This book was SOOOOO GOOOOD!

Not very eloquently put, but really sums up this book. I am becoming a big fan of Clare Pooley, she writes an ensemble cast really well, making you love and care for all of them equally, with the multiple POVs you never get bored of any of them and are invested in all of their stories.

The standout character is obviously Daphne, who is mysterious, smart and very secretly cares about everyone. I loved getting to know her, and watching her flourish, It is refreshing to read a book about older characters and gives me hope that life isn't over until you say it is over!

It was paced well, and had me laughing and crying in equal measure. Will be a book I recommend to everyone!

How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley

A joy to read. I rarely laugh out loud when reading a book , even when it's rated as hilarious , but this one had me laughing along because it really is very funny.
Would totally recommend.

This is a funny book about a group of old people who join a club at the local community centre run by Lydia. They all get much more out of it that they expected! The story is told from the perspective of Lydia, Daphne and Art, members of Lydia's club, and Ziggy, a young single father. They all try to save the community centre from closing and to help each other improve their lives. Daphne is fierce! A lovely uplifting read. Recommended.

4.5* How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley is a rare gem - a book of genuine warmth and laugh out loud moments, with surprises along the way and a heart-lifting ending (and I say that as someone with a relatively concrete heart).

Lydia's daughters have gone off to University and her husband is cold and fussy. When Lydia secures a job to set up a social club for older people at the local community centre, she could never imagine that the 7 people who respond to her advert could get up to such high-jinx and become a closely bonded group. Throw in the nursery who also use the centre, the threat of demolition and teenage single dad Ziggy who is struggling to stay away from local drugs gangs and you have a mish-mash of the most wonderful characters who blend together brilliantly.

This is one of those books where the author does an incredible amount of heavy lifting with the prose, in that it is effortless to read but you have to marvel at how well it is written and that there isn't a wasted word. The dialogue sings off the page and there is sufficient intrigue and peril to keep the pages turning at speed. I absolutely loved it and I'll now be reading the author's other books.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Oh this was an hilarious ride. Best start to a book I’ve ever read, had me giggling away to myself. Loved every moment I spent reading How to age disgracefully By Clare Pooley. I’ve already preordered my own copy!

Every character Clare Pooley has ever written I have fallen in love with. I enjoy her writing style and how the multiple characters of each story intertwine and the relationships they build throughout the story. This one starts out quite intriguing and I couldn't wait to find out the story behind the events that led up to it. I would highly recommend giving this one a read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Bantam for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars
This is the first book that I've read by Clare Pooley but it certainly won't be the last.
What a great cast of characters! I especially loved Daphne.
This is also a heartwarming and uplifting story that immediately had me invested in the lives of the group.
I wasn't expecting to laugh out loud but this really did surprise me in the best way.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Daphne has a shady past that she wants to keep hidden, so is pleased that she is now of an age where people tend to pay her little attention.
Her 70th birthday arrives and she realises just how alone she is. She decided to join a Senior Citizens Social Club, in order to make some friends. On her first visit, she is dismayed to find that it is a club that focuses on crafting activities, and expects to be bored out of her mind.
However, an unfortunate ceiling accident leaves one of the members dead, and Daphne finds this strangely exciting!
Because of this accident, the local council decide to sell the building and close the social club. The mother & baby group, and other activities will all lose their place to meet too. Daphne & her new 'friends' decide that they need to do something about it. They are pensioners on a mission!
I loved this book. It was entertaining, and heartwarming at the same time, as people of all ages come together to save their building.

A book to make you smile, and laugh out loud. The characters are beautifully written with wonderful back stories that make you guess on what they had done in their younger years. The story is centered around a community center in the middle of a London housing estate that is used by all generations, but the developers and the council have decided it needs to be closed and sold off, but the Senior Club have other ideas..... Daphne seems to be the main instigator (with a mysterious past) and is ably helped by Art, Anna, William and Lydia. Ziggy is the young help!
This book shows us the wonderful relationships that the young and old can have, and how each generation as so much to offer to each
other if only we embrace it.
A lovely read.

