Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

Apollinia Apostolopoulou (or Apple, as we the readers know her), has one major wish: she wants her mum to come back from America and be a part of her life. Living with her strict Nana whilst her dad leads his own life with his wife in London means that Apple can't help but feel a little lost – that is, until her mum reappears one day and Apple has the chance to live the life she thinks she wants. But Apple's mum hasn't been completely honest about everything she's returned with, and soon Apple realises that things aren't quite as they first appear... and that maybe there are those out there who are more lost than she is.

This beautiful and bittersweet contemporary novel by Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan is a delight to read; sprinkled with poetry, brilliant English teachers, crushes, heartbreak, possibly-odd neighbours (oh Del, how I needed you when I visited the arcades the other day), and all the ups and downs of friendship and teenage life, this is the kind of book that makes you fall in love (again) with reading. Simply put – I loved it.

This book… holy moly. Margaret casually mentioned that she thought I might like this, and I picked it up the other day to read over my lunch break and I am SO GLAD I DID. I wish that I had read this when I was a teenager, as I'm pretty sure I would've loved it just as much then. This book says it is “a story to fix a broken heart”, and it definitely broke and then fixed my heart too. I cannot speak highly of it enough. Find a copy, turn off your phone, settle in, and revel in its wonder.