Farewell, Fifteen by Mari Howard

Farewell, Fifteen by Mari Howard

A British coming-of-age story, set in the summer of 2007, incorporating ethical - and surprising cultural - differences, told with humour and a light and empathetic touch, by an author well acquainted with the clash of academic parental ambition and teenage striving to comprehend the sometimes secretive adult world.

Alice is approaching important changes - not only in herself but in the world around her. The daughter of a GP and an academic research scientist, she has spent what others might call a 'privileged' childhood in Oxford, attending a good private school, and spending regular holidays at her maternal grandmother's beautiful home in West Cornwall. What is there to rock the boat beside her sister Zoe's annoying new friend and the approach of important exams and career choices?

Over the late spring and summer when the weather is unusually cool and wet, she has more on her mind. Firstly, concerning her mother's stepsister, a feisty aunt, an artist, whom they now seldom meet. And who is the woman her supposedly gay godfather is seeing, and why? And why do her parents insist she renews friendship with a girl who was her 'bestie' at nursery? What is wrong in that family?

And throughout this time, can she see a way to avoid being 'tram-lined' into a scientific career, as a clone of Dad or Mum, now that she has realised the importance of the arts, as complimentary to science, in human flourishing?

Howard, Mari: - Mari Howard writes warm, thoughtful, thought-provoking novels at her home in Oxford, where she lives with her husband, and two cats as creative, funny, and tiresome as her three now-grown children. As a teenager she wrote and performed protest poems, and became interested in the rapid societal change around her. Her ambition was to study art, but at Newcastle University, Mari hung out with art and medical student friends while studying religion, the basis of traditional societies. She later studied social and political science at Oxford's Department for Continuing Education, developing interests in women's social issues, the impact of the contraceptive pill, IVF, and equality. Her first published pieces were non-fiction for the 'liberal' faith-based social commentary magazine Third Way, and some short stories. Baby, Baby, her debut published novel, draws on continuing interest in genetic research, cultural differences, acceptance, and inclusion. Mari has appeared at Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival (2015, 2016), and twice on Oxfordshire Live reading from her work and discussing writing along with author Debbie Young. She has exhibited paintings at Oxford Art Weeks. Find out more at: www.hodgepublishing.com

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781739537203
ISBN 10	1739537203
Title	Farewell, Fifteen
Author	Mari Howard
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Hodge Publishing
Year published	2023-09-27
Number of pages	422
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.