Quite an intriguing book. It took me a while to get into the story of Augusta and her sister Julia. There are highs and lows and a parallel story of migrants unfolds. Will Augusta ever find peace within herself?? She always felt as if she was in the wrong body and has a weird fascination with words and languages, especially English. A dictionary is her faithful companion. I ended up really enjoying the story.

annoyingly I couldn’t get into this book, I picked it back up a few times but it just didn’t grab me. Which is a shame as I had heard such good things about it. I think I’m going to put it to one side and try again at a later date as I would really like to finish it.

The Other Half of Augusta Hope took me by complete surprise – I hadn’t expected such a powerful absorbing read. I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting, but this book slowly tightened its grip on me, so although it started a little slow for me, by the time I’d got past the first third I didn’t want to put it down.

I love Augusta – she’s a likable, interesting character who knows her own mind, and who has an interesting outlook on life. Her twin sister is in many ways very different to her, but – being twins – they have a unique connection, and the book follows their life from birth to adulthood. I always enjoy books that take the reader right through someone’s life – there’s something about being there (as a reader) when they’re born and seeing them grow up through the pages of a book that makes me really connect and identify with a character.

There’s two sides to this story, with the storyline that starts in Burundi and follows a boy called Parfait. I won’t give too much away, but his experience and attempts to try and created a better life for himself and his family are very pertinent to today’s devastating refugee crisis. Parfait and Augusta also have – unknowingly – a connection; Augusta developed a real interest in Parfait’s home country of Burundi as a child and there follows a series of similarities and stark contrasts – often we’ll see one chapter end on a subject or metaphor that is then continued with the other character, and we also see the many, many ways that their lives are so different. I loved this sense of parallel worlds, which I was constantly hoping would converge thanks to a stroke of luck… or fate!

My favourite storyline of the two is Augusta’s because she’s the same age as me and I recognised many parts of my own youth in her, going off to university at the same time and growing up in a world rocked by some of the same events (I remember the Soham murders so vividly, for one example). I felt such a sense of identity with Augusta in some ways, and in others she was very different to me. It made for such interesting reading.

It’s hard for me to define exactly what this book is ‘about’, because it’s about so many things in so many ways – family, loss, belonging, love (in many forms), and much more. Together it takes this book from a light-hearted read (which I assumed, incorrectly, that it might be) to a thought-provoking, beautifully written debut novel which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Joanna Glen seems to have a natural ability to breathe life into her characters and this is what she did with Augusta's quirky character. Quite an emotional read at times. A thought provoking book that you wont be able to put down. Four stars

From the first line, Foreboding permeates each page, and to be honest, it’s not a feeling I enjoy, despite how brilliant and captivating I found the writing.

This foreboding starts of gradual, with a slight made here and there, but gradually snowballs as we learn more of the fate of the Hopes and 

The books seems to emphasize fate, what was supposed to happen, and although how incredibly the story came together I find myself not forgiving the fact that there is was so much pain, and so much heartache to get to this point. So much pain that surely contradicted the concept of fate. Shot happens, and a good outcome is surely coincidence.

Anyway, this was a definitely an engaging and captivating book.
Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for a review copy.

Oh MY!! This book, I totally feel in love with it from the first page. I feel in love with all the people, the surroundings and most of all Augusta, who is the most likable, sad person. Its a very emotional book and I found some parts hard to read as they were just so sad. You can feel Augusta's anguish, her pain, her happiness (what little of there was....to start with) and he love for her twin sister Julia.

This book would make a beautiful film.

This story has two central characters. One of our narrators is Augusta Hope, an extremely precocious child who writes about her love of language and her life with her twin sister, Julia; the other is Parfait, a young boy from Burundi (which happens to be Augusta's favourite place name). The book follows their two very different (but parallel) lives, until their eventual meeting.

I really enjoyed reading this, although it was a little difficult to follow initially. The story was gripping nevertheless, and I got drawn into both stories the more I read. Augusta is a fascinating character, and I really enjoyed how reflective she was; I also really love language, so I was never bored by her ramblings about the words she loves and why. Overall, a great book that is worth the extra effort it may take to get into.

I loved this book.

The way it all pulled together at the end was incredibly moving, not expected and it is a story I will long treasure.

I devoured Augusta Hope and I believe many others will too.

This tells the parallel stories of two very different people who share similar hopes and dreams. Augusta is a twin who lives in suburbia with her narrow-minded parents and easier-going twin, Julia. She is language, word, fact and literature-obsessed; finds other languages, cultures and countries fascinating and yearns for more than her constrained life at home.

Parfait is the oldest sibling in a large Burundian family who have to deal with the horrors and heartbreak of the Hutu and Tutsi wars. He too, yearns for a life of peace, harmony and love. He knows he won’t achieve this for himself or his family if he stays in Burundi and dreams of fleeing with them to Spain to build a positive future.

