A story of love, tenacity, hope and expectations which I nearly gave up on! T the beginning I struggled to engage with the characters and the story did not seem to be going anywhere, but, as in the theatre suddenly the curtains opened and the play began.
Tom and Hannah - father and daughter- have a beautiful relationship made magical by theatre manager Tom's inventive birthday treats. But Hannah has a heart defect and does not know what the future holds for her.
This book made me laugh, at Tom's date in the restaurant and cry at some of the injustices of life. But overall it left me with a sense of optimism and a new zest for making the most out of this life we are given.

Abeautiful book,moving and poignant that cannot fail to move you,told in alternating chapters by father and daughter it is unlike any book I. have read for a long time,,enchanting and a book that stays with you after the final page.

Incredible. The story of life, relationship dynamics, betrayal, loss, despair and hope. It’s the stuff of real life, something you can get your teeth into, so full of depth and emotion. I felt so drawn into the story, at times I was crying and smiling. Sometimes you can pick up a story and dip in and out of it, it’s a bit of escapism. For me this felt like so much more, I can’t seem to put my thoughts and emotions in order! I believe it’s definitely going to be like marmite... you will either love it or hate...

This book is about a girl called Hannah who has a heart condition and the fact that she is being brought up solely by her Dad, Tom since her mother left when she was little. Each chapter is either told from Hannah or Tom's perspective. Tom is a manager of a local theatre in Somerset. I think this is an absolutely beautiful story. Well worth reading. Sad in places but also joyous.

Another fantastic, well written book covering heart touching father daughter relationship whilst handling a medical condition
I fully recommend this

This title is absolutely perfect for this gem of a book. It really is about days of wonder; about the importance of creating magic every day – and appreciating every single moment. It’s a beautifully written story that sparkles with wit and humour. Hannah has a life-threatening heart disease. Her mother left when she was small and her father, Tom, is determined to keep her cocooned in wonder, magic, stories and make-believe. Their relationship is incredibly special. He’s a theatre manager – and his little theatre is at the centre of their lives. But as Hannah’s condition worsens, Tom discovers he may lose the theatre as well. There’s a cast of other wonderful characters as well. My favourite was Hannah’s best friend, 80-something-year-old Margaret, who’s totally outrageous and just wonderful (that word again!). I loved the close, understanding relationship between the ill teenager and the elderly ex-actress. Hannah is desperate for Tom to find love, worried that if she dies, he will be totally alone. His first few attempts at dating, however, are disastrous. I found myself rooting for romance for him – after all, Hannah was right. He had devoted his whole life to her since she became ill. Author Keith Stuart weaves so much wisdom through the book: the importance of choosing your own course through life, letting people go, and the meaning of real love. It’s also about the importance of stories, and the magic of theatre. But although it’s magical and wondrous, this is also a very grounded story about living with the possibility of death – and how this makes every moment count. I know I haven’t done justice to this book in this review – you’ll just have to read it yourself to see how special it is. And then read his first, A Boy Made of Blocks, which I also absolutely loved.

3.75 stars

"Maybe this is how life works. Little acts of love ripple outwards. They tell people it is acceptable to hope for things."

I was very excited to get the chance to read 'Days of Wonder', especially after loving Keith Stuarts 'A Boy Made of Blocks'. I started the book and instantly loved it. It captured my interest right away, making me smile and laugh. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

We got to know our main two characters - Hannah and her dad Tom. It dragged. I just didn't care about what was going on. I kept at it and eventually, things picked up. I began to care again. The side characters were definitely a part of that. Margeret especially. I thought she was a lovely, eccentric character that I certainly saw some of my own friends in. She was charming and endearing.

Hannah's love interest Callum is someone that stood out to me simply for the way Keith Stuart wrote his depression. It was authentic. It showed how rough it can be, both on the sufferer and those around them.

Eventually, the stakes for all involved got higher - this is also what got my interest back. The conclusions of these things at the end pulled some serious emotional punches and I shed a tear or two (okay, I'll be honest, I was a sniveling mess).

I feel like the books could have definitely been shorter, and better for it, however, I did end up really enjoying this overall. Charming and magical.

When Hannah was three years old her mother left, saying she just wasn't cut out for family life.

When Hannah was five years old she was diagnosed with a life limiting heart condition. Tom, her father has tried to make her life special and magical,always trying to make up for the loss of her mother and her medical condition.

Tom is the manager of a small local theatre and Hannah has spent her childhood growing up in the theatre, the members of the drama club are like a family to her.

Every year on Hannah's birthday the theatre group produce a play for her,usually one of her favourite fairy tales. This year she will be sixteen and that's not what she want's anymore. She wants to be independent, to make her own choices,to be a teenager,not to be sick.

