I really enjoyed reading this book. It is easy to read. Funny and sad and different at the same time. Everyone should read it.

I originally requested this because it was recommended by the marvellous Joe Heap. I was not disappointed - a really delightful book and highly recommend.

I couldn't get into the story The Map of Us . The narrator and unique telling was not my type of story, at 35% I still wasn't engaged. I truly think this is a it's not you but me situation. I wish the author my best and will not post a review.

The map of us is a book like no other with its short chapters and when I say short some are barely a page long, its choppy writing style and the many characters make this a really, really good read. I'm not going to go into the plot as I feel this would spoil it, I went in blind apart from the back page blurb and feel after reading a few reviews this was the best thing.
This book will have you going through several feelings towards it, mine started with what the heck's this? to ahhh I kind of see where we're going now to ahah I get it!!! This is a very cleverly written book that will lead you from confused to getting clearer to clear. I loved how the chapters were short and bounced from character to character not knowing how they were in this book together. The book does deal with quite a few sensitive issues as well as a lot of family drama, bullying, cruelty, betrayal, love and bravery. Considering this is a debut novel I can't wait to see what Jules Preston has in store for us next.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Harper Impulse and Killer Reads for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed the quirky and heartwarming #TheMapOfUs by @jules_preston_. Moving, intriguing, hopeful and endearing, it was an utter delight to enter the life of Violet North, Albert Galbraith and a little blue typewriter.

I loved both Eleanor Oliphant and the Keeper of Lost things. For me this book does not compare to either one of them. It took me a while to get into this book as I struggled to find the connections between the characters and at one stage had to write down the names to figure this out. This being said the story started to grow on me about halfway through and I started liking the characters. This was a whimsical story that really took me on a walk (just like Arthur) with the different characters and getting to know them. I loved the references to the washing machines that kept breaking because of the sand. It is because of the first half of the book that I really struggled with that I give 3.5 stars.

This was a quirky read due to the style of very short chapters. It was often difficult to keep up with all the characters and sometimes I forgot who they were when they reappeared. I thought that the characters were all slightly peculiar – one obsessed with numbers, one obsessed with the colour blue, one with seven identical outfits, one with a handbag addiction, one who built sand sculptures. All that being said, once you get used to the writing style, it was quite a charming book.

'The Map of Us' took a little while to get into, it's written in a deliberately haphazard way, more thoughts than prose, but once you accept the style, the content is original and full of emotional depth.
Violet (Grandmother) and Tilly (Grandaughter) are the story's main protagonists, but there are also numerous minor characters who are intrinsic to the map of Tilly's family and add depth to this quirky tale.
It's surprisingly addictive reading and well thought out. If the need for the map is Tilly's family's future happiness, what follows is the journey she and other family members take to reach their destinations. Humour, romance, cruelty and poignancy create an ever-changing map that enthrals and entertains until it reaches its conclusion. 
A lovely, timeless read that is full of heart and humour.
I received a copy of this book from Harper Impulse via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Quirky, original and humorous. The Map of Us takes an unusual form and you may not have any idea where it's going, but then it all falls into place and makes sense. Short chapters, almost stories of their own, have you whizzing through the book with ease.

4 turquoise Blue Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Let me start this off by saying this is a book that is going to take you a while to get into... The narrative is very unusual and quirky.... very short chapters some of them appear simply to be lists.... and honestly about 30% in I was thinking to myself, how am I going to rate this book? But by the end I was so charmed, after I got into the flow of the writing style....

There are quite a few characters in this book all of them a bit quirky... and due to the choppy writing style it did take me awhile to appreciate these characters.... Tilly was very interesting... a statistician who saw life through numbers and facts... in fact she wrote a report of sorts when her marriage broke up including flow charts and gave it to her ex.... she even came up with a compatibility index, but never fear it was put to good use in the end.... there was quite the cast of characters in this book... including all of Tilly’s siblings, her father, her grandmother, her ex-boyfriend, his new girlfriend, her boss, her coworker, and Daniel....

Now there are a few characters I would have liked to get to know better... including Catherine Tilly’s sister.... absolutely could relate to Catherine better than Tilly, the girl had a crazy handbag collection.... also would have liked a little more about her grandmother Violet, really enjoyed her relationship with Owen... also really enjoyed Matt and grace, Tillys ex and his new girlfriend.... well shoot I really needed to know more about everybody her brother who was a expert in the color blue, her father who created sand sculptures for a living, see what I am saying super quirky.... additionally there were some interesting little chapters about household appliances... and I can’t forget Daniel, what will happen there?

I want to recommend this if you are willing to go into it with an open mind... and know that it is not written in a
conventional writing style, but in the end quite a lovely book....

*** thank you so much to the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this book ***

Told in short chapters, alternating between characters, the story is a big jigsaw puzzle with pieces and relationships slowly being connected. Well, not too slowly since the book is 180 pages! But it is a dense book with various fun little themes (like mathematics and sand castle building) running throughout. Amazing that within the short book, the characters were well developed and even grew. Definitely an enjoyable sweet read but I could have used another 180 pages to spend more time with them.

I really enjoyed this! I don't know if it is a novel exactly, it is more of a series of vignettes and even poems(?) and almost journal entries. It seems very British in format so I'm intrigued to see if it does well in the US. Lots of quirky characters.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick, easy, feel-good read. Perfect for a holiday read. It made me smile and made me want to get my typewriter out.
It explored family and the patterns we follow, and it’s written in a way that keeps you inferested. 4/5. I’d recommend to friends that like Jojo moyes, Sophie Kinsella and Giovanna Fletcher.

