A sweet, quirky and heartwarming story set in Leicester in 1980 full of hilarious moments and relatable characters. If you’re a fan of the late great Sue Townsend, give this a read!

A very funny book about a girl who goes to work for a very strange dentist in Leicester. A flat over the practice goes with the job. The senior dental nurse is in love with the dentist, but he is a bit slow on the uptake. The local dental technician is someone who the girl can identify with, and she gradually falls for him, Her chaotic family includes an reformed alcoholic mother who is very promiscuous, a father who has remarried, siblings who are a bit jealous of her life in he r own flat, and a religious grandmother, who persuades the local vicar's wife to give her driving lessons.
This book moves along at a cracking pace, and very often makes you laugh out loud, but there is also pathos and tragedy which will take you by surprise.

This was a perky little semi-autobiographical style novel from a popular author. I enjoyed it, but felt it was a little unpolished in places.

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to young readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

It doesn’t take long for me to settle back into the familiar as I begin a new Nina Stibbe book: the sharp but unworldly Lizzie, her eccentric, often neglectful but never mean hearted mother, and a cast of support characters that populate the world of the Vogel Family.

Lizzie is now a young adult and has left her job at Paradise Lodge Nursing Home and now has taken a job as a dental nurse, and a flat above the practice, giving her her first taste of freedom away from her mother and Mr Holt, but she soon learns that she misses her chaotic family, and is grateful her little brother Danny is enrolled in a Montessori nearby. The flat and the practice come with their own challenges: the dentist, JP, refuses to treat Indian patients under the NHS, and continues to use the upstairs flat as his own. The former dental nurse Tammy is now in a relationship with JP and he is tyrannical about her imporoving her chances to concieve their child. Lizzie barely gets any time alone with her new boyfriend, Andy, who seems to be just as mad as the rest of the characters, before he takes her old bedroom in the family home, prompting Lizzie to begin to turn against him too.

This third title in the series has it’s serious moments that break up the otherwise chatty narratives and wry observations: in this book, the story grows up with Lizzie as she experiences heartbreak, grief and injustice, as she also hilariously tries her hand at some amateur dental work for those left behind by JP.

Stibbe’s series about the Vogel family don’t set the world on fire or make everyone’s best book of the year lists but they are funny, smart and kind, and we need more heroes like Lizzie.

This was a really funny book and instantly transported me back to the 1980s. The ending was extremely poignant.

Reasons to be cheerful is an enjoyable read, quite light hearted and sometimes funny. I didn’t really engage with the characters and even now I’ve finished the book am still looking for the real story line. A gentle book which is worth reading but don’t expect anything profound.

Reasons to be Cheerful is a romantic comedy set in late 1970s Leicestershire and featuring characters from Nina Stibbes previous novels. Darkly humorous, it charts the teenage Lizzy Vogel's quest to find meaningful employment, pass her driving test and navigate family and work life. From as Featuring a cast of unusual characters it is also a document of social history.

Three years on from the events in Paradise Lodge and Lizzie Vogel is now 18. She's managed to get a job as a dental nurse, living in the flat above the practice.in Leicester. Lizzie should be having the time of her life, she's young and living a city. But Lizzie is a bit homesick for her home in the country with her alcoholic eccentric aspiring writer mother. On top of that Lizzie hates the dentist she works for, a xenophobe who's obsessed with becoming a Free Mason and who is also in a relationship with another woman who works in the dental clinic . Lizzie starts seeing Andy and in true Lizzie fashion things are never quite clear. Are they seeing each other, is he more into in bird watching than having sex? Things get even more complicated when Andy becomes a lodger at his mother's house.

