Alicia's Gift [Kindle Edition]

'Adam and Sasha appear to have the perfect life - good jobs, a nice home, money and three perfect children. But as their marriage begins to unravel, their ballet-crazy daughter starts staving herself - and her parents are too preoccupied to notice. A haunting, heartbreaking novel.'

'A sensitive and thought-provoking novel that will resonate all the more for those with musical leanings.'

'Jessica Duchen has crafted a riveting drama set within the arts world . . . The neatly-composed plot charges to a climax as steadily as Ravel's Boléro, with Duchen capturing well the inner world of the pubescent girl and the London classical music scene. For fans of Joanna Trollope and Russian composers alike.'

'An imaginative novel about a music writer, her violinist husband their daughter, with themes of miscommunication, perfectionism and adolescence.'

'Wonderful! Thank you for hours of absorption - I had to know what happened to the characters.'

'The devil in this book is in the detail, the accumulation of every detail that disables middle class life when the unexpected lands, in this case a musically gifted child. You turn the pages with a tremble, in case you crush the fragile family. Unbearably real.'

'Duchen skilfully balances the conventions of the genre with the authority of a writer who really knows her subject. ALICIA's GIFT is a wonderful read. But make sure you keep the Kleenex handy when you tackle it.'

'This is a very well written study of the problem of being and having a child prodigy.... it's a gripping read and it's very easy to get caught up in the excitement of wanting Alicia to succeed... I enjoyed this book a lot'

Forbidden by her parents to become a musician, Kate Bradley is stunned when her small daughter reveals an exceptional talent for the piano. Kate is determined to give Alicia the chance to succeed and it's not long before the fame of the Peak District prodigy begins to spread. Alicia, though, craves her father's approval: Guy, with a demanding job, is rarely at home, alienated by Kate's obsession with her daughter's burgeoning career. Meanwhile Alicia's tearaway brother is sidelined, and warns his sister that Kate doesn't mother her but smother her.

As the heap of white lies designed to keep Alicia concentrating on her piano in peace escalates into a mountain of deceit, conflict threatens to overwhelm the entire family - with potentially devastating consequences.