There’s happiness, horror, sorrow, hope and love in this ultimately life-affirming book. It’s not my usual reading ‘fare’, but I did love it. It seems to achieve an almost 'other-worldly' quality to it – maybe because of the many coincidences (and you do have to stretch your imagination quite a bit on this one) which can be seen as weaknesses in the tale but somehow end up being its strength. Some of the actions are a bit too far for the imagination (a whole street coming together to work on a project and deliver it to another country seems one of them, but perhaps I’m too negative!)

It’s a story of choices, consequences and decisions; and the realisation that nobody can take ultimate personal responsibility for everything.

This story is written from 2 points of view. Augusta Hope is one storyteller and tells the story of her, her fascination for words and her twin sister. The other story teller is Parfait a boy from Burundi a place Augusta decided was her favourite name for a place.
The book tells their story, of their lives until they meet.
I did enjoy the book, although I thought it was a hard read in the beginning but it definitely held my attention as it went on.

An extremely well written book. Augusta whose IQ is so high as a child that she feels a misfit. I had difficulty in following it and occasionally was very tempted to just give in and put the book down but I am glad that I finished it. Others have given it such high revues that it is obviously my problem! I am glad I finished it though!

This beautiful novel is told alternately by Augusta Hope, living in England, and Parfait from Burundi.
Augusta is a twin and an unusual person, growing up in suburbia with her lovely but dull twin and neurotic parents. As a child, she decides that her favourite country is Burundi.
Parfait leaves war-ravaged Burundi in the midst of civil war, and so their stories start to intertwine in the most unexpected ways.
I found this novel beautifully written and a real page-turner. It really moved me and I honestly felt Augusta and Parfait’s losses.
But it is also very funny and suburban life is wickedly observed.
Both characters and their families are so well-developed and the plotting is clever and subtle.
I whole-heartedly recommend this novel: once you start reading it, you won’t want to stop.

I really enjoyed this debut novel. Told in alternating first-person narratives, we meet Augusta and Parfait. Augusta is a twin. She and her sister Julia born into suburban England.  Her twin at the end of July with Augusta emerging a few hours later but in August. It is never specified but I am assuming the twins were non-identical as they both seemed like very different people.  Parfait, however, is from the war-torn nation of Burundi and life for him is quite different.   The two narratives do link up, but not till the last 15% of the book.


We follow the life of Augusta from childhood, we see her grow up with her twin, who she is closer to than any sister.  They are a unit, they are "Justa", but as they grow up, they become very different people.  Augusta is the kind of person who reads the dictionary for fun.  Who enjoys random facts and trivia, and sharing them. Julia is a more sociable child, and after school starts working as a nursery nurse, and loves the contact with the babies.   When Augusta leaves her home town and goes to university she becomes more and more estranged from her family.  

Augusta chose Burundi as her favourite country aged 7, more because she liked the way the word sounded.  She hasn't let this drop as she grew up and even starts writing a book set there.

We meet Parfait as a young man who is obsessed with Spain in a similar way that Augusta is with Burundi.   Life in Burundi is not good, his sisters disappear,  and the rest of his family fear for their lives, caught up in a war that is not their own.  Parfait and his little brother walk to the Morrocan coast in order to escape to Spain and a supposed better life.

This is a book about loss, about grief, about family, about how everything and everybody is connected.  This is a fast and easy read, but by no means light.  It is interspersed with the poetry of Lorca and of which both main characters are drawn.

I feel that the characters of Augusta and Parfait were very well developed. Also Augusta's family and those on the street she grew up on.  However, all of the secondary characters in Parfait's narrative, which wasn't given equal weight, were fairly thin, and I often got them muddled up.

I really enjoyed this book, but, despite the highly emotional content, I was not moved and didn't really feel the emotion myself. However, this is very difficult to achieve with me and I have only had 3 books out of 90 so far this year have brought me to tears, it was close though.

The other half of Augusta Hope
It’s been a while since a book gripped me but this was the one! Well written and with just the right amount of detail, characterisation and reflection, I just grew to love Augusta and root for her fullness of life and fulfilment. The “odd” one, the contentious one, the bright one, the dissatisfied one, the passionate one! The twin storylines are great and the plot development of Augusta’s growth, pain and discovery was just brilliant! Predictable ? Yes! But that didn’t detract from the storyline and the emotional connection I felt with Augusta and Parfait. I totally loved this book and the messages of determination, ambition and destiny are healing and inspirational. The book deals with racism and discrimination based on fear and ignorance really well. Hope and furtiveness follow! Barbara and her husband are total heroes! Go get this now and enjoy every page!

Thank you to Netgalley for a pre publication copy. In return for an honest review #theotherhalfofaugstahope #netgalley

Augusta and Julia Hope are twin sisters who couldn't be more polar opposite. Augusta enjoys words and from an early age began to read the dictionary where she chose her favourite country, Burgundi which she spent a lot of time researching. However Julia enjoys family life and pleasing her parents. Julia continues to grow up, as any other teenager, and soon marries the love of her life and her childhood sweetheart Diego. Augusta on the other hand continues to be a free spirit with a love of language. Until one day tragedy strikes will Augusta and her parents ever be able to live again?
Parfait born and bred in Burgundi longs to escape across the ocean to spain with his family, who one by one, are being killed by the evils happening in Burgundi. Will Parfait make it to Spain and will his life ever be the same?

