A review by jennyjones
The World at My Feet by Catherine Isaac

emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

This book was such an interesting blend of light contemporary romance, with much deeper, really interesting aspects too. We follow the story of Ellie: a gardener sharing her work on Instagram; interspersed with chapters from her mother Harriet about her work as a news correspondent covering the orphanages in Romania. 

This was such an easy read that, whilst a little slow to begin with, became so interesting. We explore the history of the orphanages in Romania, a topic I knew next to nothing about, as well as the long term impacts including adoption, mental health, and those who ran away from the institutions. I haven't had experience of the mental health topics discussed in the book, so it would be interesting to see reviews from those with that experience, but it felt thoughtful and it was great to see a positive representation of therapy. 

The conclusions of this book were largely predictable, but didn't happen quite in the way I was expecting and this didn't affect my enjoyment of the read at all. So heart-warming and I cried happy tears!

A big thank you to NetGalley & Simon and Schuster UK for enabling me to read this book!