Seventeen year old Lenni is living on the terminal ward in the hospital and meets Margot at an art class. Margot a rebel hearted Eighty Three year old is in the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realise together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years.

To celebrate their shared century they decide to paint their life stories of growing old and staying young.

A beautifully written drama that is full of heartbreak, grief and loss, but at the same time full of laughter, hope and friendship making this an unforgettable heart tugging novel that had me crying and laughing at the same time.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Great potential, but the execution was disappointing and it's not one that will stick with me or that I'd recommend. A shame as it sounded so intreguing

Oh my GOSH! This book is BEAUTIFUL and made me cry buckets. It is such a lovely story about the most unusual friendship and I absolutely fell in love with both Lennie and Margot. Beautiful, funny and heartbreaking! An emotional rollercoaster.

I would give this book all the stars if I could, it was perfect in every conceivable way. I laughed, I cried and I broke a little at the end. The characters are just fabulous, and all too beautifully human and believable. The story is poignant without being downbeat and it teaches you a gentle lesson about treasuring all that life has to hold, both good and bad. I loved the May/September friendship between Lenni and Margot, so beautifully written and carefully crafted. This is an author who's next book I shall very eagerly await!

EXCERPT: I peeped through the small window in the Rose Room door, and saw Pippa holding a piece of paper up to an elderly audience of three. She pointed her finger to the edge of the canvas and swooped her hand down in a sweeping motion. When she had finished talking, she put down the paper, and it was then she waved and beckoned for me to go in.

I shuffled in, feeling the eyes of the room on me and my pink pyjamas. I should have gone for my Sunday best slippers.

'Lenni, hi!'

'Hi, Pippa.'

'What brings you here?'

I struggled to think how to phrase exactly what had brought me here. A long dead man and his unequally loved sons. A fish. A priest. An itching to do anything other than mind white water rafting. . . None of those made enough sense to verbalize in front of a geriatric audience.

'Fancy doing some painting?' she asked.

I nodded.

'Pull up a seat and I'll bring you some paper. The theme this week is stars.'

I turned to find somewhere to sit and there she was. Sitting all alone on the table at the back. Her hair catching the sunlight and shining like a ten pence piece, her cardigan a deep shade of purple and her eyes set on the paper in front of her, on which she was sketching with a nubbin of charcoal. The mauve miscreant, the periwinkle perpetrator. The old lady who stole something from the bin.

'It's you!' I said.

She looked up from her drawing and stared at me for the briefest of moments, letting me come into focus. Then, with recognition and delight, said, 'It's you!'

ABOUT 'THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT': Life is short. No-one knows that better than seventeen year old Lenni living on the terminal ward. But as she is about to learn, it's not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with.

Dodging doctor's orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eighty three year old from the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realize that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years.

To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything.

As their extraordinary friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet.

MY THOUGHTS: "Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” - Sarah Williams, The Old Astronomer to his Pupil.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot melted my heart. For a book about death and dying, it is full of love, life and joy. I cried buckets. I laughed - snorting coffee laughter.

The paintings of Lenni and Margot are accompanied by stories that provide snapshots of their lives. From Lenni we learn of her first and only kiss, her alcoholic mother, and the father she sends away. We learn of Margot's marriage, and her husband's abandonment of her following the death of their infant son; of Meena, the woman who saved her; of Humphrey who fostered Margot's love of the stars and which she passes on to Lenni. One of the most beautiful moments in this book for me was when Margot takes Lenni outside the hospital to look at the stars:
'I find it so peaceful,' Margot told me after a while.
'Me too.'
'Do you know,' she said slowly, 'that the stars that we see the clearest are already dead?'
'Well, that's depressing.' I took my hand from hers.
'No,' she said gently, linking her arm through mine, 'it's not depressing, it's beautiful. They've been gone for who knows how long, but we can still see them. They live on.'
They live on.

I am not going to say anything else about this wonderful book other than it you haven't yet read it, then please do. It is funny, and sad, and tragically beautiful. A book that is going on my 'forever' shelf. A book that contains lessons for us all, ones that most of us never knew we needed.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#TheOneHundredYearsofLenniandMargot

I: @itsmariannecronin @randomhouseuk

T: @itsmcronin @RandomHouseUK

#fivestarread #contemporaryfiction #deathanddying #sliceoflife

THE AUTHOR: Marianne was born in 1990 in Warwickshire, England. She studied English and Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham. She now spends most of her time writing with her rescue cat, Puffin, sleeping under her desk.

Her debut novel 'The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot' took seven years to write. It is to be published in over twenty languages and is being adapted into a feature film by a major Hollywood studio.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday, via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

When I started reading this book I was not sure that it was going to be something I enjoyed but I got hooked so quickly on it. Lenni and Margot, despite their age difference, understand what the other is going through being in hospital. I am not usually one to cry at books but the tears would not stop for the entire last 10% as it just was so heart-wrenching and beautifully written. A stunning book; one of my favourite reads of this book, if not of recent years.

I have reviewed The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot for LoveReading.co.uk. It has been chosen as a LoveReading Star Book, and Book of the Month.

This was emotional and moving and I liked the characters although Lenni did sometimes come across as being quite blunt and rude... This is definitely the kind of book that people will enjoy reading if they've devoured John Green books!

