Hope House by Joe Bond #hopehouse @joebondwriter @penguinfigtee #bookreview

 

They came from the streets, the sticks, and every place in between. They've stolen cars, dealt dope and hurt people. They've been hurt themselves. They’ve been labelled ‘delinquents’ and cast out from their families – if they ever had a family at all. Their futures promise prison - or worse - but for now, they've been brought together to live in an old house on a hill, and see about getting themselves - and each other - right.

Spirited, angry, confused, and misled, these are the boys of Hope House, an institution for troubled young men in 1980s Kentucky. There is Smoove, named for his distinctive walk after he was shot in both feet back home in Louisville. There’s Damico, reported for shoplifting and assault, even though that was only part of the story. There’s Bobby, who tells brave tales of adventures of coyotes but goes quiet at the thought of his father. And there’s Awol, who can’t stop running away, only to return to the place he knows best.

Deeply honest and soulful, Hope House is a novel about searching for belonging and lifting each other up; about coming of age into a society that’s already closed its doors; about lost boys who grapple with their pasts, dare to imagine different futures, and nurture the almost outrageous hope that they might just turn everything around.

Hope House by Joe Bond was published by Fig Tree on 12 November 2026. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

Hope House by Joe Bond is such a moving, compassionate and beautifully written novel about troubled young lives, second chances and how important it is when someone believes in you. 

Set in 1980s Kentucky, the story centres on Hope House, a residential institution for teenage boys who have fallen foul of the law. They have been labelled delinquents, most of them have experienced violence, neglect and rejection, and their prospects look bleak. Yet under the guidance of Mr Watts, who refuses to give up on them, there is hope for something better.

The author creates such a wonderful cast of characters, each has their own distinctive voice, difficult history and dreams for the future. There is so much more to the boys that that label, and their relationships, disagreements and moments of unexpected kindness are such a compelling read. 

There is humour alongside heartbreak, and an real belief in the possibility of change. The writing feels authentic, and whilst the emotional impact is tough it is never overly sentimental.

This is a novel that raises important questions about rehabilitation, responsibility and society's treatment of vulnerable young people.

I found Hope House really moving. It was sometimes heartbreaking but in the end, uplifting. A thoughtful and memorable read that deserves a wide audience. Highly recommended.

Joe Bond grew up around group homes and residential treatment programs in eastern
Kentucky. 

He’s been a child-care worker, a copy editor, a security guard at a psychiatric hospital and a research librarian at a law firm in Times Square. 

For several years he covered mixed martial arts fighting for ESPN and various magazines and newspapers throughout the U.S., Brazil and Japan. 

He began working on Hope House after his story “Damico” won the Masters Review Short Story Award. 

He lives in New Orleans.

Adder Stone by Clare Clark #virtualbooktour #adderstone @claresclark @wiltonsquarebooks #bookreview #northwales #trywerynvalley

 

It is 1963 and in north Wales the Jones family are being forcibly ejected from the land they have farmed for generations. Their valley is to be drowned, turned into a reservoir for the people of Liverpool.

While her husband Dai is grief-stricken, Olwen Jones privately sees it as a blessing, an unforeseen chance to escape the narrow confines of the valley. But for her teenage son Emyr, Liverpool’s careless arrogance is proof that Wales will never be free to decide its own future until, like Ireland, it breaks the shackles of English imperialism.

Based on true events, Adder Stone is an exploration of personal identity and the possibilities and limits of love. How far will we go for our child or for our country? Who are we when we lose the places and the people that define us? And how much, in the end, is it possible to forgive?

Adder Stone by Clare Clark is published today; 5 November 2026 by Wilton Square Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this virtual book tour 

I loved this book. Adder Stone is one of those novels that stay in your thoughts long after you've turned the final page.

I had heard about the flooding of the Tryweryn Valley in North Wales, but didn't really know much about it and  I  had never really considered what it must have meant to the families whose homes and farms and entire way of life were sacrificed to provide water for Liverpool. Clare Clark has taken this extraordinary piece of history and created something so powerful and very moving. 

At the heart of the story is the Jones family.  I was fascinated by how differently each of them react to losing the land that has been theirs for generations. Dai's grief is almost tangible, while young Emyr's anger takes him in another direction entirely. And then there's Olwen.

Oh, Olwen. What a character! I found her utterly compelling. I loved her contradictions, her private thoughts, her frustrations and the fact that she doesn't always feel what she thinks she ought to feel. I could understand her longing for something beyond the valley, even while recognising the terrible sadness of what was happening around her. She felt so real to me, and I found myself thinking about her even when I wasn't reading.

