Friday, May 9, 2014

Looking for Alex by Marion Dillon

Looking for Alex
by Marian Dillon

Add to Goodreads | Purchase on Amazon
Published by: Escape Publishing on June 1, 2014
Genres: Romance, Women's Fiction
Source: ARC from Publisher
Rating: 3.5 Stars

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

They were supposed to be best friends…

It’s the summer of 1977. Beth and Alex did everything together. Until the day seventeen-year-old Alex ran away from home. A missing persons report has been filed, but Beth knows that there must be more to Alex’s disappearance. So she follows Alex, to punk-era London, determined to bring her best friend back home.

But the Alex she finds living in a Camden squat isn’t the same Alex. And memories of those weeks in London haunt her to this day; falling for Fitz, her first love; tasting a new kind of freedom, and the fateful day that her parents finally tracked them down and took her away.

Alex knew then that Beth had betrayed her trust, and disappeared once more, severing their friendship for good. And now, years later, it’s time for forgotten secrets to be shared once and for all. Because after all this time, Beth’s never given up on finding Alex…


As a fan of Judy Blume's Summer Sisters (by far one of my favorite books), I was looking forward to reading this book. I love books about best friends, especially when their personalities are as different as those of Alex and Beth in Looking for Alex. It leaves a lot of room for conflict and growth. I was not disappointed.

Marian Dillon is a sculptor who uses words instead of clay to build an intriguing story. Not once was the plot predictable, the characters stagnant. Even London itself and the London house where Alex found refuge were characters of their own.

The story alternates between 1977 and the present day of 2013, presenting the story of best friends Beth and Alex. I admit the I did skip past some of the 1977 portions as some scenes didn't seem as pivotal to the story or were a little too lengthy for my taste.

2013 was the crux of the novel. Beth, who's spent much of her life wondering why Alex up and left her one day without another word, decides it's time to find her friend, but nothing is easy when it comes to Alex. That includes finding her. And when Beth finally does find Alex, will she like who she sees?

I won't give any more away, because that would spoil the twists and turns. I'd definitely recommend checking this one out if you, too, like friendship books.

1 comment:

  1. This sounds like a very interesting book! I, too, like books about friends. I am going to add this to my list to look for next time I go to the library! Which may not be for a while, since I went totally overboard there the other day and checked out about 15 books!

    ReplyDelete

Have you read this yet? What did you think?