Haven't They Grown: January Book Club

Thank you for my copy of this book. I'm another who probably wouldn't have picked it up for myself, but who ended up enjoying it.

I just couldn't see where the storyline was heading and kept thinking about it during the daytime, like a puzzle that I couldn't solve.

I think the story could have been trimmed a little in places to make it more taut - but I agree it'd make a great film!

I will look out for more of Sophie's stories.

Thank you, GN, for the book.

Unlike others, I would have picked this novel up if I'd seen it in a bookshop or at the library, but I'm afraid I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought it would.

I find that if I don't actually like the main characters in a book I can't really get into it, and this was the case for me with Haven't They Grown. I found the main character annoying, and her stroppy teenage daughter more so. The poor son and the husband were just sidelined as they swanned around the country at will in search of the truth. The plot seemed so repetitive, as they went through all the possible scenario again and again and again. The sub plots about the daughter's love life and her spat with the teacher at school didn't seem to add anything to the story.

The premise of the children who hadn't grown up was really intriguing though. I couldn't begin to imagine what was going on, and I thought the denouement was clever. I agree that it would make a good film. And I feel guilty about criticising the book at all when I could never in a million years come up with a solution like that!

My question to the author would be about the scene with the teacher and the alleged racism. Why was this included and how did it fit in with the rest of the narrative?

Thank you for the free copy. I enjoyed the book, found it to be a page turner and read it in two sittings. The characters are well drawn and the plot has a few good twists. I didn't enjoy this novel as much as some of Sophie Hannah's earlier books. I would like to ask Sophie if she intends to write any more "Culver Valley" crime novels?

Thank you for the book, my first I’ve read by this author and I’m afraid I won’t be rushing to read another. To paraphrase Forest Glump, it was like a box of chocolates, not because you never knew the flavour you were going to get but because there were too many potential themes running with not enough of one to get a ‘flavour’. I thought the first part of the book went on too long and was amazed Beth wasn’t arrested or committed for what seemed to be an out of control obsession. My initial assumption was that there had been some cloning going on (so got that wrong) but just couldn’t engage with any of the characters.
My question to the author is ‘what was the spark/initial synopsis behind this novel?

Thank you GN for the book. A new author for me.
I read this just before Christmas then put it to one side to settle. Truth be told, I enjoyed it more when I was reading it than when I thought about it afterwards.
Briefly, I didn’t find the story credible and agree with Mapleleaf’s detailed account of the many ways it simply “beggars belief.” To me, it read like a draft in need of a firm editorial hand.
That said, I thought the topic of coercive control was a good one and the premise of the children who hadn’t grown up intriguing. As another poster has said, my first thought was cloning too. Overall, the pace was good, if a tad repetitive in the middle. And the denouement was unexpected.
Two questions for Sophie.
1.Several posters have commented on the racism incident at Zannah’s school. While I agree with all the reservations expressed, I did wonder if this had been included to introduce the idea of recording the incident as a kind of advance organizer for the denouement?
2.From the many books that you’ve written, is there one that you would recommend for someone who, while critical of this book, should like to read more of your work?

Thank you for my copy, not something I would have chosen for myself, but I do like to try new authors.

I'm afraid I didn't enjoy the book at all, it was too far fetched for me, totally implausible. I almost gave up a few times. I've passed it on to my daughter for her opinion.

Although I enjoyed this, I found parts of it totally unbelievable - particularly the role of Kevin and Yanika, and the school receptionist giving out so much information seemed highly unlikely. I also wondered what was the purpose of the 'racist' incident at Zannah's school? It felt like a sub-plot that just got left by the wayside, with no real relevance to the main thrust of the plot.
Despite all that, I kept turning the pages, and would happily try another Sophie Hannah novel.
My question for Sophie is: did she physically go to the places where Beth went - or at least to the general area, if houses/hotels/etc are imaginary - or were they all researched online?

I really enjoyed this book - couldn’t put it down. Like someone else has commented, I thought a lot about the story a lot too. It was a different kind of book to my normal reads but I thoroughly enjoyed the intrigue of why the children hadn’t grown up. Not to give too much away I thought they had been cloned.
Will read this author again.

Thank you for this book and introducing me to a new author (to me anyway) who I probably wouldn’t have chosen. I really enjoyed the book and found it hard to put down. I liked the twist and turns and the ending was a surprise. I intend to read more from this author.

