In her eargerly anticipated second novel, Mail on Sunday Novel Competition winner Isabel Ashdown explored the treacherous territory of adolescent friendships and traces the repercussions of a dangerous relationship across the decades. It's been more than 20 years since Sarah Ribbons last set foot inside her old high school, a crumbling, Victorian-built comprehensive on the south coast of England. Now, as she prepares for her school reunion, 39-year-old Sarah has to face up to the truth of what really happened back in the summer of 1986...
Hurry Up and Wait
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Review
With strong characters, a cleverly constructed story and masses of period detail, this vivid evocation of life in 1985 is a fine second book from a writer who first won The Mail On Sunday Novel Competition. --Daily Mail
Ashdown's depiction of a vulnerable teenager and the magnetic pull of a toxic friendship will have you wincing with recognition. --Glamour
Haunting fiction. --Stylist
Funny, insightful and often tragic. A fascinating book whose apparent simplicity masks complexity as it reveals once again the strength of Ashdown`s talent as a perceptive and engaging writer. This is a fitting second novel from the author of the acclaimed Glasshopper and will appeal to personal readers and book clubs alike. --NewBooks Magazine
Ashdown's début novel Glasshopper was named as one of the best books of 2009, and this well-crafted follow-up doesn't disappoint. --Heat
Isabel Ashdown's Glasshopper was one of our favourite reads of 2009, and her second novel is another mix of compelling characters and 1980s nostalgia. --Bella
Bursting with schoolgirl preoccupations of the 1980s - Andrew Ridgeley, Ryvita and rude words on the toilet wall - this lively journey through the embarrassments of growing up is tightly entwined with a darker tale. Sarah Ribbons is now 20 years older and wiser than her teenage self and has returned home for a school reunion. But what is it that is upsetting her so profoundly? --Sainsbury's Magazine
In Hurry Up And Wait Isabel Ashdown has produced a perfectly pitched trip back to the mid-eighties.
Ashdown's depiction of a vulnerable teenager and the magnetic pull of a toxic friendship will have you wincing with recognition. --Glamour
Haunting fiction. --Stylist
Funny, insightful and often tragic. A fascinating book whose apparent simplicity masks complexity as it reveals once again the strength of Ashdown`s talent as a perceptive and engaging writer. This is a fitting second novel from the author of the acclaimed Glasshopper and will appeal to personal readers and book clubs alike. --NewBooks Magazine
Ashdown's début novel Glasshopper was named as one of the best books of 2009, and this well-crafted follow-up doesn't disappoint. --Heat
Isabel Ashdown's Glasshopper was one of our favourite reads of 2009, and her second novel is another mix of compelling characters and 1980s nostalgia. --Bella
Bursting with schoolgirl preoccupations of the 1980s - Andrew Ridgeley, Ryvita and rude words on the toilet wall - this lively journey through the embarrassments of growing up is tightly entwined with a darker tale. Sarah Ribbons is now 20 years older and wiser than her teenage self and has returned home for a school reunion. But what is it that is upsetting her so profoundly? --Sainsbury's Magazine
In Hurry Up And Wait Isabel Ashdown has produced a perfectly pitched trip back to the mid-eighties.
Isabel Ashdown has captured every heartbeat of the uncertainty and excitement of growing up. Duplicitous friendships, awakening sexuality and the trials of school and exams are all depicted as Sarah's story unfolds.
The storyline starts at a school reunion taking place twenty years later. Through this section the secrets of the past are finally revealed and Sarah's story finds its resolution. Anyone who has ever attended a reunion with ambivalent feelings in their heart will identify strongly with this section.
I really enjoyed Isabel Ashdown's first novel, Glasshopper but, if anything, would have to say Hurry Up And Wait is even better. I loved everything about it. --Bookersatz
About the Author
ISABEL ASHDOWN lives in West Sussex with her carpenter husband and two children. She worked in product marketing for 15 years, until in 2004 she gave up her senior management role to write. Her first novel Glasshopper (Observer 'Best Debuts of 2009', Evening Standard 'Best Books of the Year') was published to rave reviews in 2009 and an extract from the novel won the Mail on Sunday Novel Competition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm not usually someone who makes time to write reviews. But every now and then I read something that truly sticks with me long after I've finished it: for all the right reasons. Hurry Up And Wait does just that. It brilliantly captures an experience of the mid 80's (without the clichés) fast-tracking me straight back to my own teens of the same period. Without doubt this feels like a real place, with real and believable people. The insights are both ordinary and amazing. The themes enormous yet mundane. This moving story gripped me from the first to last page.
The book takes place at the start of the hot summer holidays - past scenes spliced with present day perspectives make up the plot, naturally criss-crossing time. As the character switches from past to present, the tale tells of some of the journeys that we make through life. As a teenager - I would have loved this. It doesn't patronise and talks with an authentic voice. It tackles rites of passage and brings back blushingly embarrassing memories!
What I really liked about this book was the way in which the author dealt with the main character. It illustrates a point in history when the idea of strong women had become quite normal, yet the world of becoming a woman can still, at times, be terrifying. Now that I've had time to digest the enormity of what happens in this book I have an ever increasing urge to pick it and start again!
This book is a perfect read for the summer ahead and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
The book takes place at the start of the hot summer holidays - past scenes spliced with present day perspectives make up the plot, naturally criss-crossing time. As the character switches from past to present, the tale tells of some of the journeys that we make through life. As a teenager - I would have loved this. It doesn't patronise and talks with an authentic voice. It tackles rites of passage and brings back blushingly embarrassing memories!