The author doesn't make anything straightforward for her characters. Love, loyalty, marriage, motherhood and belonging are all complicated, and people don't always behave as we'd like them to. I found myself sympathising with one character, then questioning them a few pages later. I love it when an author makes me do that.

The landscape is described so beautifully that I could almost feel the valley around me. Knowing what is to happen to it makes those descriptions all the more poignant.

This is a novel about so much more than a flooded village. It's about identity, family, sacrifice and the places that make us who we are.

Beautifully written, devastating and full of wonderfully believable characters. I was completely absorbed. A fabulous read.

Clare Clark is the author of seven critically acclaimed novels including The Great Stink and Savage Lands, both longlisted for the Women’s Prize. 

Her previous book, Trespass, exploring the murky world of undercover policing, was praised by the Mail on Sunday as ‘provocative, moving and timely’. 

Her books have been translated into seven languages.

Inside The Madhouse by Hope Daniels with Ann Cusack #insidethemadhouse @hackneychild @mirror.books @randomthingstours #virtualbooktour #memoir

 Inside The Madhouse gives a bitterly honest account of life on a modern psychiatric unit including the incredible camaraderie and the often unintentionally funny day-to-day routines.

Hope Daniels became a poster girl for surviving abuse and the care system, thanks to her 2014 Sunday Times bestseller Hackney Child.

Despite everything, Hope grew up determined to have a career and after the release of Hackney Child, she went on to have more successful books, building a loyal fanbase, while also becoming an ambassador and role model for others like her.

However, in Inside The Madhouse, her new and most raw memoir to date, Hope reveals her new life was not quite as rosy as many thought.

In 2022, when a difficult relationship came to a toxic end and her unresolved trauma of being abused as a teenager began to resurface, she tried to take her own life.

It resulted in her being forcibly sectioned and spending three months in two very different psychiatric hospitals - one NHS and one private. Now, against a backdrop of rattling keys, slamming doors, and the shrieks of patients resisting treatment, Hope reveals what life is really like on a psychiatric ward today - celebrating the unexpected camaraderie amongst the patients and the moments of dark humour which helped her through.

She met countless women who, like her, were haunted by the memories and effects of a lifetime of cruelty and neglect. Their stories are rarely told, they are the shadowy figures who often exist in the margins of society - far from family and friends. In this powerful memoir, Hope shares her own lived experience, and that of her fellow patients, and documents their joint journey towards redemption and recovery.

Inside The Madhouse by Hope Daniels with Ann Cusack was published by Mirror Books on 22 October 2026. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours virtual book tour.

Some books can be really uncomfortable reading, and Inside the Madhouse is certainly one of them. It's a very personal, often distressing account of a woman who has already survived more than most people could imagine, and finds herself facing another devastating time in her life.

Hope Daniels is probably best known for Hackney Child, her extraordinary account of growing up in the care system. In Inside The Madhouse she takes us into the frightening and bewildering world of psychiatric hospitals, when a mental health crisis resulted in her being sectioned for three months. She spent time in two different hospitals; one NHS, and one private. 

Hope describes the loss of freedom, the constant noise, the restrictions and some quite awful experiences of care. The contrast between the two hospitals raises uncomfortable questions about how people are treated when they're at their most vulnerable.

There is also humour here too, and I think that's one of the book's greatest strengths. Hope has a wonderfully sharp eye for the absurd, and even in the bleakest circumstances she finds moments of dark, sometimes wonderfully inappropriate humour. There is something very human about patients finding things to laugh about when almost everything else is beyond their control. These moments are a reminder that laughter can be an extraordinary means of survival.

The friendships and camaraderie between the women are really emotional, many of them are carrying their own heartbreaking histories. Their stories add another layer to an already fascinating memoir.

Ann Cusack helps bring Hope's distinctive voice to the page, balancing the rawness of her experiences with warmth and honesty. At times I found the relentless suffering overwhelming, and occasionally wished for a little more breathing space.

This isn't an easy book, nor should it be. But alongside the anger, sadness and frustration, there's resilience, compassion and a surprising amount of humour.

A challenging, eye-opening memoir that reminds us that even in the darkest places, people can still find reasons to laugh.

Hope Daniels is one of the UK’s foremost advocates for care leavers and social work. 

She has appeared on television and in the press and speaks at universities and other training bodies for social workers. 

She is also the author of four books that detail her own experience and those of others in care, the best known of which is ‘Hackney Child’ which was an instant Sunday Times bestseller.

Bestselling author and journalist, Ann Cusack has ghost-written nine memoirs, all of which have been original material self-sourced and developed. 

Ann has previously written several bestsellers for Mirror Books including Groomed by a Gang and Abandoned. 

Living and working in Manchester, where she was born, she has a long track record of following stories and working with ordinary people who have found themselves thrust into the spotlight by extraordinary even