Review ~ The Girl from Old Nichol by Betty Annand
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published January 10th 2017 by Amberjack Publishing
Synopsis:
Born into extreme poverty in the very worst of the London slums, young Gladys Tunner strives to survive her circumstances, including her alcoholic parents. Desperation and dreams for a better life are a constant. Her childhood best friend and protector Toughie looks after her until she’s forced to escape and run for her life, creating an elaborate masquerade that leads to both love and heartbreak.
This rich and compelling historical novel takes you from the streets of London to the manor houses of the English countryside where it has you rooting for Gladys, not just to survive, but to thrive.
**Received ARC in exchange for an honest review**
This is a story about survival. There is some romance but it doesn't play a big role in this book. It is about a young girl who everybody thought wouldn't make it. She was born to alcoholic parents, who forget her more often than they fed her. They live in Old Nichol, one of the worst slum districts in London's East End. which is were the poorest of the poor "live". What they are doing isn't living but surviving each day. Gladys Tunner is a young girl who takes care of herself from a very young age. She learns to survive and be smart about it. Sometimes she coma across as naive but other times very strong and independent.
After a particular horrific incident she has to leave Old Nichol with little money and the clothes on her back. Thankfully she makes friends in the new place she arrives, who help her survive. There she also finds love and loses it as well. There were some really heartbreaking scenes in this book. Bad things continue to happen to Gladys but she doesn't let them bring her down.
In my opinion there should be a sequel because the ending was abrupt and it didn't give me any closure whatsoever. I have read books with open endings but I was expecting an extra chapter or three in this book to see what happened to Gladys. There is one particular character that I am dying to know more about but he was nowhere to be seen. Throughout the whole book I was waiting on that person to make an appearance but unfortunately it didn't happen.
About Betty Annand
Born in Vancouver, B.C in 1927, Betty Annand has resided in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island since the age of ten. Widowed since 2002, she has enjoyed doing volunteer work at her church, the local hospital, and a local theatre, where she writes and directs plays for the seniors group. She resides in the house that she and her husband built sixty years ago and enjoys spending time with her family, who still live on the island. She is the author of three non-fiction books, Growing up in the White House, Voices from Bevan, and Voices from Courtenay Past. The Girl from Old Nichol is her first novel. 
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