel manager and a local jock named Buck.

Fern and Ciaran have moved from place to place ever since arriving from Ireland four or so years before. Ciaran is an untrustworthy charmer with hidden depths and a good reason why he skips town every time an A&R man shows interest in signing him to a label.

When they are tracked down by a man hired by someone from their past with a mysterious proposition it is time for Fern to make a life changing choice. The direction she goes in will alter her life forever, will be the difference between scraping by or wanting for nothing, living life on her own terms or feeling indebted forever. A split is made in the narrative, so we get to see what happens either way, culminating in another big decision in her 30s.

It's an imaginative story, or stories, examining how these choices shape us. It’s easy to keep track of the two strands – the Fern who remains in America is scrappy and determined, the Fern who relocates to London is renamed Flick and is beaten down to become a people pleaser whose anti establishment instincts manifest in secretive, self destructive ways.
It becomes clear that her big decisions have a profound effect on not only her, but those closest to her; her parents. If the story examines nature versus nurture of a child, it also applies to the adults. While Ciaran features peripherally as quite a bad father who does his best, Fern’s mother Imo is given some of her own chapters to round out the past.
She’s a failed dancer and daughter of wealthy, consistently absent parents, and lacks a multitude of positive character traits like empathy, loyalty and self-awareness. Her child has always been a means to an end; to ensnare a reluctant Ciaran, to use as an accessory, to deliver clout in her well heeled circle.
Ciaran is only seen through other’s eyes, one inconsistency amongst a few, including slightly erratic pacing and tone. To span the number of years covered it’s necessary, of course, to speed up proceedings and check in on pivotal moments in time, but more time is given to less interesting events, giving the impression that there was a lot of difficult darling killing going on in the editing process.
What's more, there is a mystery to get to the bottom of. When Imo gives up her rights to Fern, Ciaran moves his young child into his vast family home in the Northern Irish countryside. His brother lives there too, a man used to getting his way, a man who everyone knows to keep a wide berth of if he's been drinking.
One winter night he's found dead under suspicious circumstances and Ciaran, knowing he'll be the number one suspect, goes on the run. It’s the incident on which much of the story is hinged, yet by going back further into the story of Fern, it's possible to posit that it all starts even before she's born.
From predeterminism to the influences of genetics and environment, inherited characteristics good and bad, outside influences on choices, there's plenty to digest in Versions of a Girl. Following Fern/Flick’s journey is both frustrating and satisfying, and overall it's a solid read of self discovery and realisation.

I enjoyed this and it was quite a surprise where it headed. It was an interesting and original storyline and it kept me interested right to the very end.