Phantom Limbs

Phantom Limbs is a beautifully written story about grief, about growing up, about moving on (or maybe a little bit about moving on and a little bit about not wanting to move on), but above all, about love. First love, romantic love, friendship love, family love, encompassing love, hurting love, secret love, undesired love...It was really easy, since the beginning, to connect with Otis. He narrates the story with such sincerity and humour that I felt like I really got to know him, his secrets, his fears, his goals. And he really had such a good heart. Sometimes I felt like the world was too complicated for him but far from being intimidated, he kept going forward.Both his relationships with Meg and Dara were difficult to understand, even for him, but getting to know them, I got to really care for them both and I understood why they were so hard for him sometimes. They made me cry, they made me laugh, they made me feel. These three characters were really well developed and felt completely real. As did the supporting characters too.Phantom Limbs is equally heart-breaking as inspiring. It is not a story with a lot of action but it is one with a lot of feelings and one that will stay with me for a long time. Stunning debut, I am already looking forward to Paula Garner's future work.

Gripping, exhilarating and full of twists and turns, Phantom Limbs is undeniably a stand-out debut.Told from the perspective of Otis, a teenage boy stuck in the past and torn apart by his feelings for the people he loves, the book presents a melancholy view of a life riddled with guilt, hurt and uncontrollable teenage hormones. At times sad and sweet and at others hopeful, the overarching thread linking the narrative together is one of grief and learning to come to terms with extreme loss.Youthful innocence and naivety are perfectly juxtaposed with sadness and teens who are old before their time, creating a gloriously rich cast of characters as complex as the lives they lead. The story just goes to show how one event can end up having such a large, long-lasting impact on multiple lives - grief is something that never goes away, it is only bottled up and hidden out of sight.Garner is also a master when it comes to tactfully navigating tricky situations. Her characters are rich and multi-faceted, showing different sides to their personalities as they come to terms with the past, present and future throughout the story. Both physical disability and mental health are present in the story and are not shied away from - the characters react in apt, realistic ways which really does add an extra element of believability to the novel.