"Spanning Norway, Washington DC and Greece, This Is All He Asks of You is a visionary story about letters never sent, life once flowing and now frozen, swim-flying in golden light and the beauty of human connection. Above all, it is a story about how sad it would be if everything became like everything else."
Looking forward to reading.

This was a beautiful, touching story, told through the letters of a young girl. Luna will quickly find her way into your heart, with her innocence and deep feelings, as she tries to cope with everything life throws at her. Getting to know her, and the people who touched her life through her writing, made for a story that was difficult to put down. This book certainly isn't for everyone, but if you're looking for a wonderful, emotional coming of age story then you'll want to pick this one up.

This is a deceptively profound story which, while relatively short, will make you want to take your time over it.

It is told in the form of letters written by 12 year old Luna to her father, imagining what she might say to him if he were in her life. Her mother is dying of cancer and Luna is going to live with her uncle in Norway when the time comes.

The characterisation is particularly well drawn and you get sucked into the tale almost without realising it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

this was a really good read, I really enjoyed reading this book, it was well written and I had a lot of fun with this book. I look forward to more from the author.

This Is All He Asks of You is my kind of quiet story! It’s the kind of story that spoke to me in a quiet, inspiring way. It’s the kind of story that needed me to quiet my mind and take in the words I am reading. It’s the kind of story I love to delve into the beauty that is being shown to me. It’s the kind of book you will want to find a quiet place to be swept away and get lost in the words you are reading.

“Have you noticed how many kinds of quiet there are in the world?”

There are a few themes explored while packed into the 134 pages. Anne Egseth knows how to use words to deliver us a profound, beautifully written story. Being short, it seemed like it would be a quick one to read; however, there is so much shown us in the written words to the story, it took some focus to breathe in the beauty of the words. Some words I needed to delve into the story to see and others flowed right into my heart. When I first started reading the story, I did not give it the time needed, and I lost focus with the noise in my head. When I realized I was missing something, I went back and started it again. I am so glad I gave it the time I need to connect to it profoundly.

“It is a story about how sad it would be if everything became like everything else.”

The story explores human connections, connections with each other and also with nature. The first part of the story is told through unsent letters from 12-year-old Luna to her father she never met. She longs for a connection with her father and a connection to someone who see the world as she does. Through the letters, we see how different Luna is from what is expected from a 12-year-old character and at first that threw me off and then I started to see the gifts Luna gives us with her curiosity, imagination and sensitivity to people and the world around her. It is refreshing to see a character who is not performing an expected role but one that shows how different we can be from each other and how different we can see the world around us.

“I can see and feel the waves created by other people. The waves move me. I know who you are, not their names or what they like for dinner, but the particular feeling there is in the light they have in them.” Luna

In the second part of the story, Luna is 22 years old and she goes on a journey to find that 12-year-old girl’s light she has lost in herself. What she finds is not what she expects and the story wraps up well. I felt like my heart stopped as I breathed in the words I was reading! I will be thinking about this one for a long time! I highly recommend it!

“When you read this you will feel the thick, golden air behind my words, and you will know me” Luna

I have to mention that stunning cover! That alone takes my breath away! Oh, and the title itself is thought-provoking!!

This story is unusual. In it, 12-year old Luna writes letters to a father she never knew. She lives with her mother, who is dying of cancer and will soon live with an uncle in Norway. Meanwhile, she has befriended her next-door neighbor, Vietnam Vet Garrick. The letters are interesting and poignant, reflecting thoughts of a serious 12-year old. As time passes, she begins to correspond with Garrick, who will ultimately give her what she needs most. The story is told mostly through the letters, which was something different for me. As I read farther and farther into the book, it began to take hold of me and draw me right into these lives. I got a good picture of Luna and her early and later relationship with Garrick. Both seemed to be searching, though not necessarily the same thing. Bot seems at odds with their lives, looking to the future, while not totally discounting the present or their interactions. The story was definitely different for me, but, as I said it really drew me in. This is beautifully done but different story that will grab ahold of you once you get into it and will stay with you throughout and probably afterwards. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

A twelve year old Luna, living with her terminally mother and longing to know her father or at least something of substance about him.

Luna writes letters to her absent father which on the one hand are true to a child her age and yet on the other hand show a strange maturity and spiritual knowledge of what is necessary to lead a full and good life.