I was lucky enough to get one of the free copies of this book.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the plot twists kept me guessing right to the end. Having said that, I found the first third of the book a bit slow, but I accept that the author was letting us get to know our protagonist and also setting the scene for what was to come. I did have a gut feeling about who was the 'bad guy' but it was still a surprise just how bad he really was!! Towards the end of the book I genuinely found it 'unputdownable' and actually finished it around 3.00 a.m. despite having to get up for work a few hours later!

Although I did enjoy some things about the book, one of the main issues I had was that it was pretty over the top. I won’t say too much because I don’t want to spoil anything for you guys, but this book was just very far-fetched and I had a hard time believing any of it would actually happen. The other issue I had with this book was that with how unrealistic the build up was, I was expecting some crazy ending and instead it was just a very simple explanation. I didn’t find the ending to be very satisfying and I ultimately found it to be very predictable. ⁣

Thanks for my copy of the book and introducing me to a new author. I've not come across Sophie Hannah before and the blurb promoting this book was intriguing. Unfortunately the book didn't live up to the blurb and was a big disappointment. It features serious issues (coercive abuse, racism) which are handled poorly.

I have to be honest and admit I only carried on reading this book because I received it for free in exchange for my opinion/questions and thus felt obliged to read it until the end otherwise I would have given up on it after 50 pages.

I found the pace of the book slow, repetitive and boring; the book was just too long. My advice would be just read the first and last few chapters and bypass all the padding in the middle which I felt was just there to make up the word count. I just didn't connect with any of the characters because they actions and interactions with one another were so implausible.

Why did you shorten the characters name to Zannah/Zan?

The incident at the school between Zannah, Murad and the teacher was so out of context. The way Beth acted to being summoned to the school by Zannah was silly. Why did you include it in the story?

Thank you for my book, GN.
I ave read some of Sophie’s books before and I would have bought this if I saw it in a charity shop, finances prohibit my reading sometimes.
I enjoyed the story, and the ending didn’t disappoint. The abuse struck very close to home and it was hard to read sometimes. But I couldn’t really find much empathy for Beth and her family as characters. Teenagers are not always stroppy and I thought it was a bit lazy to write her like that. The school episode was puzzling and clunky.
However it was a good read and would make a good choice for a reading group.
I would like to ask Sophie if there is going to be a sequel because I think there is a lot more to explore with this story and characters could be developed more. Sometimes plot seemed to take precedence over the people.
Sophie is a cracker at short stories and I recommend if anyone wants to read on.

I enjoyed the book and it was most definitely a page turner. I did find it rather lost the initial momentum in the middle and I was slightly puzzled about the school scene it didn’t seem realistic.
I did however enjoy the overall story and will definitely try some other books by Sophie as I think I will enjoy her style of writing.

Thank you for the book ..I just love getting the chance to read new publications.
I quite enjoyed reading it but unfortunately I found it rather far fetched...just as previous posts have mentioned.
A question for Sophie....I wonder ...
Did you have the whole story line plotted from the beginning...or like some other authors...do you find it more exciting to let the ideas just develop during the writing process ?

Liska

In terms of questions for the author, I'd like to know how long it took her to write the book and which character she got most attached to while writing the book.

It took about 6 months in total, which includes the planning stage of around 2 months – I like to have a very detailed plan before I even begin the actual writing. As for the character I was most attached to, I have to say Zannah as she was very much based on my own daughter! I also strongly identified with Beth so it was fantastic to write the mother/daughter relationship and to give them this adventure.

Granniesunite

My question to Sophie is

Did you choose that ending because it mirrors real life?? Leaving victims no choice but to be violent themselves to escape their violent husbands/ partners.

I do think the ending was the only one possible which would mean permanent peace and safety for Flora and her children, Lewis Braid was such a twisted and obsessive character that for him to have ended up in prison, for example, wouldn’t have led to a sense of closure and I very much wanted a satisfying ending which was all wrapped up - a happy one!

Greenfinch

I have two questions for Sophie.
Do you write a rough version of the plot or do you let it develop as you write? Or maybe you work backwards from the outcome?
Why did you include the incident of Murat and his panini? It seemed a bit OTT and not how a school would react.
I am sure this novel is going to be very popular with Sophie's readers as it is a real tour de force .Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read it.

