Things I Wish I'd Known
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Product Description
Product Description
Remember when life revolved around what top to wear? Let Linda Green take you on a hilarious, romantic and touching journey back to your teenage years...
When Claire Cooper was 15 she’d swear on her Wham! album that: big hair and rah-rah skirts were here to stay; Spandau Ballet would never split up; she would marry her idol, heart-throb footballer Andy Pailes. Fast forward 20 years and things haven’t gone quite to plan. And when Claire discovers the ‘dream list’ she wrote as a teenager, she realises how far removed her life is from the one she’d imagined. Divorced, stuck in a dead-end job and dating an ambulance-chasing personal injury lawyer, she decides it’s time to put her life back on track. But what really happened between Claire and her teen idol all those years ago? And is meeting him again the way to make her dreams come true? Or a huge mistake?
When Claire Cooper was 15 she’d swear on her Wham! album that: big hair and rah-rah skirts were here to stay; Spandau Ballet would never split up; she would marry her idol, heart-throb footballer Andy Pailes. Fast forward 20 years and things haven’t gone quite to plan. And when Claire discovers the ‘dream list’ she wrote as a teenager, she realises how far removed her life is from the one she’d imagined. Divorced, stuck in a dead-end job and dating an ambulance-chasing personal injury lawyer, she decides it’s time to put her life back on track. But what really happened between Claire and her teen idol all those years ago? And is meeting him again the way to make her dreams come true? Or a huge mistake?
About the Author
Linda Green's first publication came at age thirteen when her ‘Ode to Gary Mabbutt’ won second prize in the Tottenham Weekly Herald's ‘My Favourite Player’ competition. She went on to become an award-winning journalist and has written for the Guardian, the Independent on Sunday and The Big Issue. Linda lives in West Yorkshire, is married to a sports photographer for a well-known national newspaper and has a two-year-old son.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I really enjoyed this book. I was born in the late 70s, and grew up in the 80s, and now being in my 30s, I could really relate to it. I think many of us have got something in our past that we need to come to terms with and achieve closure on, before we can move on in our present lives, and she describes that situation and the feelings associated with it, perfectly. The only part of the book that I couldn't get my head around, was the relationship she had with Andy in her teens - it seemed really outlandish and unrealistic compared to the rest of the story, which seemed very real. But I guess that is artistic license, and what makes a story interesting, and still taps into our tendency to look back on past loves and 'what ifs', even if for most of us, the person involved wasn't someone famous! I was hooked, especially towards the end, and read the second half of the book in one evening. I would definitely buy this author's other books now, having read this one.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After reading the blurb I was really excited about starting this book. I was born in 1982 and I remember the 80's fondly, my sister is 6 years older than me and she was a proper 80's child; she had the perm, the Bros tapes and subscription to Just Seventeen! This book is a lot of fun and I loved Linda Green's writing style, we jump between Claire in the present and Claire as the 16 year old, learning more and more about her as the book goes on. I can remember having crushes on the celebrities of that time and I think that the author totally captured the feelings of idolisation you have as a teenager. I loved Claire's fantasy scenarios with Andy and the way in which they were mirrored with what really happened between the two of them.
This book made me laugh on so many occasions and also brought back so many memories, shopping trips to Tammy Girl and buying Smash Hits for the posters and song lyrics. However, this book also has a really emotional twist too which I was in no way expecting. As we learn more about what really happened with Claire and Andy we see the dangerous consequences of falling in love with your idol. When Claire is confronted with Andy in the present she has to make herself see him properly for the first time and decide whether she wants him to be part of her life or not.
Things I Wish I'd Known is a very entertaining book, I think that so many readers will identify with Claire's character. I would highly recommend this one and I shall be off in search of Linda Green's other books.
This book made me laugh on so many occasions and also brought back so many memories, shopping trips to Tammy Girl and buying Smash Hits for the posters and song lyrics. However, this book also has a really emotional twist too which I was in no way expecting. As we learn more about what really happened with Claire and Andy we see the dangerous consequences of falling in love with your idol. When Claire is confronted with Andy in the present she has to make herself see him properly for the first time and decide whether she wants him to be part of her life or not.
Things I Wish I'd Known is a very entertaining book, I think that so many readers will identify with Claire's character. I would highly recommend this one and I shall be off in search of Linda Green's other books.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Back when she was a teenager, Claire Cooper thought she had her life mapped out: she'd have a fantastic job as a corporate lawyer, she'd still be best friends with Frankie and, most importantly, she'd be married to Andy Pailes. But life never quite works out as you imagine it and finds herself stuck in a dead-end job with a failed marriage behind her and currently dating Mark, an ambulance-chasing lawyer. Claire's life is turned upside down when she finds the Dream List she wrote aged 15 mapping out the life she thought she'd have. But where did it all go wrong and what exactly happened to Claire's idol Andy Pailes?