A unexpected gem of a book, which I read with a big daft grin on my face. It might have made me well up in places as well. I absolutely loved it!

Tilly is a statistician. To understand the collapse of her marriage, she writes a report. With diagrams and footnotes.

Violet is in her mid-20s, alone and effectively housebound. She starts writing on a borrowed typewriter to explore the world she can't visit in person. She will become Tilly's grandmother.

Alongside these two unconventional, inconvenient women grow a chaotic family of characters - quirky, believable (mostly!), warm and beautiful. And an oddball collection of inanimate objects set on making their own characters known (Washing Machine #76 is a classic). There's also a dog in a wheelbarrow. What more do you need?!

Thank you #netgalley for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. #TheMapOfUs is one of my surprise favourites of the year, and is out on Saturday.

Lovely, engaging opener which introduces us to Violet North whose blue typewriter is the linchpin of the story. The plot contains a perfect mixture of humour and sadness, and for some reason certain elements reminded me of the poignant old couple in Pixar’s animated film “Up”.

Tilly’s father is a sand artist, her brother is a world authority on the colour blue, her sister has an out-of-control handbag addiction, meanwhile her mum has to contend with the never-ending deaths of their washing machines (due to aforementioned sand)! I found the characters were well thought out, each had their own quirks and unique traits and I felt invested in all of them.

This is a heart-warming and charming love story with an important message to prioritise what’s really important in life. Made me think of the empty jar/Philosophy teacher lesson.

Some could find the story a little too sickly-sweet and the ending a tad predictable but if you’re looking for a nice, feel good read I definitely recommend. I was in the right mood to fully embrace the cheese and had a genuine smile on my face when I finished reading it.

I wish I could have liked The Map Of Us more but I'm afraid we weren't the best match. There was perhaps 76% probability that we would hit it off but that means there was a 34% chance of the opposite. It's something Tilly would say; she must have rubbed off on me after all :-).

I have to admit I was excited to read this novel mostly because of the reference to that other novel, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, but I couldn't find the same connection or recognition in Matilda - or Tilly as she's called by 3 people - that I found in Eleanor.

The novel was told in alternating voices in short snappy chapters of only a few pages, or even just half a page at times, so it was easy enough to digest, but on the the other hand the big cast of quirky characters that changed so quickly made it difficult to get invested in them and remember them sometimes as well.

The author also introduced also a few different literary styles that some will undoubtedly find original but I found it halted the flow of the story somewhat. Some of them worked really well like hearing her mother's voice through letters addressed to Tilly, and others - like the almost poetic entries of her father's thoughts in almost three word sentences - not so much.

The thread that followed Violet North, the grandmother who starts writing stories on her blue typewriter, was the one I looked forward to returning to most of all and I really hoped she would find happiness in the end. She lives in a world of her own and created a fictuous character who roams the Great Moors and lets her have adventures when she can not. Like Violet, most of the other characters in this novel live in a world of their own: Tilly's father's passion is building sand sculptures (no dolphins though!), Tilly's world seems to be built by numbers, her sister Katherine's world is filled with the haunt for the perfect handbag (she's got 342! bags) and her brother Matt is the world authority on the color blue. Can they break out of their limited worlds and make a connection with someone outside of their world? It'll be quite a journey.

This novel was a bit out of my 'rational' comfort zone and a bit too wordery for me, making it difficult to understand why some of it was relevant to the story so I guess that's why it didn't really work out for me. It reminds me a little of We Were Liars by E. Lockheart, where the prose also rubbed me the wrong way. If you like originality though this might be exactly your cup of tea.

Expecting nothing more than a light hearted read requiring little concentration, I actually found The Map of Us provided quirkily signposted directions for an unexpected and delightful journey.

It has an oddly detached narrative style that complements Matlida (Tilly) Eastleigh’s statistician’s mind perfectly. The clippy chapters, barely half a page in most places, allowed me to travel lightly and effortlessly stroll through the pages.

What I discovered is all roads lead ‘North’ – that’s Violet North and her humble blue, Remington typewriter with an annoying ‘e’ that sticks. I didn’t grasp how an inanimate object could play such a significant role before I started reading. How it could create new paths to follow and become an anchor for future generations, especially as they sail some pretty choppy seas before finding the true route to their happiness.

With all honesty it took a little while for me to settle into this book before I realised I was overcomplicating things. The only advice I can offer future readers is: don’t try to work out the destination before you get there, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and a quirky collection of people connected by various ways. I found it hard to keep track of everyone and imagine how they all fit together as the stories and view points changed quickly and often. I liked how it all came together in the end and found all the characters very likeable. They were quirky and unique but good people despite some of the hard and tragic childhoods described. A nice lighthearted read but I ended up skimming through some and never connecting to the characters.

Tilly is a statistician, compiling a report on why her marriage has failed. Her father is building competitive sand art. Daniel is wondering how committed to his healthy snack business.... what will unite them, and the rest of the characters, is love.
This is a feelgood novel with a cast of quirky and likable characters, and the author deftly balances this against the obvious pain and loss that each of the characters is entitled to feel before their stories are resolved, to avoid being twee or sentimental.
A cracking read, that deserves to be really popular.

I was immediately drawn to the cover of this book because I love the blue typewriter on it. Upon reading it though, I realize this was not my cup of tea and I just could not connect to the characters at all. I received this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review.