A simple tale shown through the purity of a child's eyes which cannot fail to tug at your heart strings although I was disappointed when it ended where it did. Luna's simple acceptance and intuition left me wiser and full of gratitude.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my ecopy of this book.

What an extraordinary and thought provoking book.

A young 20 something Luna reads through letters she wrote as a child to a father she never knew and relives the memories of that painful yet precious and formative time in her life. Her mother is now dying and still refuses to give Luna the answers she needs. But Luna is a child who sees the world differently to others and is guided by the buzz in her head and the golden liquid light of being.

This is a book to read again and again and again - just fabulous

Luna seems wise beyond her years and yet manages to capture and hold tight to her imagination, even when those around her do not. I found many of her letters raw and sad. And yet I cheered for her. Her letters to her father were typical of most 12-year-olds in some way, and yet shared glimmers of a beautiful mind and soul.
I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I enjoyed parts of it, but can't give it more than three stars because it failed to wow me.

Apologies to the author and publisher.

I just loved this.

Luna has a unique and lovely voice and is an irresistibly odd bird of a twelve-year-old girl.

She is facing her mother’s decline in health and exploring her own identity and meaning, and she shapes her sometimes practical but often mystical thoughts and reflections through writing letters to her father, who she has never met, in the conversational tone of a pen pal writing to someone who will love her and her words unconditionally.

Luna stumbles into encounters that shape her life dramatically, in unorthodox and heartbreakingly meaningful ways. I simultaneously wanted to scoop her up and take care of her and to follow the lead of this wise-beyond-her-years, intensely spiritual young person.

I received a copy of this book through John Hunt Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Twelve-year-old Luna is trying to make the world light in the midst of darkness, darkness caused by her mother’s illness and her father’s absence. Born in Norway, she now lives in Washington with her mother. Her father, who she never knew lives on the other side of the world in Greece – the father her mother called “a waste of space, a useless wannabe artist and a crazy-maker”, ironically also what she calls Luna when her imagination runs away with her.

In a series of letters to her father we are drawn into Luna’s vivid, imaginative world – one where she can swim in the air, where trees bring her comfort and she sees golden threads between people who love each other. There’s no doubt that Luna is a sensitive soul, wise beyond her years.

Read the full review here: https://wanderingwestswords.wordpress.com/2020/06/03/this-is-all-he-asks-of-you-anne-egseth/

Thank you to NetGalley and John Hunt Publishing for an advance reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I realize that I’m in the minority here when I say I did not like this book. It felt like the daily ramblings of a 12 year old, except in this case she doesn’t know her dad and she has written these in the form of letters addressed to him.

2 ⭐️

A lovely story told in the voice of a twelve year old girl. Luna is a child whose mother is dying. Luna longs for her father, who she never met, and she writes letters to him that she will never send. She is a lonesome and afraid but also very brave. Her future is uncertain. When Luna’s mother takes a turn for the worse it is the strange neighbor, who she has befriended, who assists her and provides the parental care she needed during this horrific and scary time.
I loved the voice of Luna and I really liked how there is closure in this short book by having Luna reach adulthood at the age of 22. Luna is able to reflect back on her life and to finally reach her goal of finding her father. This is not a large book but it is packed with emotion and nostalgic feelings.
I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher. This is my unbiased review.

The description of This is All He Asks of You drew me in and I devoured the book in just two days. Anne Egseth’s debut novel is written through the voice of 12 year old Luna, it is written with passion, love, fear, strength and innocence.

Luna writes letters to her father whom she has never met. Her mother tells her he is a useless artist and a searcher of miracles. Luna has a vivid imagination, she talks about swim-flying In the air to a place where she can merge with her surroundings and where she can head to a place where she can find good feelings. Her mother is constantly telling her she needs to stop dreaming and focus on the real world and that she needs to stop being a “crazymaker”. Garrick an older neighbor, who slowly paces in his yard everyday at the same time, becomes Luna’s savior. I feel like I entered their souls and that I know Luna and Garrick from the inside out.

The second part of the book is narrated by 22 year old Luna. From the time Luna is 12 until she is 22 her soul is lost and her body is frozen. Will she find what she needs to move on with her life and swim-fly again, finding the golden liquid light?

Thank you NetGalley and John Hunt Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you are looking for something different filled with innocence and love you will enjoy this book.