What I really liked about this book was the way in which the author dealt with the main character. It illustrates a point in history when the idea of strong women had become quite normal, yet the world of becoming a woman can still, at times, be terrifying. Now that I've had time to digest the enormity of what happens in this book I have an ever increasing urge to pick it and start again!
This book is a perfect read for the summer ahead and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By HelenMH
Format:Paperback
In `Hurry Up And Wait' Isabel Ashdown has produced a perfectly pitched trip back to the mid-eighties.
The story of Sarah Ribbons, and her coming of age in 1985 and 1986, is illustrated beautifully with the sights, sounds and feelings of the time. For those of us who shared the experience of growing up in these times the atmosphere is absolutely spot-on.
Isabel Ashdown has captured every heartbeat of the uncertainty and excitement of growing up. Duplicitous friendships, awakening sexuality and the trials of school and exams are all depicted as Sarah's story unfolds.
Sarah is a deeply empathetic character from the start. No reader could fail to be moved by the situations she finds herself in as she exposes her heart to the possibilities of love and the dangers of betrayal for the first time.
The characters around her are also real and boldly drawn. I particularly liked Sarah's father; charming but utterly self-absorbed.
The storyline starts at a school reunion taking place twenty years later. Through this section the secrets of the past are finally revealed and Sarah's story finds its resolution. Anyone who has ever attended a reunion with ambivalent feelings in their heart will identify strongly with this section.
I really enjoyed Isabel Ashdown's first novel, `Glasshopper' but, if anything, I would have to say `Hurry Up And Wait' is even better. I loved everything about it.
The story of Sarah Ribbons, and her coming of age in 1985 and 1986, is illustrated beautifully with the sights, sounds and feelings of the time. For those of us who shared the experience of growing up in these times the atmosphere is absolutely spot-on.
Isabel Ashdown has captured every heartbeat of the uncertainty and excitement of growing up. Duplicitous friendships, awakening sexuality and the trials of school and exams are all depicted as Sarah's story unfolds.
Sarah is a deeply empathetic character from the start. No reader could fail to be moved by the situations she finds herself in as she exposes her heart to the possibilities of love and the dangers of betrayal for the first time.
The characters around her are also real and boldly drawn. I particularly liked Sarah's father; charming but utterly self-absorbed.
The storyline starts at a school reunion taking place twenty years later. Through this section the secrets of the past are finally revealed and Sarah's story finds its resolution. Anyone who has ever attended a reunion with ambivalent feelings in their heart will identify strongly with this section.
I really enjoyed Isabel Ashdown's first novel, `Glasshopper' but, if anything, I would have to say `Hurry Up And Wait' is even better. I loved everything about it.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Another extraordinarily beautiful novel from Isabel Ashdown. Her wry humour, unsentimental characterisation and sharp eye transport you effortlessly back to the life of a teenager in the 80's and that absolute sense of anxiety, confusion, and fear that many of us experienced when trying to grow up all too soon. The phrase "the best years of your life" that we all know in truth to be a myth for most teens seemed to be all the more tragic on reading Hurry Up and Wait.
What I love about Ashdown's writing is the lack of pretension and subtle nuances that sit within so much of her work, many of her sentences constructed like carefully prepared works of art:
"The tang of sea spray whips through the lamp-lit High Street, as the distant rumble of the clawing waves travels in from the dark shoreline, up and over the hedges of East Shelton. It's an ancient echo, both soothing and unsettling in its familiarity".
As with Glasshopper, her debut novel, I will be reading this book again.
What I love about Ashdown's writing is the lack of pretension and subtle nuances that sit within so much of her work, many of her sentences constructed like carefully prepared works of art:
"The tang of sea spray whips through the lamp-lit High Street, as the distant rumble of the clawing waves travels in from the dark shoreline, up and over the hedges of East Shelton. It's an ancient echo, both soothing and unsettling in its familiarity".
As with Glasshopper, her debut novel, I will be reading this book again.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excelleny
I really enjoyed this book. It was simple and sweet. Coming close to the end I couldn't put it down!
Published 25 days ago by Natalia Golden
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful read
I read "Glasshopper' which I thought was a wonderful novel, so was keen to read more by the author. This book didn't disappoint. Read more
Published 1 month ago by C Hall
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unusual and gripping book
Read this with growing interest. A different storyline, me which captivates and holds you at the same time. Recommend this book
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. A M. Brandon
3.0 out of 5 stars
Worth a read
If you went to high school in the 80s then you will enjoy this book, a great read I really enjoyed it
Published 1 month ago by mrs claire harker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hurry up and wait
Inspirational , reminiscent of days gone by , a touching story of a young life or three marred by a father who should have left young ladies alone, it just proves that things got... Read more
Published 3 months ago by self
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable
Thoroughly enjoyed this book, going back and forth to the characters school days. A great holiday or bed time book
Published 3 months ago by lymdylou
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hurry up & wait
I read this book in a couple of days, its an excellent story set in the 80's. As a teenager of the 80's I could identify with a lot of this story. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Dee2512
5.0 out of 5 stars
brilliantly observed
When I first started reading Isabel Ashdown's Hurry Up And Wait, I thought it was going to be an enjoyably nostalgic look at teen culture in the mid eighties. Read more
Published 5 months ago by selliot
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
As with one of the other reviewers, I don't normally take the time to write reviews, but there are a few books that have really caught my attention over this last few months, and... Read more
Published 6 months ago by teapot
2.0 out of 5 stars
Hmmm ... not convinced
I was excited to read this, having seen so many good reviews. Unfortunately, the characters were pretty much universally unsympathetic and inconsistent, and the plot was... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ping pongs
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