This book is full of great characters who pull at the your heartstrings. Margaret, from the theatre club who at eighty one years old tells stories of her life treading the boards but no one knows if they are true or just part of her storytelling. She's also a best friend to Hannah.

Tom, the wonderful father who no matter what he does cannot magic away his daughter's diagnosis or bring her mother back. Hannah, who is typical teenager and I went from loving her to being really annoyed with her then loving her again.

When things go wrong at the theatre and it is in danger of closing Hannah takes matters into her own hands to save her dad from worrying and her true colours shine through.

There are many funny parts of this story, like Hannah trying to get her dad into the world of online dating, his dates are hilarious.

This is such a lovely story with a sad thread running through it. Even in the funny moments that sadness is always lurking in the background. I cried buckets at the end.

The story unfolds with alternate chapters from Tom and Hannah which work well as we get to know how they each feel around each situation.



This is the second book from Keith Stuart whose first book A Boy Made of Blocks was my book of the year in 2016. It is big and very thick and will take a while to read but I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.



Days of Wonder will be published on 7th June.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Days-Wonder-most-magical-moving-ebook/dp/B06VVH559Z/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1525018523&sr=8-3&keywords=Keith+Stuart&dpID=51Jqv6VC6iL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

At first I thought the story was developing too slowly, though I enjoyed the unfolding of the ‘drama group’. However I found that as in his previous book, the author really understood the hidden nature of the protagonists afflictions/disabilities and let the reader learn about them gradually as would naturally happen The pace of the book then made sense and led inexorably to the climatic crisis faced by the two main youthful characters. The constancy of the father, who had his own problems due to the abandonment of the family by Helen’s mother, was a strong thread throughout the story. The reader by now was drawn into the highs and lows of life at the Willow theatre which was also suffering a crisis – faced with possible closure the theatre community put aside their own troubles to justify their existence to the local government officials – successfully as it happens.

The whole story evokes in the reader a roller coaster of emotions as the various characters reveal their own problems – the theatre being everyone’s ‘balm for the soul’ -a short respite from the realities of life .

As in his previous book Mr Stuart has obviously thoroughly researched the illnesses he ascribes to his characters , and how being part of a small, close-knit community brings great comfort and support when we need it most

It’s hard to even find words to describe this beautiful, moving and poignant book.

I loved Keith Stuart’s previous novel, A Boy Made of Blocks, and didn’t see how he could better it, but he has.

Everything about this book is just perfect, the characters, plot, settings, stories, it’s simply fabulous.

The narrative alternates between Tom and Hannah, and I loved the insights this gave into each of them.
The father-daughter relationship in the book is authentic and touching. They are so close and have a great bond.

The stories about the theatre group are both facinating and funny.

A word of warning, don’t read it in public as it will make you both laugh and cry. It’s poignant and moving, but also funny and life-affirming.

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time. I’d recommend it to a anyone. Simply stunning.

This is a lovely story about the relationship between a teenage daughter, with a heart condition (Hannah) and her father (Tom) whose own heart is broken by his daughter's illness and his wife leaving him. Tying this together is the local theatre that Tom and Hannah both love. Through their shared love of plays and the drama group that they are both in their life looks like it's getting better, specially when Tom meets a lady on line and starts dating again and Hannah falls for a boy with a shared love of comic books and his own inner demons. However, tragedy is around the corner as the theatre is threatened with closure, Margaret from the drama group is acting strangely, Tom's date has disappeared and Hannah takes a turn for the worse....

What could be despressing material is handled with skill and humour and what we find instead is an insightful and uplifting novel that is equally as good as Keith Stuarts first book 'A Boy Made Of Blocks'. You will laugh, you will cry and you will definitely enjoy this spellbinding story.

Really enjoyed this book, a mixture of despair and hope and an inevitable ending. Well written which made you want to continue the book. Thank you for letting me read this moving story.

I absolutely loved this book and did not want it to finish. I do love the theatre so the fact that this book was pretty much set around a theatre and the escapism a show offers was a positive to me. I also loved Hannah and her relationships with her dad and her friends.

The writing alternates between the viewpoint of Tom (Hannah's dad), and Hannah herself.

I wasn't sure how this author could follow "A Boy Made of Blocks" which I read last year and also loved. But this book is equally as good, with the sense that you've really got to know the characters by the end of it and the feeling as you're coming to the conclusion that you really don't want to let them go.

I'm already looking forward to the next book by this author.

I have literally just turned the (virtual) last page of this wonderful book and wanted to share my praise of it straight away. It is a brilliant book that I can’t imagune anyone not loving! From the first chapter you fall in love with the fantastic characters brought to life with awesome descriptive writing. The story itself is not a hugely original one if I am truly honest but the wit, emotion and honesty of the writing makes it stand out. The book is modern and up to date with its references and characters. It makes you laugh out loud with its honest depiction of today’s society and challenges as well as lives up to some stereotypes. It will bring you to tears at the end so have tissues at the ready. Some real lessons to be learnt in the text which left me thinking. Truly wonderful and should be a made into a film (has it already?) highly recommend.

