Things Don't Break On Their Own (2024) by Sarah Easter Collins is a tale of a missing sister and the subsequent years of seeing her everywhere. Willa Martenwood’s sister, Laika left for school one day and disappeared, without a trace. As the years pass, Willa grieves and often thinks she has spotted her sister, but alas not. Robyn, Willia’s best friend runs a website for the missing Laika that has sent postings all over the world in the hope the latest sighting might just be her sister. Twenty-five years later, at a family and friends get-together, they discuss childhood memories and Willa meets Claudette, a French woman who once again reminds her of Laika. An enticing account of a missed sibling, narrated by various characters and its impact on their lives makes for a three and a half stars read rating. With thanks to Penguin General UK and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.

This was an excellent book. I didn't quite know what to expect with it being the author's debut but it was really well written.
It is a family drama with the mystery disappearance of a young girl at the centre. Very much character led, I really enjoyed this book.

I loved the premise of this book but found it didn't quite deliver. I struggled to get in to it and almost didn't finish a few times.. On the whole it is a good read but it didn't wow me.

This is an incredible story; skilfully plotted with an engaging lead character and very clever exploration of numerous important themes. I’ve often wondered how people cope when a family member goes missing; it’s a shadow over their life forever and we’ll all be familiar with press reports of such tragedies.

Sarah Collins has taken this premise a step further and some 25 years after a disappearance, chance interevenes most unexpectedly. From there on, everything is turned upside down and Willa, the remaining sibling is forced to question everything she thought she knew and believed. Her life starts to fall apart as she recalls events from the past. It’s heartbreaking to feel her distress but out of this loss comes strength and this tale just works so well at many levels. Convincing characters, dialogue and setting and a coup,e of diff issues handled with sensitivity. This is a truly accompany remarkable debut and I’ll be looking for more from this author.

I really enjoyed this debut. Told in dual timelines, the story centres around the disappearance of Laika Martenwood. Laika's older sister, Willa, never fully gets over her sister's disappearance, and spends much of her life searching for Laika.

The circumstances around what happened to Laika are revealed slowly and cleverly. I never once second-guessed what was happening.

More than anything, this is a novel about trauma and the different ways we deal (or don't deal) with tragic events in our lives, and the strange tricks our memories play on us.

A really accomplished debut, full of heart, that I will be highly recommending to everyone!

There are many kinds of breakages with many causes, but, in families, causes are mainly physical or psychological, and most are deliberate! When thirteen-year-old Laika disappeared on the way to school, her family were shattered, especially her sixteen-year-old sister Willa, who had always tried to protect her and has felt guilt at her failure. Willa develops a fixation on the idea that Laika is still alive, and has never stopped searching for her. Robyn was roommate at the boarding school she was sent to after the disappearance. The two became lovers during their time in the sixth form. Although they are no longer a couple, they are still close friends and the story opens, twenty-five years later at a dinner party, thrown by Robyn and her wife, Cat, where the guests are Willa and her boyfriend, Jamie, Cat’s brother and his girlfriend and Robyn’s brother with his. The stage is set, all it needs is a catalyst, which is provided by an innocent game about early memories.
Clearly this is a psychological mystery story: What happened to Laika and why? But that is a facile description. It is a beautifully written, lyrical, examination of family relationships and the strength of friendships. The plot is meticulous, the twists surprising but somehow inevitable. It is told in segments, mainly by Robyn and Willa, starting at the dinner party and leaping back to significant events in their collective and separate lives; but always circling around Laika. Because of this we see some scenes from different perspectives, so this is also an examination of memory. After these segments finally converge at the party, the story then progresses towards its final revelations and forward into the immediate future.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

Wow, what a great read this was. It wasn’t what I expected, but so much better and it developed into a great read that I didn’t want to put down or finish. Highly recommended and thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the review copy.

Intrigued by the start but it took a couple of chapters to be pulled in and fully engaged.

I devoured this book in 2 days, I didn’t want to put it down and wanted to watch the story unfold! I did however guess the twist within 5% of the book 😭

I can’t say too much without revealing most of the plot points. It’s one of those books where the bare bones synopsis and going in without a lot of knowledge makes for a more enjoyable reading experience!

I will say that I enjoyed the complex, flawed characters. I also loved the flashes between past and present, and switching character POVs. There’s much less focus on the dinner party than I was expecting and also not as fast paced/thrilling as I hoped (especially given that this is marketed as a thriller when I didn’t find that to be an accurate depiction at all).

Overall it was an interesting, engaging story which made for a very quick read! It only took 2 days to read 😃 I would say it’s less a thriller and more of a literary novel with a quiet mystery added in. I’d recommend for anyone wanting a quick read with complex characters, coming of age, or discussions on memory, family, and identity.

Rating 4.5 rounded down to 4

A tale of two sisters, one who vanished without trace twenty five years ago and the other unable to let go, still sees her everywhere.

Part drama, part mystery with great characterisation this novel had me captivated from the opening pages. Moving back and forth between past and present its an emotional, compelling read that I didn't want to finish. One of my stand out reads of the year.