This is a funny lovely hug of a book !
Lydia has a new job hosting a senior citizens weekly club and has lots of ideas on how to run it - however the ones that join have other ideas that they would like to do... there are a lot of characters and all have fantastic back stories and are an unlikely bunch of people that would normally meet. Its funny and heart-warming - lovely story

I think this book has the best start to a contemporary fiction novel I have ever read. Picture this: the police pull over a mini bus full of OAPs to apprehend a ‘wanted criminal’ - and suddenly all the passengers and the driver start confessing to crimes!

The book then goes back a few months and we learn how this very amusing opening scene came to be. I adored this book and I loved that it depicted older characters as fully rounded misbehaving seniors - it completely challenged the usual stereotype of quiet old granny/grandad. It had characters you really care about too. I’ve enjoyed all of Clare Pooley’s novels but this is definitely my favourite one to date. Highly recommend - I had a big smile on my face the whole time I was reading this!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5 stars)

Thanks to @netgalley and the publishers for a free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a most definite five stars read for me! So hilarious situational humour along with some fantastic wisecracks.

This story comes to us in different perspectives, all from a seventeen year old to a seventy year old. But without a doubt, my favourite character was Daphne.

Mandel Community Centre is in trouble. It may soon be boarded up by the council if the members of the community are unable to raise sufficient funds for repair and maintenance. We meet the different groups of people which include a kid's nursery, a senior citizen club, AA club and a pregnant women's club. They are not ready to lose this space and try various means to stop the Demolition. I loved several aspects of the novel.

☆ Daphne is a boss lady. She is unafraid to speak her mind and her immaculate plotting leads to some hilarious situations that left me wheezing. She is often the brain behind several efforts of the senior citizen's club.

☆ It is not just a book about humour. It also comments upon the ageist behaviour against the elderly. They are often stereotyped and their roles seem to be decided by the society at large. This book shatters those stereotypes. They are expected to act a certain way after an age. But why? They also wish to lead a Fun life. Why try to limit them?

☆ All isn't fun and easy for the pensioners. They face loneliness after losing their partners, they face money troubles, and they are often ignored by the general public. Somehow, the people gloss over them every time, making them feel unseen and unheard.

☆ Daphne finally connecting with the world after more than a decade of isolation was heartwarming to experience. Her slow and reluctant connection to Margaret (the dog) and Kylie (the baby) was delightful. She starts putting in roots, making friends, standing up for them and helping them. Her ways of going about it are often hilarious to read.

☆ Art's character was heartbreaking. His sad past and a dark present made the social club his only form of escape from reality. But you could never guess that based on his humour and the constantly smiling face in public.

☆ Lydia finally has solid ground beneath her when she gets a job as the incharge of the club. After being constantly put down by her husband, she loses her sense of self worth. But with the support of the elderlies, she gains back her confidence and comes out stronger than before.

☆ During every meeting, Lydia always tried to bring forth "age appropriate" activities but the geriatric are not so boring. They want the fun, the gossip, the free flowing wine and the pranks on people.

☆ Ziggy comes from a rough neighbourhood and as a single father (and a highschooler), he has a lot of responsibilities towards Kylie (his baby). He feels overwhelmed and loses hope of a brighter future. But with his teacher's trust in him, along with Daphne's support, the hope reignites.

☆ It has a large number of pranks and revenge operations which lead to side splitting laughs.

This was the most I've laughed reading a book in a long time. I highly highly recommend!

Special thanks to Random House UK, Clare Pooley and NetGalley for providing this DRC. Very much appreciated!

If you’ve read The Authenticity Project or The People on Platform 5, you’ll understand my excitement when I saw Clare Pooley has a new book out and even greater excitement when I bagged a copy on Netgalley

I finished it in bed this morning, not feeling well and having cancelled a trip to the theatre and this was the hug in a book I needed.

