Laura Pearson's third novel is the heart-breaking story of Jess, a young college student who is dying of cancer. She wants her baby daughter, Edie, to know about her as she grows up and writes her a series of moving letters.

I defy anyone reading I Wanted You To Know not to weep buckets. It is beautifully written from the heart and even though Jess's death is inevitable, there is hope for her daughter through the legacy of love from Jess's mum, her best friend Gemma, and Edie's dad Jake.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Agora Books for the opportunity to read and review I Wanted You To Know.

Dear Edie, I wanted you to know so many things. I wanted to tell you them in person, as you grew. But it wasn’t to be.

Jess never imagined she’d be navigating single motherhood, let alone while facing breast cancer. A life that should be just beginning is interrupted by worried looks, heavy conversations, and the possibility of leaving her daughter to grow up without her.

Propelled by a ticking clock, Jess knows what she has to do: tell her daughter everything. How to love, how to lose, how to forgive, and, most importantly, how to live when you never know how long you have.

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I finished this book last night, but didn't feel ready to write a review at the time. Having thought about it and slept on it, I now can.

Wow wow wow!! I absolutely adored this book. So much so, I was reading it in the middle of the night when I should have been sleeping. Waking up an hour early for work, so I could read some more!

The beautiful way Laura wrote the letters from new mum Jess, to her beloved baby daughter Edie, took my breath away. The way Laura also described how Jess was feeling with her breast cancer diagnosis at age 21 whilst having a new baby was just incredible. What makes it more profound is to know Laura's backstory of finding out she had breast cancer whilst pregnant.

This story just had me in it clutches from start to finish and is one that I will keep thinking about for a long time.

This is a heartbreaking yet beautiful novel. Once I started it, I couldn’t stop reading. When I woke up the morning after finishing it, the first thing I thought of was these wonderful, tragic characters. It’s a story that tugs at the heartstrings before snapping them entirely. I absolutely adored this book and would recommend it to anyone.

This is such a moving yet uplifting novel. Told with tenderness, it moved me so many times. You definitely need tissues to read this with.

I Wanted You to Know is a story that will touch your heart and keep you thinking long after you have finished the story. Jess is a young college student that finds herself a single mom and facing breast cancer. Jess is barely 21 and she is facing things she never expected. She struggles with what her daughter’s life will be like with her gone. Jess is forced to face her own childhood issues and try to address them so her daughter will grow up knowing she is deeply loved. Will Jess reach out to Jake? Will Jess find a way to forgive Jake so that Edie will have at least one parent? Will Jess’s mom be able to put aside her own past to support Jess as she reaches out to her father and Jake? How do you say good bye to the people you love the most? What can you possibly write to your child that will help them to know you just a little bit long after you have gone?
It is through a series of letters Jess writes to her baby daughter Edie that she tells her all the things she wants her to know. It really makes you stop and think are you really investing in the relationships that mean the most in your life. What are the things you would want your loved ones to know about you?
I enjoyed this book even though it tore my heart out. You can help but feel for the situation Jess is facing and think about how difficult it would be. The most important thing to think about is that you should not wait for Cancer to be the driver in telling the ones you love how important they are to you.

Utterly heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. There are moments of humour especially in the friendship between Jess and Gemma, which made me laugh, often with a wry smile. The depth of love from Jess for her daughter is awe inspiring and the strength it must have took simply staggering. It looks at love, family, friendship, terminal Illness and the impact it has on loved ones lives. Jess is so young to deal with this but you know this is real and cancer affects people and families at all ages of life. But most of all it’s a book that will stay with me forever as one of the most poignant I have ever read as Laura (the author) went through this battle herself so you know she is writing from the heart and personal experience. It’s made me cry a lot but I had to finish it. Completely brilliant, beautifully written, and it you know it will have such a deep impact on you as the reader forever. Thank you Laura for sharing your thoughts, experiences and feelings in this book, I can’t imagine how hard this was to write, so my admiration for you is off the scale! X

I don’t know what to say. Through tears, I believe this book was sent to me by a greater power. From the subject to even the publication date of my birthday. I lost my mother last year to cancer and three months later breast cancer took my best friend. I have struggled with the loss of both of them so deeply. As a woman, the closest to you are your mom and friends. Jess, in this book, gave me the peace I needed. She answered many questions I held silently. I learned the struggles my best friend felt as she worried about her young children and husband she was leaving behind. I thought about my mother and the worries she held for me. Ms Pearson, thank you. Thank you for the beauty in your writing, the pictures playing in my mind and the chance to try to understand what struggles as mothers, daughters, best friends and lovers we face. I loved your book and I recommend it to anyone who is losing or has lost a loved one. It brings beautiful closure to your soul. The story is incredible.