I am a dedicated planner! For me, it’s an absolutely crucial part of the process, and by the time I sit down to start my first proper draft I know everything there is to know about my plot and how each chapter unfolds. As far as my ideas go, sometimes I have an idea for an ending and work the story backwards in my mind, Haven’t They Grown though started with an idea for a beginning, a plot hook, and developed from there.

The Murad incident is instrumental in Beth realising that it is possible and morally right for her to put her head above the parapet when the situation calls for it. She sees that, though Zannah is scared and not in a position of strength or power within the school, she still stands up for what she believes in. This reinforces Beth’s belief that it’s her duty as a former friend to protect Flora and her children. Zannah’s courage at school gives Beth courage. In my extensive experience, schools often do engage in unjust and horrendously unprofessional behaviour towards children.

Miriam

I really enjoyed this book, it was very well written and easy to read, in fact I found it hard to put down. I can certainly see it being made into a film. I like to read for escapism not because it mirrors real life as long as the plot and characters are believable. Nobody really knows what goes on behind closed doors and I am sure plenty families have their secrets. I was pleased to see it had a good ending and I was not left disappointed.
My question for Sophie is would she like to see this book made into a film and if so would she like to have plenty say in the production?

Yes, that would be very exciting! I think I’d be happy to leave the production to the experts though, but if they needed any help with casting or music I’d be delighted to oblige!

Gr4nny

Here we are, in the wrong place: . . 7 words that made me wonder why I’ve not come across Sophie Hannah’s books.

I read the book in two or three sittings and found myself thinking about the story between reads! Far fetched? Maybe. Nonetheless, a thought provoking piece of literary escapism.

I’ll look out for other works by the author and would pose her the question: Which characters would you like to have explored in more detail?

I found writing Lewis Braid fascinating and I could have explored his character endlessly, the way that his charm and charisma, rather than being a mask for his true nature, are part of it. But I love digging into the human psyche and so I’m always excited to move on to new characters and find new ways of making them terrifying, and/or fascinating and complex.

annemac101

I did enjoy this book. It was a page turner and I thought I'd scream if it didn't have a good ending but it did. Beth annoyed me during the first half of this book as I thought she was just being nosey. I wanted her to get on with her own life but she wouldn't give up. I really didn't know what way the story was going. Maybe it was supernatural ? Why would children not have aged? Sophie Hannah knows how to keep the reader on edge right to the last chapter and what more can you ask for. It would make a great film.
My question is, Sophie, I have no idea what must go on in your head. How do you start a book ? What gives you the ideas?

Most of my books have started with an idea for a plot hook which is seemingly impossible – an event or situation which nobody can understand why or how is happening, yet it is – I find these ideas irresistible. My brain has become very well trained in spotting the faintest trace of these ideas in real life so I’m constantly looking at what’s going on around me and wondering ‘What if X?’, ‘Imagine if Y happened’. It’s very entertaining!

silverdragon

Question to Sophie - how easy or hard was it to create and include the situations that caused Beth to believe something was wrong? Did you have scenes/conversations you didn't use in the final version?

These scenes are essential to the plot but I had to be careful not to overdo it. There’s a fine balance to giving just the right number of clues without revealing anything at the wrong time. Hopefully I’ve given readers enough of an inkling that something sinister is going on but kept back enough to keep them guessing as to what and why. There are always scenes and conversations which get cut in the planning stages but I was very happy once I’d started properly writing that the necessary scenes were in there.

rocketstop

If we could ask questions to Sophie I'd ask what inspired the story? Was it something in the news? I too think it would make a good screenplay or TV drama serial, it had plenty of tension and I think Sophie will please crime readers with her latest book.

The story was inspired by a real-life situation I was in which was almost identical to the one I describe in the book’s first scenes. I had taken my son to a football match and knowing we were in the neighbourhood of a friend of mine with whom I’d lost touch, I couldn’t resist going to have a nosy at her new house. As I was parked outside her house she returned, parked up and got out of the car. It gave me a really uneasy feeling – it had been 12 years since we’d seen each other so it was like stepping back into the past, but also we’d aged, so I was seeing an older version of her in the past – then from that feeling came the thought ‘What if her children get out of the car and they’re still 5 and 3 years old?’ and then I thought, ‘What a brilliant idea for a disturbing and intriguing novel!’