This Is All He Asks of You by Anne Egseth
By Dawn Thomas

152 Pages
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing Ltd
Release Date: May 29, 2020

Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction

Luna is twelve-years old living in Washington, D.C. with her mother. She is very spiritual and experiences life more in depth than other people. She skips school one day to see a Saint from India. She sits in bliss most of the day and her mother is frantic when she finally returns home. The book is written as letters to her father. She has never met him but still wants to contact him. When her mother becomes sick and goes to the hospital unexpected, she stays with her neighbor, Garrick, a Viet Nam war veteran.

This book is a fast reading and I finished it in one sitting. The characters are well developed and the story flows well. The majority of the book is written from the perspective of a young girl. The scenery is very descriptive, and I was completely hooked. I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes books about experiencing life.

4.5
Very moving...
12 yr old Luna tells her story mostly in letters that she writes to her father who is unknown to her..she doesn’t remember ever seeing or knowing him, but knows he lives in Greece from what she’s been told.
As she continues writing these letters we learn more about her life. She feels as she is different from others and she’s always searching for “the light” When something feels right to her, she gets a beeping in her ear.
Her mother is ailing and she becomes friends to a Vietnam Vet who lives next door, Garrick.. he seems to be fighting some demons himself, but this ends up being such a beautiful friendship and he is real rock for her as parts of her life crumble, he is there to see her through.
This is a story that encompasses nature, loneliness, and the power of light and love in our lives.

Thank you to Netgalley and John Hunt Publishing and Roundfire Books for the ARC!

This Is All He Asks of You by Author Anne Egseth Is a story about twelve year old Luna and the letters she has written, but not sent to a father she has never known.

The book is both beautiful and sad, as her mother is dying from Cancer

A story that is realistic and has an innocence in the young girls words and thoughts

Thank to NetGalley, John Hunt Publishing Ltd and Author Anne Egseth For my advanced copy to read in exchange for my review.

This is a sweet, funny and warm coming of age story about a 12 year girl called Luna who has a very sick mother and an absent father. Luna and her neighbour Garrick are beautifully drawn characters, She's trusting, brave and straightforward; he is quiet, kind and wise.

Overall, there is a lot of kindness in this book. It reminded me a lot of My Name is Leon. This is All He Asks of You is a lovely and quietly uplifting read - definitely recommended.

Short review:
I liked how the author maintains the tone of a 12-year-old's musings, which is rarely done right in YA Lit.

Full review available on Goodreads. Thank you, John Hunt Publishing Ltd, for providing me with the ARC.

This Is All He Asks of You focuses on the story of Luna, a young girl who expresses her reality living with a terminally ill mother through a series of letters she writes to a father she has never met. Wise beyond her years, you feel as if you are living inside the skin of this young girl, where you see what she sees and feels what she feels in all its beauty and melancholy.

Her letters are incredibly moving.

She questions the fine line between life and death, "I wonder what happens to the light I see in people's bodies after they die";

..the importance of living in the moment,

"..nothing was complicated. If I just focused on the taste of the drink, and on the pie, and on the neighbour across from me, then everything was simple, and it felt good in my whole body, like honey"

..and she wonders what her father is like, “Mom sometimes tells me that I have your eyes. If that is so, we must be seeing the same kind of things.”

She feels responsible for her mother and the illness that is stealing her away, and yet feels helpless and angry with the father she doesn’t know. “I am only twelve years old,” she tells him, and “I wouldn’t have had to listen to all of this if you were around”.

Reading for me is not only about plot, but it’s the dance of the words and this book is a ballet! You feel that Anne Egseth has carefully and lovingly placed every word on the page, and in line with the strong theme of the ocean in the book, you can’t help feel that you are floating upon the prose, being gently led throughout the story.

I also love how the author has linked Luna’s nightmares of rescuing her mother from the dark sea with the lives lost in the ocean of refugees trying to make their way to safety from their nightmares in their home countries.

One critique I would make is I would have loved the story to continue a little longer. I feel that the book comes to an abrupt ending. We have experienced all of Luna’s thoughts getting to this point and I would have loved to stay in her head a little longer as she processed the new direction her life was taking as a young woman.

This is a remarkable first novel by Egseth, one that I know will keep on giving with a re-read. I haven’t stopped thinking of Luna since, to be honest. I really look forward to reading more of this author’s work in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.