Last week I finished Laura Pearson’s latest novel - I wanted You To Know. It’s taken me a few days to put into words my feelings about this book because quite simply, it broke me. This novel is beautiful and bold, it will break your heart, but it will leave you cherishing those you love all the more.

Once again the author has delivered a heart-breaking, honest and raw insight into family life and relationships.
The novel focuses on 21-year-old new mum Jess and her battle with breast cancer. But it isn’t just the diagnosis Jess has to face, or knowing that she may not be around for her daughter Edie, she also has to handle the emotions of those closest to her. Jess’s friend Gemma stole my heart. Everyone should have a friend like Gemma by their side.

At no point did the author take the easy road in dealing with this challenging topic. At no point did she give anything less than a stark and painful honesty about a disease and situation no one should find themselves in.
Yes, this is a sad book, yes you’ll need tissues at the ready, but it is also a beautiful novel that will leave you wanting to live your best life.

Thank you to Agora Books, Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this wonderful book.

Wow what a beautiful and moving story After Jess becomes pregnant at a young age and things don't work out with her partner she decides to go back and live with mother and bring up the baby on her own Little does she know that she might not get the chance Laura Pearson writes this novel so beautifully and movingly it breaks your heart and when Jess desides to write some letters for her daughter's future the story is so poignant Can relate to all the characters and when the chips are everyone pulls together A wonderfulstory but beware you will need plenty of tissues

This has got to be one of the SADDEST books I’ve ever read. I think I’ve only cried reading 3 books and this one sure had me at the end! I knew what was coming but it still got to me anyway. How could it not?? Cancer just plain sucks - for EVERYONE involved. I’ve sadly lost a couple of friends and family members to cancer and it was one the worst things to go through. But I also have several friends who are cancer survivors!! Thank you NetGalley for granting my wish to get this book. All opinions are my own.

An excellent novel with a fascinating depiction of characters. I very much enjoyed this wonderful story and highly recommend it.

I eagerly awaited the arrival of this book as I had loved a previous book by Laura and this book was such a poignant tearjerker of a read that I couldn’t put it down!
Jess is a single mum to baby Edie when she is given the awful devastating news that she has inoperable breast cancer, what follows is an emotional, powerful,beautifully narrated read in the form of prose and letters. This book illustrates the power of love and friendships and looking for positivity even on the darkest of days when life has treated you unfairly. Heartbreaking st times particularly the good byes at the end but also uplifting.This book will stay with me for a long time and was even more poignant as last week my cousin a single parent also lost her battle with breast cancer.
Thank you net galley for this read

Cancer sucks at any age . This book details letters a young single dying mother leaves for her infant daughter. This book also shows how friends and families are so supportive and caring during sickness. Life is often unfair but continues for the living .

After being blown away by Pearson's first two novels, I was very much looking forward to reading her third novel. The story of a young mother diagnosed with breast cancer, this novel is all the more poignant when, in a note at the start of the book, you read about Laura's own diagnosis.

Written in both prose and letters, we join Jess as she is given a diagnosis of breast cancer and embarks on treatment. As a single mother, her primary concern is for her baby daughter, Edie. Worried that she may not be there to answer Edie's questions as she grows, she begins to write letters to her, telling her about love and life, and making sure Edie has something to know her mother by in case she doesn't remember Jess.

Pearson has always had a wonderful flair for telling the stories that are the most painful to read and imagine. Despite the upsetting subject, I Wanted You To Know was a pleasure to read with many uplifting moments. I felt I knew Jess and her family and friends personally as the characters were so well developed. This novel will make you think about your own mortality, and the things that would seem truly important to you if you learned that you might not have as much time left as you'd hoped.

Thank you to NetGalley and Agora for the opportunity to review this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.