I love book where a group of disparate people get thrown together to fight for a common cause, in this case the Mandel Community Centre.
The main protagonist is Daphne, who obviously has a past, and is very protective of her independence. Other key characters include Art, an elderly actor, with no work coming his way, so he finds another way to have some control in his life, Ziggy a teenage dad trying to stay out of trouble and Lydia a middle aged, married mother of two, facing an empty nest and with suspicions about her husband. With a supporting cast including Art’s good friend William, Ruby the Banksy of knitters, Anna and her scooter and Maggie aka Margaret Thatcher the dog the group form an unlikely, force to be reckoned with.

It lived up to all my hopes, I laughed so many times, but there’s an element of sadness and loneliness for each of the main characters that’s explored in this story.

It’s gorgeous and I hope Clare Pooley is already writing her next book!

PS don’t miss the author’s notes at the end, at 56 I could very much identify!

The blurb
When age makes you invisible, secrets are easier to hide.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Love this author and this book was no exception!
Highly recommend this heartwarming and funny. Two generations of women working together on a project to save their community.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Love this author and this book was no exception!
Highly recommend this heartwarming and funny. Two generations of women working together on a project to save their community.

I just love anything that Clare Pooley writes!

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - it's a fun but heartwarming story of different generations coming together to try and save the local community centre.

I liked the dynamics between each of the characters and they all brought something to the story.

Highly recommend this!

How to age disgracefully
By Clare Pooley
Published by Transworld Publishers Ltd

Clare Pooley does it again: I laughed out loud & cried a little tear. My goodness she knows how to resonate with her audience.

Age means something different to us all: a number, to be seen or to make you invisible. But secrets are much easier to hide when you can’t be seen.

Daphne knows that society no longer pays her any attention – something she’s happy to play around with when she finds herself alone on her 70th birthday.
But habits are hard to break.
So joining a Senior Citizen's Social Club is her aim, thinking she’ll make some “friends” & spend time enduring some gentle crafting activities.

However a failed actor addicted to shoplifting, a prolific yarn-bomber & a young kid trapped by the estates drug scene takes this story of loyalty & friendship to a new height.
After a tragic accident, the local council threaten to close the community club and everyone’s story needs it for a very different reason.

A must read for escapism, a life check or just because you can.
Everyone has a past so watch out if you don't want it to catch up with you first…

Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of literature.
#Netgalley

Loved loved loved this! Right from the very beginning it had me laughing and I was instantly invested in all of the characters.

There are some big topics covered here but Clare Pooley manages to balance them with warmth (and Daphne’s irreverent sense of humour) so it’s uplifting rather than depressing. She is so good at producing a large cast of well-rounded characters that you finish her books feeling you really know them and instantly missing them.

From witty one-liners to the infamous Yarnsy this book was exactly what I needed. Highly recommend.

How To Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Out on the 20th of June 2024.

Throughout this book, you follow Daphne, Art, Lydia, and Ziggy. Each one has their own story to tell. This unlikely bunch of characters are brought together to help save their local community centre from closing down and to find themselves along the way.

Having read Clare Pooley's other books, The People On Platform 5 and The Authenticity Project, I didn't think they could get any better, but this one is by far my favourite yet. Like in the previous books before, Pooley has a great knack for bringing the most unlikely bunch of fabulously written characters together. This story touches on some relevant topics that people face today, such as loneliness, love, addiction, and gang culture, to name a few, but the story is so much more than that. Not only is it full of hope, heartwarming, uplifting, and a big warm cuddle in a book, but it's also extremely humorous, laugh-out-loud, and fun, it punches all those stereotypes in the face and dares to show a different side to the older generation.

Getting older no longer means you have to conform to being the stereotypical cardigan wearing, tea drinking, knitting needle weilding gardener, and this book proves it!

I can not give this book enough praise. It's my first five-star review this year. I hope that when I reach my 60+ phase in life, I take a little bit of Daphne with me.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers.
My opinions are my own.

A really good read. I enjoyed this story it was so funny and loved that that it featured older characters. When Lydia applied for a part time job running a new senior citizens social group she never expected the sort of people who turned up ,they were all up to some kind of mischief so things didn't exactly go to plan after the first disastrous meeting. Daphne ,Art and the others were brilliant characters but also delightful and it was an hilarious novel to brighten up anyone's day.