THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR

TITLE: THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR
AUTHOR: ROISIN MEANEY
Pages: 439
Date: 12/12/2008
Grade: 4
Library

On Millar's Avenue are only three houses numbered 7, 8 and 9.
In number 7 lives Yvonne O'Mahony with her daughter Clara. After nearly twenty years of widowhood, Yvonne is turning to Internet dating with less than great results. Her daughter Clara appears to be a normal and happy twenty three year old woman but she's been holding a dreadful secret for over 10 years.
Number 8 used to be home to Dan and his wife Ali, until Ali left him after two years of marriage for Dan's much older uncle, Declan. This leaves Dan angry, confused and hurt. A surprising bit of news will further complicate his life, but his new tenant, Kieran, a man with a secret of his own, provides him with a new found interest in cooking.
Number 9 is occupied by Kathryn, her husband Justin and her mother in law Grainne. Kathryn is struggling to keep her marriage together despite Grainne's constant efforts to cause it to break down.
Over the next 13 months all these people will go through ups and downs and life changing events, discovering that what they need can be found closer to home than they ever thought possible.
This is another author clearly writing in the vein of Meave Binchy, yet with her own voice. It must be the legendary Irish talent for story telling that makes these authors so good at describing ordinary people with fairly uneventful lives in such a compelling way.