All That it Ever Meant is slow-paced, particularly at the start, but it builds into a deeply moving portrait of a grieving family.

Mati, the narrator, is a middle child and a storyteller. Her beloved mother died some months ago, and her family have of course been badly affected by it. Her elder sister, Chichi, is rebelling and seems to only care aobut herself; her father, Baba, doesn't know how to deal with Chichi, and Mati and her younger brother Tana are stood at the side watching. Baba decides that a family trip to Zimbabwe is needed and hires a camper van for this purpose (Chichi isn't impressed). As they travel, the family slowly start to come together again.

Mati also has a mystery companion, Meticais, who may be a ghost, a spirit, or an imaginary friend. She is reluctant at first to talk about what happens with her mother, so Meticais is there to prompt her and encourage her to complete the narrative. I found Meticais' interruptions frustrating and repetitive at first, but I think that's deliberate, because that's also how Mati experiences them. And as she grows to accept Meticais over time, their interactions change.

Mati actually reminded me a little of the narrator, Lucy Snowe from Vilette (I'm listening to the audiobook at the moment), in that they both prefer to relate what other people are doing and saying to telling their own story, albeit for totally different reasons. She's a thoughtful and reflective child, and I enjoyed seeing the world from her perspective.

All That it Ever Meant deals with grief beautifully, with all the characters responding to their loss and to each other in believable ways. You grow to feel so deeply for each of them. The book is marketed as YA, but I think everyone should consider it – it's a long time since I read something as touching, and some scenes and ideas will stay with me.

A beautifully written book covering difficult topics of loss and family dynamics well. And that twist!

I would struggle to be able to review this book due to issues with the file/download. The issues stopped the flow of the book. The issues are:
- Missing words in the middle of sentences
- Stop/start sentences on different lines
- No clear definition of chapters.

I’m not sure if it was a file/download issue but there were lots of gaps and stops/starts which really ruined the flow. I would love the chance to read a better version as the description of the book appeals to me. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. I've awarded stars on the basis of description and cover.

A beautiful story about love, loss, and the importance of family, All That it Ever Meant is told by Mati, as she navigates the world following the death of her mother. She meets a new friend but mysteriously seems to be the only one capable of hearing and seeing them. I thought this story was beautifully written and although there were aspects I was confused about at the start, these were explained gradually throughout the story. There were some plot twists along the way, including some amazing ones near the end, which had me shocked and unable to put the book down (in the best way, of course!) and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and would recommend it to any lovers of contemporary fiction in which love and loss are key themes.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to read this arc due to the formatting pressing all the letters and words together making it unreadable. I've heard good things about this book and will be getting a physical copy so that I can actually read it and leave a proper review on amazon and other sites. But for now this is all I can give it.

Unfortunately, this book is a DNF. So why am I giving it 3 stars? I only got about 30% in when the ARC formatting got all weird - the words were all jumbled and the lettering all over the place (I'm not exaggerating when I say it made my skin crawl). But of what I did read, I think I would've like this book enough to be happy with 3 stars. A shame really.

I really liked this novel. The tropes and seeing how each sibling coped differently after the loss of their mother was incredibly interesting.
The transitions between past/present were confusing at times, I often ended up unsure which timeline I was reading until a few paragraphs in. Would’ve been better if there was some kind of distinction at the start of each chapter.

Overall an enjoyable read.

I was given an advanced reader copy of this story in return for an honest review.

This story is about family and what happens when it is shattered due to the loss of its center. In this story it's the mother who is lost due to illness and she leaves behind a three children and her partner.

No one really knows how to talk about their grief how to explain it. It means different things to each of them. It's made even worse when they find themselves caught between two cultures and customs.

They have to find a way to deal with each other and the grief of loss. It's beautiful story with family, love and loss at its heart.

I struggled to read this on my kindle, also on the shelf app so I'm afraid I wasn't able to do it justice. I was drawn in by the writing and would love to read a good copy but the difficulty in reading the proof put me off and I didn't finish the book.

I desperately wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t seem to connect with it. It was well written, the language used was superb but maybe just not for me. Can’t pinpoint why, I am sure it will be well loved by many.

Mati is the middle child, she has an older sister called Chichi and a live wire little brother called Tana. Together with their father, Baba, they are travelling overland to Zimbabwe, to finish a journey which took a lifetime.

Also along for the ride is Meticais, and Mati has no idea who they really are because it seems no one else can see or hear them. As the journey unfolds Mati tells Meticais a story, it twists and turns and sometimes slows right down but she knows she has to finish it because if she doesn't then who will?

Oh my, this is a beautiful story. I have to admit to finding Mati a little much to begin with. Her thought processes and observations made her seem older than her years but as the story progressed her view of the world and those in it became easier to understand. This is an empowering but heartbreaking tale with an ending I didn't foresee. I'm glad I didn't because that would have somehow diminished its message and made it less than it deserved to be.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Head of Zeus, but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a beautiful book which deals with the subject of loss in an empathetic and dignified way. Highly recommended.

The format of this didn’t work on my kindle but I managed to get it to work on the NetGalley app on my phone instead.

Didn’t have any strong feelings about this one tbh. It was an ok read.

A book about processing loss, grief and how to deal with everything that it can bring with it. An emotional, at times heart-breaking read which will strike a chord with so many readers.

At its essence, this book is about processing loss, and learning to how live meaningfully afterwards. And what a process that is...

For any child, regardless of the nature of their relationship, the loss of a parent is invariably a harrowing experience.
For Mati and her two siblings, the loss of the larger than life personality that was their mother remains a loss that is brutally felt, many months after the event.

Mati's younger brother, Tana, is desperate for things to become normal again. Her older sister, Chichi, is reacting to what happened by acting out - behaviour that leads their father to take the decision to go home to Zimbabwe for some time, in an attempt to re-establish some degree of stability to their family life.

As the middle child, Mati seems to be observing the actions of the others rather than taking action herself. In this process, she is accompanied by the non-binary spirit of Meticais, who is of Zimbabwean origin but is only visible to Mati.

The book is not long, but it is quite slow going, perhaps reflecting also the difficulty of the characters in getting through the days of this phase of their lives. Grief is exhausting, and it processing it takes time - even when you can bear to do the actual processing rather than seeking refuge in denial!

This is an interesting book, and it has a lot to say - about life, emotions, family dynamics and (multi)cultural identities. There is also a major twist at the end of the book, which is unexpected. Overall, it's a book worth reading if you have some degree of patience as a reader.

This story has a huge twist at the end and there are a lot of red herrings throughout. But, given the twist, I loved the way the story unfolds. This book is all about family dynamics and how siblings can find it hard to live together. But it is also about the importance of saying sorry when you've done something wrong and taking opportunities to mend fences when arguments have happened. In this story, the children are grieving the death of their mum and their dad is grieving the death of his wife. The family seem to have become isolated in their grief and the story takes place as they travel back to Zimbabwe in an effort to reconnect. We see the story through the eyes of middle child, Mati as she talks to an mysterious figure that only she can see. Obviously, given the topic covered, the book is sad so I would recommend that thought is given if you're planning to recommend it or add it to your school library. But I would definitely recommend adding it.