"Lisa and Elliot have been best friends ever since the day they met as children. Popular, bright and sporty, Lisa was Elliot’s biggest supporter when the school bullies made his life a misery, and for that, he will always be grateful.

Twenty years later, life has pulled the pair apart and Lisa is struggling. Her marriage is floundering, her teenage kids are being secretive, and she’s so tired she can’t think straight. So when Elliot knocks on the door, looking much better than she remembers, she can’t help but be delighted to see her old friend again."

I loved Lisa and her children and even felt sympathy for Mike once Elliot unravelled his problems. An unusual book, but perfect for this time of year when love is important and magic can happen.

A beautiful story about friendship, love, support, growing up and all the "what ifs" along the way.

Stand by me just wasn’t what I was expecting. I really struggled to get into it and had to give up on it.

Lisa always used to rescue Elliot from bullies when they were kids and now he has turned up on her doorstep after living in Australia for twenty years. Maybe this time it’s Lisa who needs rescuing. Her husband, Mike, is out of work and in a funk, and her two kids are keeping something from her.
With flashbacks between now and the 1990s, this is a beautiful, touching story about friendship and loyalty. The characters totally drew me in and I loved every second of it – definitely one of my favourite books of the year.

Well I wasn't expecting that! If I had known there was an "unnatural" element (Not wanting to give away a massive spoiler, so I'll leave it at that) to this I almost certainly wouldn't have requested this from #NetGalley. In doing so I would have missed out on a great story. The ending did get me choked up. This books gives great hope, and the friendship between Elliot and Lisa was just lovely and heart warming. I can't say much more without spoiling it! This was my first book by this author and I would read more by them again.

I have had this waiting to read for a while. So i took the plunge and so glad I did. What a stunning read. It's short chapters that flick between now and then draw you in and make you read more.
Enjoyable storyline and great characters. Wish i had Els and Lisas relationship when i was younger

An easy read, good for the sunlounger. I can't help but feel the story felt a little familiar. Not ground breaking but I did enjoy

First of all I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the free digital copy of this book in return for an exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this sweet and heartfelt story. I didn't quite know what to expect at first but soon enough I was engrossed in the story of main characters Eliot and Lisa. When teenager Lisa first arrives in the uneventful little town of Aldham she is absolutely gutted. Mad at her parents for bringing their family to the other end of the country and forcing her to start all over again. Attending a new school, having to make new friends, she just doesn't think it's fair. When she unexpectantly stumbles upon Elliot, an overweight dorky looking boy, caught in a bad situation she can't forsee that it's the beginning of a lifelong friendship between them. Lisa is everything that Elliot is not. Good looking, popular, sporty and assertive. However Elliot is so funny and easy to talk to, Lisa feels right at home with him and his mother Wendy. Lisa knows from the start that Elliot has got it rough in school, not fitting in and too sensitive and insecure too stand up for himself. She on the other hand makes sure that anyone messing with Elliot will have her to answer to. The story is told by various perspectives and goes back and forth in time. I particularly liked the parts that were set in the ninetees. The chapters that were told from the present were less captavating to me but still kept me curious. They tell the story of the grown up Lisa, her husband Mike and children Ben and Cloe. Each of them is going through a hard time but none of them manages to share or solve their problem. Meanwhile Elliot has moved to Sydney, Australia, and set up his own, hugely succesfull tech company. Their lives couldn't be further appart. Still Elliot never forgot everything Lisa did for him back in their teens. In fact it's time for him to return the favour...
Without getting into detail or spoil anything I will say that their is a supernatural element to this story. Although I doubt whether I would of picked up this book if I had known about this beforehand it didn't bother me that much when I found out.
All in all I genuinely enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to read more by the author.

A good enough story fictional story about a family who are visited by the mother's childhood friend. All their problems are brought to the surface and they find that by talking as a family brings them closer together.

The story of Lisa and Elliot, who grow up with a friendship we all wish we had! The story is told from both perspectives and we fall in love with them both! Years later, all grown up, Elliot turns up and seems to be changing their lives one by one....this is a heartwarming story that will have your eyes tearing up!

A beautiful moving story of family and friendship. I feel so privileged to have been approved to read this book

I like books which have friendship, love, family, children. Then throw in a little magic, a little miracle, and it should make the book complete.

Stand by me started well, with childhood best friend, Elliot, making his appearance in Lisa's life after 20 years when she is struggling with marriage and children. He is like a beacon of light in her moments of despair. Things begin improving in her family life. But in the present time, there is a mystery surrounding Elliot. Who or what is he??

My first book by S D Robertson, and I really tried liking this book, but I couldn't. I wanted to feel the emotions the characters were feeling, but I couldn't. I tried feeling the awe of supernatural, but I couldn't. There was something missing!!

This book left me cold, took me 5 days to read, just couldn't get into the skin of the characters. The chapters are written in the present and in the past. It goes into flashbacks to show the childhood friendship, where Lisa was Elliot's bodyguard of sorts, protected him from getting bullied. In the present time, Elliot helps to improve her family time, in the short span of time that he has.

I wanted the book to capture me and hold me in its arms, and make me feel all warm and gooey inside. But, alas, that was not the case. It left me unaffected. There was some core element missing to draw me into its emotions.