Much like her previous offering, Things I Wish I'd Known, at first, seems like a relatively light read but it soon becomes clear that, like 10 Reasons Not To Fall In Love, there is a dark edge to the book that gets revealed in stages as the book progresses. It was a very clever idea from Linda because it kept me reading. We weren't left totally in the dark over everything that happened during Claire's teenage years but nor did it all come out at once. There's only 16 chapters in total in the book and these all cover Claire's life as it is now in the present with Mark, her job and what not. We then have another 16 chapters (without chapter headings and with only dates from the 80s distinguishing them from each other) between each present chapter recounting all of the things that happened when Claire was a teenager.
While I loved all of the characters, the only one I didn't manage to like at all was Andy Pailes. It seemed fairly obvious to everyone just how much Claire idolised him and he was either too stupid to notice or he did notice and didn't appear too bothered. There was a rather large - and shocking - twist towards the end of the book and I was gobsmacked at what happened and did not see it coming. That is definitely down to how good Linda Green is at writing her books as for me to not guess a plot twist is a rare occurrence. Linda really is a talented writer and so far, of her three books, I've loved two of them and look forward to finally getting around to reading her debut. My only problem with Things I Wish I'd Known was the entire goings on between Claire and Andy. Both adult and teenage I found it hard to swallow. The teenage part more than anything but what Claire's contemplates as an adult, particularly after we the reader learns everything, is just hard to understand and get my head around. I can certainly understand why Claire loved and admired Andy as a teenager and I can probably understand how it effected her but I still couldn't understand the hold Andy appeared to have.
Overall though I did really enjoy Things I Wish I'd Known and I loved that it was jam-packed with 80s nostalgia (even if I'm a little young to know of any of it - I was born in the 90s). Plenty of readers who grew up in the 80s will be able to relate to this book hugely and I absolutely recommend picking it up as it is a fab read. Linda Green is certainly an author to watch and although she's a relatively new published chick lit author she's going places and ranks high up on my author watch list that's for sure.
Much like her previous offering, Things I Wish I'd Known, at first, seems like a relatively light read but it soon becomes clear that, like 10 Reasons Not To Fall In Love, there is a dark edge to the book that gets revealed in stages as the book progresses. It was a very clever idea from Linda because it kept me reading. We weren't left totally in the dark over everything that happened during Claire's teenage years but nor did it all come out at once. There's only 16 chapters in total in the book and these all cover Claire's life as it is now in the present with Mark, her job and what not. We then have another 16 chapters (without chapter headings and with only dates from the 80s distinguishing them from each other) between each present chapter recounting all of the things that happened when Claire was a teenager.
While I loved all of the characters, the only one I didn't manage to like at all was Andy Pailes. It seemed fairly obvious to everyone just how much Claire idolised him and he was either too stupid to notice or he did notice and didn't appear too bothered. There was a rather large - and shocking - twist towards the end of the book and I was gobsmacked at what happened and did not see it coming. That is definitely down to how good Linda Green is at writing her books as for me to not guess a plot twist is a rare occurrence. Linda really is a talented writer and so far, of her three books, I've loved two of them and look forward to finally getting around to reading her debut. My only problem with Things I Wish I'd Known was the entire goings on between Claire and Andy. Both adult and teenage I found it hard to swallow. The teenage part more than anything but what Claire's contemplates as an adult, particularly after we the reader learns everything, is just hard to understand and get my head around. I can certainly understand why Claire loved and admired Andy as a teenager and I can probably understand how it effected her but I still couldn't understand the hold Andy appeared to have.
Overall though I did really enjoy Things I Wish I'd Known and I loved that it was jam-packed with 80s nostalgia (even if I'm a little young to know of any of it - I was born in the 90s). Plenty of readers who grew up in the 80s will be able to relate to this book hugely and I absolutely recommend picking it up as it is a fab read. Linda Green is certainly an author to watch and although she's a relatively new published chick lit author she's going places and ranks high up on my author watch list that's for sure.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Interestingly different
Firstly this book isnt what i expected. although this is on a good way. This book is more than just a rom com, as it has alot more within the storyline. Read more
Published 12 months ago by happy
Social worker fiction
As a cautionary tale it's fatally flawed by its own manipulative cynicism, where the men are either abusive losers or else clingy and emasculated. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Cakeman
Average read
Having read other books from the author I was dissapointed with this book. It was readable but not as good as I had hoped.
Published 17 months ago by C. Cummings
linda greens 2nd best book to date
I think this book is great. i love linda green. this is my 2nd favourite book from linda green but well worth a read. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Leanne M. Crookes
Another Good read from Jane
I have read a few of Jane Green's books and to be fair this has the same flow about it. She normally writes about different characters and starts to link them further as the book... Read more
Published 23 months ago by A. Ward
Holiday read
Bought this book last minute at the airport on my way to Tuscany, for a bit of light reading. This has got to be the worst chic lit book I've ever read, it was almost... Read more
Published 23 months ago by A. Dewell
I really enjoyed this book
I really enjoyed Linda Green's new book. I could relate to alot of Claire's memories of the 80's! I really liked the main character Claire and was eager to see how the book would... Read more
Published on 26 May 2010 by G. Fort
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