What a truly beautiful story!

Tom works as a theatre manager in a small market town in Somerset, at the only place where live productions can be produced, the Willow Theatre. Hannah, his daughter, was diagnosed at the age of four with a serious heart condition. Hannah’s mother had chosen career over family and had left when Hannah was still very young. Along with Tom and Hannah, we meet the theatre group and Hannah’s friends from school and finally, Callum. Hannah met him through school and really, really likes him.

I’m deliberately writing the minimum I can about this story because I’d hate to spoil the fun you will have when you read it. What I will do is tell you that it’s a story about the love between a father and his daughter and using every minute of every day to make the most of life. It’s facing challenges such as whether the theatre can be saved from the threat of the local council bulldozing it and turning the space into houses? Can Tom find love? Can Hannah survive long enough until the all-important transplant that will keep her alive?

I didn’t want this book to end. I can’t remember when last I read a book that was both very sad but so full of love and life and laughter. Both Tom and Hannah have wicked senses of humour that keep the darkness from their spirits so that they can get on with the task of truly living life to the full. Even if, like in Hannah’s case, it means lying on her bed and sorting out life from a prone position.

Keith Stuart is a brilliant author. This book is filled with so much hope, love, and just living. It helped me recover my love for reading which seemed to have taken a serious knock.

I just hope that whoever reads it, tells his family and friends to go out and buy it, because I think this might just be the book we’re all going to be talking about in 2018!

Treebeard

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

A book about a girl with deteriorating heart disease....I was understandably worried this book would break my heart. However, because it was written by Keith Stuart (the author of Boy Made of Blocks) I knew I couldn't miss out on reading it because, even if it left me shredded into an emotional pile of pieces, I was certain I would also learn something new and important. From the first chapter I realised how wrong, and how correct I was. I laughed out loud on a regular basis, to the point of tears at times, but these were tears of mirth and nothing else. This book is utterly joyful, the characters are HUGE, and I am convinced this story has an actual pulse. My absolute favourite best read of this decade.

This is an amazing book! I adored the author's first book A Boy Made of Blocks and if anything, I would say this one is even better. It is funny, poignant, and sad and the relationship between Tom and his 15 year old daughter Hannah is just wonderful. I love the banter between them, the way Hannah is trying to spread her wings at the same time Tom is being overprotective of her is so accurately done and a true representation of father/daughter relationships. Hannah's serious heart disorder makes the story even more heartbreaking.
I loved the motley crew of characters who belonged to the theatre group that Tom ran and the friendship between Hannah and 81 year old Margaret was fabulous. All the characters were so well written which really helped bring the book to life and bring a sense of realism. This book really is magical, life affirming and a thoroughly enjoyable read. I would recommend it to anyone.

A single parent, a seriously ill child, and a theatre that is more than a job - it's a way of life for the narrator and his teenage daughter. Only now, it's a life that looks about to end. Like its predecessor, A Boy Made of Blocks, this is a touching, gently humorous story of families, relationships and love. Yes, in parts it is a little predictable, but it's no less enjoyable for that. Well crafted, delightful and utterly satisfying.

I loved a Boy Made Of Blocks, and was hoping this would be equally as good, and it was even better!

I have just finished the book with tears in my eyes, but feeling amazing. This will give me a ‘book hangover’ for a while!

This is the story of Tom, the Theatre Manager, who is bringing up his daughter Hannah after his wife left them - deciding she wasn’t cut out to be a wife or mother. Hannah has a faulty hear, which gets worse over time, so the father and daughter are as close as they can be. Every year on her birthday Tom makes magic happen for his daughter and her friends, by putting on a magical play for her in the theatre, supported by all the cast and crew.

When Hannah reaches 15, her heart is finally bad enough to reach the transplant list, her beloved Theatre is in danger of being closed, and Hannah decides to take matters into her own hands - to set up her father with a girlfriend so he won’t be alone if she dies, and to save his Theatre.

A wonderful and moving story you won’t want to put down.

Days of Wonder is the gem of a book that you pick up and it draws you in, it's based around Hannah who has a rare heart condition and her father who has been a single parent most of her life.

This book brings the theatre to life, it weaves stories within stories and brings the magic of fairytales to centre stage.

Hannah has struggled for a long time with her heart condition and alongside her Dad they have both found coping mechanisms and love within their theatre family.

A book that makes you want to tell your kids a story before bed and just squeeze them a little tighter when kissing them goodnight. A brilliant and emotional read that will make you laugh and cry in equal measure, it oozes with love and is a reminder to us all that time is precious