I read it, thought about it to write the review, then forgot it. Over and done, now on to the next..

I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Avon Book UK, and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Lisa and Elliot are the main characters in this brilliant story of child hood sweethearts who are reunited twenty years after Lisa meets Elliot who is being bullied at school and she becomes his best friend and protector.The story is told in the past and present and tells how the they grew up and how their lives are now.Lisa is struggling with her marriage and kids and when Elliot turns up she is really pleased to see him after twenty years and her life takes a turn for the better.But Lisa thinks Elliot is hiding something from her, but what could it be ? This book for me is an excellent heartwarming and heartbreaking book that had me gripped from the very first page to the very last.It is not usually a genre a read but i'm glad i read this book as it is a superb read.

Stand By Me was such a beautifully written story about love and friendship, it was so heart warming, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Stand By Me was such an emotional roller coaster of a read. S.D. Robertson is an extremely talented writer. I think what I appreciated most was her ability to take me on a journey through a friendship - starting from small children to and through adulthood. The characters are complex and layered with clear voices and I connected instantly and easily. If you like to have your emotions tweaked while reading, this entertaining novel will fit the bill. Its a lovely story about the power and durability of true friendship. I am so looking forward to reading ,more from this superb author, definitely going on auto-buy list!

This is the third book by S. D. Robertson that I have had the pleasure of reading. I loved his previous two books, even if they did make me want to weep and this one was no exception. I totally loved ‘Stand By Me’ but more about that in a bit.
The story is told from two different points of time, which are 1991 and 2018. 1991 is when Lisa moved to the same place as Elliott and they first met, before becoming firm friends. 2018 sees the story move to the present day and we meet Lisa and Elliott as adults and we see how life has treated them down the years.
I must admit to liking the characters of Lisa and Elliott from the start. They just seemed so nice and so compatible with each other. Lisa from 1991 is a stroppy, adolescent child on the cusp of puberty. She is in conflict with her parents because they have uprooted her from everything she knows and from all her friends and they have moved to a sleepy area, where she knows nobody and everything is unfamiliar. You can certainly tell that Lisa is one angry child. She meets Elliott and they become firm friends. The modern Lisa is not having an easy time of it. She works hard as a teacher but her home life is somewhat strained to say the least. Her husband has lost his job, although the reasons why are not immediately evident, and he is using alcohol as a coping mechanism. However, this has turned him into an abusive bully and he has outbursts in public places that are both embarrassing and shocking to witness. It is after such an outburst that Elliott comes back into her life. I really felt for Elliott and empathised with him to a large degree. In 1991, we learn that he was being bullied by boys old enough to know better (I was bullied so I know how it affects you) and he first meets Lisa after these boys have stripped him of the majority of his clothes and have smashed his glasses. He is grateful that she is there and she helps him to get home. Elliott is also angry in a sense. His best friend used to live in the house that Lisa has moved into and Elliott is in a way mourning the loss of his one ally and true friend. Elliott also seems rather fearful of just what the bullies might think up next for him. Lisa sticks up for him though. We meet Elliott in 2018, when he lands on Lisa’s doorstep. The present day Elliott is rather enigmatic and when Lisa asks him questions about his personal life and what he is up to now, he answers in rather a vague way. It’s true to say that Lisa’s life takes a turn for the better as Elliott becomes more involved in it. There is a bit of a sting in the tail though although I am not going to tell you why as that would be giving too much away.
‘Stand By Me’ is sensitively and superbly written. The writing style is such that I was sucked in from the very first word on the very first page and I was under the book’s spell until the last word on the last page. I was concentrating so hard on the story and the path it was taking that I didn’t realise quite how quickly the pages were turning and before I knew it I had finished the book, which I was so disappointed about. Don’t get me wrong I was pleased to finish because at least I knew how the story ended but I was so disappointed to finish because I was enjoying the writing style and the story so much that I just wanted it to continue. That might sound strange to some but it makes sense to me. As I alluded to above, ‘Stand By Me’ deals with some pretty tough topics but the author handles them with great skill and with great sensitivity. The one subject that sticks in my mind is the issue of bullying. The author really taps into how a victim feels and how such behaviour can still affect people ever so many years later. By the time I had finished reading ‘Stand By Me’ , I really did feel as though I had been through the emotional wringer with all the highs, lows, hope, despair, feelings of guilt, the happiness and the sadness and well you get the point.
In short, I absolutely ADORED reading ‘Stand By Me’ and I can’t wait to read more from this hugely successful author, even if he does make me want to cry. I would recommend this book and author to anybody. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is an easy and well deserved 5* out of 5*.

A heart warming and emotional story of two childhood friends (Elliot and Lisa) who experienced everything together. After being apart for a long time they are reunited and the support Elliot gives Lisa as an adult will repay the support she gave him during his tough days as a bullied child at school. A well written read indeed

I did not post a review for this because my review would have been two stars. I'm trying to avoid leaving reviews that are less than three stars. So here's what bothered me: I couldn't decide if this was some sort of sweet, sugary romance (even with the husband's alcoholism), or if it was some sort of metaphysical "let my spirit guide you" thing. Neither worked for me.