The synopsis of the book is what drew me in. I felt the book had a pretty and dainty cover but it did not tell me anything about the book.

Although not a conventional romance and a book that can be compared to no others. This book provides you with a soft story of love with no boundaries.

Augusta and Julia are both strong female characters which take you on their life journey. They show that you can be "you" and do not need to follow or believe in anyone other than yourself. Even if this takes you away from the trend of your family. I enjoyed their being multiple romances in each quarter of the book which prevents one romance being dragged out to fill the book. However it did mean that things were built up and ended very quickly.

However i feel that the story was quite slow in parts making it feel like i was literally following their (Augusta, Julia and Parfait's) life with nothing happening until about 3/4 of the way through when Julia's baby was stillborn. Furthermore during this time in the book was the first time i actually felt i was getting to know the characters deep down and not just skimming the surface. Also i felt that for a lot of the book it was simple story telling using "he said, she said, i said" in 1 paragraph detracting from the booms flow.

Furthermore this book includes some difficult but pressing topics such as stillbirth, suicide, politics and refugees. All of the characters have their own difficulties and this allows the topics amd politics to be broached in a way that does not make the book too heavy. It is great that this can be included in a 21st century romance read (even if thia isn't your typical romance) to normalise this and get everyone speaking about these taboo topics.

This book has such good reviews I was really looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately no matter how many times I picked it up I just couldn't connect with it, I kept reading and reading hoping it would all click into place and become interesting but it didn't. I'm sure I am in the minority here but this one just wasn't for me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this title in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Other Half of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glen is such a special book and I am finding it impossible to find anything to compare it to. It is, for the most part, two stories running side by side. We meet Augusta who is bright with a fascination for words and is thought a bit strange at school. Thankfully she can count on the friendship of her not-so-strange twin sister, Julia.

The second plotline takes us to the war-torn African country of Burundi, where young Parfait is determined to help his brothers and sisters escape poverty by travelling to Europe.

Although both narratives tackle distressing themes, there is also poignant comic observation included too. However, this is still a tissues-at-the-ready kind of read. A clever, emotional novel about two lost souls struggling to find their place in the world. It touches upon so many interesting themes - grief, belonging, friendship, migration - that once I finished reading, I longed to discuss it with someone. I wholeheartedly recommend The Other Half of Augusta Hope as a superb book club pick.

This is a beautiful novel! Augusta Hope is such a relatable character and I was rooting for her from the beginning of this novel all the way through. Augusta grows up with her twin sister Julia, but in between the chapters on their lives the novel also follows Parfait who lives in another part of the world and seems unconnected to the two sisters at first. This novel is all about finding the strength to get through the darkest of times, about accepting who you are in the wake of tragedy and finding happiness and contentment again. I don’t have enough superlatives to describe how stunning this book is, it really has made such an impact on me and I think it’s a book I will read again in the future. I particularly loved its exploration of fate, coincidence – about how in the aftermath of things we go over and over them and wonder if we could have known, could have acted differently. In the end it’s a novel about forgiving yourself for the things you couldn’t have known, couldn’t have changed. It made me cry, it made me smile and in the end I just felt really content. I highly recommend this book!

I really loved this book.
I loved the personality of Augusta with her "awkwardness" .

I enjoyed that the story had a dual narrative between Augusta and Parfait, and I was really hoping the moment when their histories will connect.

This book gave me all the feels, specially towards the end. laughed and cried.

I went into this book full of expectations, picturing the next Eleanor Oliphant and felt a little bit disappointed when I didn't feel that same strong connection. My mind was pretty much made up until the final 15% when everything came together and the connection I was lacking suddenly became tangible. It's rare for a book to emotionally touch me but this one left me with an unexpected lump in my throat. I just wish this could have happened earlier on in the book.

Augusta Hope is a peculiar young girl. Obsessed with words, she reads the dictionary like it's an all-consuming novel, searching for new words and new knowledge that she craves. Her favourite country is Burundi as she likes how the word rolls off her tongue. As she grows into an adult, she becomes the polar opposite of her twin sister Julia who, though troubled, has no desire to leave their little town, unlike Augusta who dreams of other worlds. When tragedy hits the Hope family, Augusta becomes intent on finding her identity. Which leads to her crossing paths with the most unlikely person she could have ever expected to meet.

This book is brimming with coincidences but I actually liked these impossible possibilities. It restores faith even in the most skeptical of minds. It shows that happiness can be found at the end of the tunnel, despite the sadness and hurt that paves the way. Augusta is a very special person and you shouldn't underestimate her ability to make you whole again.