The book is very much character driven, there is a story arc but it's quite slow. The main focus are the characters and simple observations made throughout the book. Stibbe has a knack for mentioning things that might seem mundane or rambling coming from other people but from her they are charming and sometimes hilarious. There's nice descriptions and touches for life in the early 1980s, nostalgic without being over the top or too schmaltzy. I really enjoy the characters and how they interact with each other, Lizzie and her dysfunctional family are very entertaining. In Man at the Helm, Lizzie was this perfect mix of childhood innocence and maturity for her age. In Paradise Lodge, it's a coming of age story where Lizzie is trying to get to grips with getting older and being a teenager. In Reasons to Be Cheerful, we see Lizzie becoming an adult and trying to find her groove in life. I love her quirks, she's very endearing and it was a pleasure to see Lizzie bloom and grow into the woman she wants to be. I found myself rooting for her. I love Stibbe's writing and look forward to her next book.

This book took me aback. I hadn't realised when I started that it was the third book of three so although it read fine as a standalone, knowing the background and characters might have helped me connect more quickly.
The book is set in the Leicester area in the 1990's and follows Lizzie when she leaves home for the first time and goes to work for an extraordinarily odd dentist and his 'partner'.
The main story line is not earth shaking but a tender insight into the important events into the life of a young girl taking her first steps into a very strange world.
I learned a lot about dentistry, as did Lizzie in her job. Her compassion greatly exceeds that of her employer and I spent a lot of time waiting for him to get his come -uppance which he did.
This is a gentle book which had me laughing and almost crying at times. I'm going to have a go at the other books about Lizzie, which is a testament to this one.

I had high hopes for this one which failed to come to fruition. To be honest this started off well but failed to maintain my interest. funny in parts but not the whole. for me characters were plastic fantastic but i hated them all and couldn't really care about what happened to them. Just didn't feel involvement in the story which was bland. A humorous book is not just about the laughing but requires underpinning content and this failed to provide that.

A lighthearted read, but with moments that make you want to cry. It's the third in a trilogy, but can be read in any order. There's a lot of depth in the story and it's very engaging. It's beautifully written and will not disappoint.

Nina Stibbe has a rare gift for narrative. Her voice is as distinct as it is funny, warm, and true. I would read a shopping list written by Nina Stibbe so it's no surprise that I recommend her latest book.

After reading a fair few crime novels and the odd non-fiction title, it is always nice to read a bit of everyday life fiction. Nina Sibbe has an easy going writing style, with the main character Lizzie, one may readers of a certain age many identify with, or at least the time she was growing up in, namely the 80's.

There is plenty of dental work description, often quite graphic for those who don't like going to the dentist! The plot is a coming of age as Lizzie really sees what a messed up world adult life is and her mother is one of the better characters, as she continues her quest to have a book published by her favourite publisher Faber & Faber.

An easy going read, with some genuinely funny moments and perfect for a bit of escapist fiction.

Now 18, Lizzie Vogel is looking for a full-time job and she is employed as a trainee dental nurse. Her boss is prejudiced and desperate to join the Freemasons, he's left his wife for his practice manager and now wants to get her pregnant. Lizzie is falling for Andy, someone she knew as a child but now a dental technician of note (and he rides a moped), but she also dreams of success as a writer.
Following on from Paradise Lodge Stibbe takes up the story of Lizzie on the cusp of womanhood as she explores independent living and sex in her own way. Lizzie is an engaging character and Stibbe's writing gives her a voice. Although rather idiosyncratic in the structure and narrative this is a mildly amusing look at life in the 1980s.

This was quite a random little book. Throughout,I would say I had absolutely no clue where it was going. This does not mean I did not enjoy it. It was funny and a slice-of-life kind of book.

I just want to say first of all that I really love Nina Stibbe: Love, Nina is one of my all time favourite books and I laughed my way through Man at the Helm but for some reason I just couldn't get into this one, something just wasn't clicking and I have so much to read that I've had to put it to one side for now. I'm hoping I'm just in the wrong mood for irt right now and fully intend to come back to it later.

This book was funny and I enjoyed it. The humour was both subtle and obvious, very skilfully written.

A funny, irreverent and light hearted read. Dentists, mad mothers, boys- all features of this story of young adult life. So much of it was familiar, the angst, the worries. A really enjoyable and amusing read!

Another cracker from Nina Stibbe. She manages to brilliantly capture the uncertainty and strange freedom of early adulthood with a witty and fresh writing style. Thanks NetGalley!