A simultaneously heartbreaking and heart-warming novel by a debut author.
Life on the Refrigerator Door
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"Very original and touching" -- Joanne Harris
Book Description
Mom, I went to the store. See inside the fridge. I watered the plants. I cleaned out Peter's cage. I tidied the sitting room. And the kitchen. And I did the washing up. I'm going to bed. Your live-in servant, Claire 'Life on the Refrigerator Door' is told exclusively through notes exchanged by Claire and her mother, Elizabeth, during the course of a life-altering year. Their story builds to an emotional crescendo when Elizabeth is diagnosed with breast cancer. Stunningly sad but ultimately uplifting, this is a clever, moving, and original portrait of the relationship between a daughter and mother. It is about how we live our lives constantly rushing, and never making time for those we love. It is also an elegy to how much can be said in so few words, if only we made the time to say them.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A very different way of writing a book, but a very clear message underneath the surface. (For Women) Hope you don't have mascara on because you will definetly have tiny tears. A quick read but in a good way, Enjoy!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A. H. Stokes
Format:Paperback
Excellent book - useful to me professionally and personally. Made me weep in places!It arrived speedily and in good condition.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Leah Graham
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Claire and her mum don't have the best of relationships and the only way in which they actually appear to communicate with each other is via the medium of the refrigerator door in the form of notes. The fact is Claire is far too busy being a teenager - out with friends, having a boyfriend and generally just having a life - whereas her mother is far too busy working to provide for herself and her daughter. Which means that their only method of communication is indeed on their refrigerator door. But one day, one note is going to turn Claire and her mums world completely upside down...
I must admit that I do feel a little cheated by the book. It's 226 pages long but it's absolutely not 226 pages full of writing. Because the book is told in notes there's only one note per page and some of the notes are only a few lines long so I managed to finish the book in under an hour. It is a unique way of trying to tell a story but to be honest, after finishing it, I'm still not totally convinced it worked. I mean the quotes from the magazines say it's "heartbreaking" and "guaranteed to make me cry" but I never felt either of those emotions whilst reading the book.
The idea of a mother and daughter being so far apart that they only communicate via notes is actually pretty sad. What mother or daughter cannot find the time to talk to each other for at least an hour a day? And, to be honest, the notes don't even really have a ring of truth to them. They seem forced - despite the fact Claire doodles all over her drawings which is obviously an attempt from the author to get us to be able to know Claire a bit better and to make her more real to us. But for me it didn't really work. I mean I've seen all the reviews everywhere saying the book is fab but I just didn't get what was supposed to be so good about the book apart from the fact I managed to read it in an hour.
I have to say that even the life-changing note wasn't really enough to make the book as good as I'd have liked. It again seemed rather forced and it was as if it was thrown in there to make the book more dramatic than it actually was. Also the lack of talking between Claire and her mum about the life-changing thing was shocking. They barely mentioned it and when it did come up, they avoided the subject like the plague. It really just seemed so unreal and there was no depth to the plot or to the characters. It could have been so much better had the author decided to put in some actual pages of words along with the notes rather than just a book full of notes. Unique it may have been but enjoyable it certainly wasn't.
I must admit that I do feel a little cheated by the book. It's 226 pages long but it's absolutely not 226 pages full of writing. Because the book is told in notes there's only one note per page and some of the notes are only a few lines long so I managed to finish the book in under an hour. It is a unique way of trying to tell a story but to be honest, after finishing it, I'm still not totally convinced it worked. I mean the quotes from the magazines say it's "heartbreaking" and "guaranteed to make me cry" but I never felt either of those emotions whilst reading the book.
The idea of a mother and daughter being so far apart that they only communicate via notes is actually pretty sad. What mother or daughter cannot find the time to talk to each other for at least an hour a day? And, to be honest, the notes don't even really have a ring of truth to them. They seem forced - despite the fact Claire doodles all over her drawings which is obviously an attempt from the author to get us to be able to know Claire a bit better and to make her more real to us. But for me it didn't really work. I mean I've seen all the reviews everywhere saying the book is fab but I just didn't get what was supposed to be so good about the book apart from the fact I managed to read it in an hour.
I have to say that even the life-changing note wasn't really enough to make the book as good as I'd have liked. It again seemed rather forced and it was as if it was thrown in there to make the book more dramatic than it actually was. Also the lack of talking between Claire and her mum about the life-changing thing was shocking. They barely mentioned it and when it did come up, they avoided the subject like the plague. It really just seemed so unreal and there was no depth to the plot or to the characters. It could have been so much better had the author decided to put in some actual pages of words along with the notes rather than just a book full of notes. Unique it may have been but enjoyable it certainly wasn't.
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3.5 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Touching and Original
A kind of epistolary, this is a truly unique book. There is no narrator, no paragraphs of action: the entire story is told by post-it notes left by a mother and her daughter on the... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Rosie Wiggins
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very moving yet short
I love the way this book has captured exactly what was going on through this terrible time but at the same time it gives me sadness to think that they never saw each other & her... Read more
Published 1 month ago by William
3.0 out of 5 stars
Its alright
Its sooooo sad because her mum has cancer and he daughter is so sad it goes o and on on
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. R. Chauhan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book
This book is so good. You cant put it down, it seems weird at first as it is just notes, but when you get into it its fab!
Published 2 months ago by Amy Grant
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved it
A wonderful, shortish read for teens. I couldn't stop reading it and the last few pages did definitely make me cry a bit. Read more
Published 3 months ago by surrey87
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic book!
Fantastic book! You won't put it down until you finish it. Takes less than an hour to read (plus time to grab the tissues as it's quite sad in places).
Published 5 months ago by K Yorkshire
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moving
Made me cry loads but truly a great story that has moved me and helped me understand more I loved it
Published 5 months ago by Nicole Bean
1.0 out of 5 stars
Generic
I bought it a few years back and I read it in 10 minutes, really generic book story that many people write about. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Kimi
4.0 out of 5 stars
Book Review
I originally borrowed this book off my daughter and bought some for presents. Fantastic short read!! Sad too! Books arrived very quickly and well packaged.
Published 17 months ago by Jayne
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good idea, slightly unbelievable
This was a really quick read as the format of the book is conversation through post-it notes and eventually, a letter. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Stepping Out of the Page
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