I got so caught up in the family,drama,I was so rooting for the children. It is full of life's regrets,how a major event affects the lives of many people and how do you carry on afterwards? I did not want to finish the book.
An excellent read,

This book took my emotions on a wild ride. At once heartbreaking, warm and comforting , I enjoyed feeling connected to the characters. Ultimately satisfying.

I didn't know what to expect when I picked this book up. The praise it received from various authors made me feel like it would be a dark thriller. But as I read what unfolded was a slow burn drama. The book flits from POV and timeline to provide what at times seems to be a hazy narrative, with themes of faux memories in parts of the book I wonder if this is on purpose. The chapters on Willa and Laika growing up and Willa at boarding school I felt through a veil of nostalgia, which I really enjoyed. The relationship between Robyn and Willa felt genuine and touching.

I did feel at around 70-80% the story lost it's punch a little but it didn't last long before the final part of the story brought everything together nicely. I loved the themes of breaking, mending and being more because of it. I found the characters believable and loved the dinner party scenes for the tension they aroused.

Things Don't Break on their Own is a stunning debut by author, Sarah Easter Collins. Part-family drama, part-mystery this dark and gripping story will draw you in and keep you hooked. The characters are well written, and deep making you feel connected and invested. This author is someone to watch and I look forward to seeing what they put out next.

Review on Amazon to follow after release day.

‘Things Don’t Break On Their Own’ is a very readable debut by Sarah Easter Collins. The characters and situations presented early in the novel are well depicted and easy to imagine. Bohemian family life on Dartmoor is vividly drawn and it’s not difficult to see just why Willa is so attracted to her friend Robyn’s warm and loving family. It is the antithesis of hers.
Willa’s sister, Laika, disappears at the age of thirteen and Willa and her parents have to live with this trauma year after year. It affects them all in different ways. The adult Willa still can’t really accept that her sister has gone; she keeps on imagining that she can see her wherever she travels. And her mother won’t move home in case Laika returns.
I very much enjoyed the first half of the novel. However, towards the end of the narrative, as the author begins to tie up loose threads and reveal what has happened and why Laika left, she introduces too many coincidences and some circumstances which, to my mind, are just not credible. Such a shame. Whilst Sarah Easter Collins portrays relationships so vividly, her overall plot is not convincing. However, an author to watch!
My thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin General UK for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I loved this debut novel by Sarah Easter Collins! This is full of deep character studies, and lives overlapping and intersecting and cycling others in a way I find truly satisfying to read. In that sense, I was reminded of Station Eleven at times. And regarding what is implied towards the end: good for her.

If publishers see this: I believe there’s a typo of “manged” instead of “managed” at 67% (on my Kindle).

Wow, what a read. I wasn’t too sure what to expect from the synopsis so approached it with an open mind. Not exactly a psychological thriller, more of a domestic drama although that doesn’t really do it justice.

The complexity of the sisters was so well drawn and whilst some of their actions and those of their mother were frustrating, it was impossible not to feel a keen empathy for the miserable life festering beneath the trappings of wealth and privilege. The father was a despicable character; even though his acts of violence and cruelty were largely glossed over, you could keenly feel the power he wielded and abused at every turn.

Some of the plot developments were a little convenient but I was able to suspend disbelief enough not to let that impact my enjoyment of the story.

Overall I’d give this 4.5, rounded up to 5. Looking forward to reading more from this author!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

What a book! For me it started slow and got a tad boring, but it picked up. A story of a missing sister, love & heartbreak. Robyn and Willa are good friends. It is Willa's sister, Laika that has gone missing many years ago. At a dinner party, the story unfolds in flashbacks telling what has happened to Laika as the truth comes out. A brilliant story with plenty of red herrings and the characters are likeable.

This was well written and easy to read with well drawn characters, but
in the end there are only so many unbelievable twists and coincidences you can present to a reader before they give up, and sadly I found that in the final third the author reached my limit and it just became silly.
2.5 rounded up to 3
Thank you to netgalley and Penguin Books for an advance copy of this book

I read Things don't break on their own in one sitting. The characters were well written and the story intriguing. Grief, guilt, first love and the complexities that is family.
the chApters fall into three voices Robyn, Wills and finally Claudette and how Laikas' disappearance affects each of them. I was hooked from the first page, each character being written with the pain that each of them had to deal with.

A sisters life is blighted by the unsolved mystery of her sister’s disappearance 25 years earlier. Unresolved issues related to a domineering bully for a father and compliant mother leave her struggling to maintain relationships. Memories are complicated in that she struggles to differentiate actual memories from what she has been told and over time accepted as fact. Then the storyline opens UP to a big get together where drink flows, inhibitions cast aside and the past and present collide. The author deftly dips into the past tantalising the reader with snippets of incidents from the past that collide with the recollections of our .confused and troubled protagonist. The thoughts and pointed barbs of a guest is the catalyst that escalates events towards a conclusion that resolves and clarifies a long festering wound of a missing child from a dysfunctional and abusive family. Many thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for ARC.