A moving love story of two people who are a bit different
What I love about Amanda Prowse's books is that they always shows her empathy towards those who don't quite fit in. Thomasina is known as Hitch because of her awkward gait caused by her twisted body. She lives and works hard with her brother on her parents' farm, where her family protect her from the unkind world. Although slow to learn, she gains release form the constraints of her life by expressing her thoughts and dreams on paper. She longs to go to New York, have a boyfriend and have sparkly red shoes. Her parents tell her she is 'different' but she longs to find out exactly how different.
When her brother, Jonathan, goes to work on a ranch in America, she realises that her own dreams of escape have been crushed, as her elderly parents rely on her to support them on the farm. Then Grayson Potts comes to stay at their B&B. Like her, he feels himself a misfit and constrained by his needy mother, an alcoholic, with whom he shares a tiny London flat. They make an instant connection and make each other happy, but their lives are so different. He is a stockbroker, she a farm girl. Can they make a future together?
I love the fact that, as Thomasina gains in confidence, she becomes known by her proper name, rather than the derogatory nickname used by even her parents. A beautifully-written romance, with pathos and humour.