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An uplifting story about five disparate individuals who are forced to rally together when their homes are threatened. As they unite to save their street, they find that they aren't as different as they first thought . . .
Alice is working hard to provide for her daughter, Mollie. But it's a challenge juggling her job alongside her duties as a single Mum. Her neighbours keep to themselves and she longs for a friend to rely on.
Bill has lived on Leodis Street for eighty years. It's where he eventually cared for his wife in her final days. Since Sally's death, Bill's home is a place of solitude, his talisman against an unrecognisable world.
When the residents of Leodis Street are threatened with eviction, Alice decides to make a stand. As she reaches out to her neighbours and learns about their lives, she is surprised to discover that she might already live next door to the friends she has been yearning for. Perhaps together they can build a community to be proud of and discover the true meaning of home . . .
An uplifting novel about friendship and belonging that fans of Sara Nisha Adams, Libby Page and Clare Pooley will fall in love with.
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'A heartwarming and beautifully written book that made me cry in public'
'An excellent book club book'
'Funny at times, heartbreaking at others'
'The characters will stay with you long after you finish it'
Dear Neighbour is a love letter to the power of community. Told through the eyes of a nuanced, diverse and infinitely lovable cast of characters, this uplifting and spirited book shows us what people can achieve when they pull together. A joy to read
I didn't just enjoy it - I loved it. The story gripped me from the start. I felt for all the characters - especially grumpy old guy Bill and even grumpier teen Jessie. The themes spoke to me: finding strength and friendship in unlikely places, and the importance of standing together when everything seems hopeless. Especially when everything feels hopeless. By the end, I couldn't put it down and had to finish it in one sitting
Jane Claire Bradley has created a neighbourhood so real, I felt part of it. Dear Neighbour tells a story that reminds us of the importance of tolerance, cooperation, and local mutual aid even - or especially - in the face of vast, structural challenges. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is a novel for our times
Jane Claire Bradley is a an award-winning author and educator. Her first, unpublished, novel received the Northern Debut of the Year Award from New Writing North. She has been featured as a contributing author in The Modern Craft (2022), So Long As You Write: Women on Writing (2022), and Test Signal (2021), a ground-breaking anthology of contemporary Northern writing. Dear Neighbour is her debut adult novel. Jane is based in Manchester.