The Other Half of Augusta Hope: The best-selling, heart-warming debut novel shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award

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And now that she’s an adult, Augusta has no interest in the goings-on of the small town where she lives with her parents and her beloved twin sister, Julia. And now that she's an adult, Augusta has no interest in the goings-on of the small town where she lives with her parents and her beloved twin sister, Julia. Augusta and Julia’s relationship is damaged. There are now secrets between them and as they continue through life, a part of the bond they share is no longer the same. Meanwhile, more catastrophic events are also taking place in Parfait’s life and he suffers more tragedy and ever changing circumstances.

A fantastic read. The Other Half of Augusta Hope tells the story of Augusta, a twin, who loves words, facts and has big ambitions to leave her town and be somebody and Parfait a refugee from war torn Burundi who ends up in Spain and working as an artist. The novel explores issues of belonging, family, grief and holding onto dreams. It’s about being brave, being yourself and the consequences of our actions. I simply loved this clever and wonde A moving tale... sure to make you cry... Parfait [is] a convincingly serious, sweet, clever and funny person who ends up carrying the story... an epic hero ... It's going to be all over every book club in Britain before you can say Burundi' The TimesAll of the characters were carefully created and completely believable - I felt like that I knew them well and I was just not ready to lose them when the story ended.

When an unspeakable tragedy upends everything in Augusta’s life, she’s propelled headfirst into the unknown. She’s determined to find where she belongs – but what if her true home, and heart, are half a world away? This book is a split perspective novel, telling the stories of Augusta, a British woman who wants to travel the world to escape her home life and Parfait, a man from Burundi who decides to make a break for it to avoid the ongoing civil war. Meanwhile in war-torn Burundi orphaned Parfait is struggling to keep his family together.. When tragedy strikes he too is determined to leave for a better life and embarks on the long, long journey. to try to reach Europe. As you can gather, it is a very character driven story and all characters, even those who only play a small part, are extremely well drawn, and the ones that linger a while develop nicely as the story progresses. It's also a very emotional book which pretty much tugged on my heartstrings throughout as well as delivering some really wonderful lighter, tender, moments. Their stories are told separately and as their stories unfold you see some parallels in their very different histories and also huge differences. Two stories, different continents. Will their stories connect somehow?

I wasn't sure what to make of this book when I first started it but I'm so glad I preserved! It's about two beautiful and sad tales, one set in the UK and one set in Burundi. About love, loss, fitting in and the connections we make. Has a beautiful poetic way with words. The narrative switches between Augusta and Parfait who are both complex characters with wildly different upbringings but who, at the same time, seem to have things in common. Their eventual meeting seems inevitable but getting to that point is a vivid, emotional and sometimes dark rollercoaster ride. Their lives are very different but at the same time there are huge similarities that lead to their lives being intertwined in unexpected ways, even if they don’t know it yet. I really enjoyed this unusual story of love, friendship, family and words. As a linguist, I completely understood Augusta's obsession with words and language. I loved her interest in the world, wanting to find out and explore, see the world beyond her boundaries. This is a very readable, if somewhat predictable, book and there was a lot to like about it. Is it contrived? Yes of course it is, but I’m not sure that detracts from the book in any way. Both the main characters are struggling to find their place in the world and the author develops their personalities and their life stories well. In particular I felt that Parfait’s story was sensitively told and depicted the trials, tribulations and horrors of life from the point of view of a refugee. The situations in which the characters find themselves are, at times, heartbreaking and harrowing, but there is also light relief in the form of humour.