An unlikely friendship springs up between 17 year old Lenni and 83 year old Margot who meet in hospital. It took me a while to get into this style of writing. Much more of Margot who has had much more of a life than her new young friend and there’s lots of backwards and forwards as stories are told. Pity there wasn’t more about Margo’s present rather than so much about her past. Funny, sad and poignant, often all at the same time! An intriguing idea and cleverly done, not to mention the stunning cover. I’d definitely pick it up for a closer look had I seen it in a bookshop.

Touching, heart-wrenching and thoroughly uplifting, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is a genuinely emotional read that will make you think differently about life and death. Initially, I was slightly concerned I might find the subject matter too tough to cope with, but this is a really beautiful novel which uses flashbacks to unravel complex relationships and an LGBT love story. I particularly love Lenni's distinct voice, she's a curious and truly loveable character. Would highly recommend!

What a beautiful read if a friendship between two unlikely people. Beautifully written, funny and sad. Highly recommended

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in Exchange for an honest review. Lenni and Margot join an art therapy group in hospital. Lenni is in the terminal stages of her illness and Margot's recovery cannot be predicted with certainty. Lenni is fiery feisty character who draws Margot into her rebellion against all things rule bound, although Margot does not require much persuasion. Between them they have a century of experiences that they decide to protray as art - Lenni decides her artistic talents cannot compare to Margots and so she also tells the stories in her diary.

This is a beautifully rendered tale of lives lived, the art reflects the good, the bad and the ugly but becomes more than the sum of its parts. The book is a pure joy to read, the characters come to life on the pages and I became entwined in their lives. It is a book to warm the cockles of anyone's heart perfect reading for the summer

This book has stayed with me a long time after finishing it. It’s such a special heartbreaking story Marianne Cronin should be very proud of her book baby. Both Lenni and Margot’s characters were so very real . I love the idea of friendship breaking barriers and tackles some big issues sensitively . A beautiful book

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book made me laugh and cry in equal measures, and I was absolutely blown away by it. I would never have known this was the authors debut novel, and cannot wait to read whatever she writes next. If your looking for a feel good, heartwarming story then don’t hesitate to pick this one up,

This was a lovely read. Both the main characters were incredibly endearing and I loved how their histories were revealed over time. Highly recommended.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is an uplifting and poignant read which is perfect for book clubs as it has lots of interesting talking points.

This was just such a lovely and emotion-filled read.
You will no doubt laugh, smile, cry and reflect upon life and friendship as you read this.
Even though you might imagine it to be a sad or depressing kind of story, there is so much life and light within the hundred years made up by Lenni and Margot.
I won't give too much away but it's incredibly well written and doesn't go exactly as you would expect.
And as someone who has lived their entire life in Glasgow, Scotland it was a welcome surprise to see that it was set in a hospital that I not only know of but have visited in the past.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Marianne Cronin's amazing début tells the stories of Swedish born Lenni Pettersson who is seventeen years old and terminally ill and Margot Macrae, eighty-three and awaiting heart surgery. Both are patients at Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. A chance encounter between Lenni and Margot, followed by an actual meeting in the new art therapy class run by art teacher Pippa, marks the start of an unlikely blossoming friendship. Together, they decide to paint one hundred paintings, each representing a story from their combined lives – 83 pictures for Margot, and 17 for Lenni.

This beautifully-written, inspiring story of friendship, destiny, wisdom, joy and love focuses on living life to the fullest, no matter how much time you may have left. As Lenni and Margot paint their stories in the Rose Room, they share and preserve their best and worst memories. Narrator Lenni showed optimism, a sense of humour, selflessness, curiosity, irreverence and an openness to love. Margot was a free spirit, who faced her fair share of grief and loss with fortitude and grace. Both were there for one another at a time when they were most needed. Other characters also stood out for me, forming relationships that were just as warm and genuine, including Father Arthur, the aforementioned Pippa, Paul the Porter and New Nurse. With several teary, eye-leaking moments, I was totally taken with The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot, and it deserves to be a best seller. At any rate, it's an excellent début that you won't want to miss.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Doubleday via NetGalley and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Now I’m not a fan of the whimsical novel so I was bit worried that this wouldn’t be for me.
But I was utterly charmed by the story of 17 year old terminally ill Lenni and her fellow patient - also terminally ill - 83 year old Margot.
Their combined age is 100 and these two quirky characters embark on a joint project that will tell both of their heartbreaking and uplifting life stories.
It’s clear that the tale of two people with very little time to live left is going to be sad but this is surprisingly joyful and humorous.
It is also very visual and I can imagine it as a film.
Cronin’s voice is very assured and her writing is as absorbing as her characterisation.
Thoroughly recommended for those looking for something different - a novel that breaks your heart and touches it with its sheer joie de vivre.

Lenni is seventeen. She may be in the Terminal ward but she's not ready to go yet! Margot is eighty three, she is at the closing stage of life but is not dead yet. The two meet in an Art Therapy class. They begin on a project that covers their hundred years. We read of events in their lives and the time in the hospital. Lenni is feisty, questioning & downright awkward at times. Those who take the time to know her can't help but enjoy the way she makes them question things. Margot has led a varied & interesting life.

This is not a book to be read without tissues & it is not easily forgotten. For all that this is a sad subject it is never maudlin & often very funny. It is a great debut novel & I loved it. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.