This is my second novel by Mike Gayle having recently read The Man I Think I Know which I also enjoyed. I love the ease of Mike Gayle books, they are well written, well rounded characters that the reader can connect with and a plot that is thought provoking and entertaining. It isn’t easy, it is heart-wrenching, but, oh, is it worth reading. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.‘ Vine When I finished High School I studied at the University of Sydney. I had a great time studying mainly history but also getting involved in lots of things happening at the University and the city. It was the time of the anti-Vietnam war protests and the rise of the Women's Movement.

The voice of Jaden, the main character is sweet, wonderful and completely authentic. I think this book was extremely well done in the way it handled the very real experiences of adoptees and their well-intentioned parents. Plus - to qualify for an I-600 visa (visa for an adopted child)to be admitted to the United States all children need a physical exam by someone at a US embassy. (That there isn't a doctor in the area doesn't matter.) There are strict guidelines for visas ... and one or more of these children would certainly not be admitted. (One will "die soon.") Eleven-year-old Jaden is adopted, and he knows he’s an “epic fail.” That’s why his family is traveling to Kazakhstan to adopt a new baby—to replace him, he’s sure. And he gets it. He is incapable of stopping his stealing, hoarding, lighting fires, aggressive running, and obsession with electricity. He knows his parents love him, but he feels...nothing. Jaden was adopted at the age of 8. Now at 12, his adoptive parents decides to adopt a new baby. He and his parents are travelling to Kazakhstan to meet the new member of their family. The problem is the baby is already adoptive by other family when they arrived. They end up choosing another baby. Meanwhile, Jaden meets a 3-year old boy and he starts to bond with him.

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The other is adopted aged 2.5 and raised by a loving, wealthy white middle class family and eventually becomes a successful criminal barrister. Noah lives with his wife and daughter in Primrose Hill.

Steve and Penni met eyes again. Penni turned all the way around. “Jaden, it’s just that Steve read an article saying the baby seat should be in the middle. Okay?” This Newbery Medal award-winning author writes with clarity, and excellently handles very difficult situations. In Kira, Kira the subject was the loss of a sibling. In this book, she deftly handles the issue of adoption and the emotional pitfalls of both the adopted child and the parents who opened their heart and home. I do need to warn readers that this is an intensely emotional book, although beautifully written and uplifting in parts, it does give cause to have tissues close by but I did enjoy it and I would definitely read more by this author again. A tug at the heartstrings but funny, endearing and uplifting and a story I won't forget. An absolute must read! How have I not read a Mike Gayle book before? I want to give this book all of the starts in the universe. I cried my eyes out at the end. It is touching, heart-wrenching and thought-provoking.‘ NetgalleyKerry Hayes is single mum, living on a tough south London estate. She provides for her son by cleaning houses she could never afford. Taken into care as a child, Kerry cannot forget her past.

However, I can't lie, it totally got me. Not only did I find this book relatable in many ways, I found the characters endearing and I found myself really invested in their lives - which was also helped by the writing and the setting, as it really transported me into the story. When they get to Kazakhstan, it turns out the infant they’ve traveled for has already been adopted, and literally within minutes are faced with having to choose from six other babies. While his parents agonize, Jaden is more interested in the toddlers. One, a little guy named Dimash, spies Jaden and barrels over to him every time he sees him. Jaden finds himself increasingly intrigued by and worried about Dimash. Already three years old and barely able to speak, Dimash will soon age out of the orphanage, and then his life will be as hopeless as Jaden feels now. For the first time in his life, Jaden actually feels something that isn’t pure blinding fury, and there’s no way to control it, or its power.

One of his psychologists had told him he should be grateful to Penni and Steve. The shrink didn’t understand that they didn’t adopt him for him, but for themselves. But what the guy really didn’t understand was that it was impossible for Jaden to feel grateful, for anything ever. It wasn’t personal to Penni and Steve. Jaden had a distaste for parents in general. And he knew he wasn’t alone. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of kids in America just like him—adopted when they were older, hating their new parents. He knew this because one of his psychologists or psychiatrists had said so. He couldn’t remember at the moment which doctor it was. So he pretty much was nothing special. Jaden sat on the floor, holding on to a half loaf of unsliced bread. He switched his lamp on and off, the bedroom lighting up and darkening over and over. Electricity had always relaxed him. For sure it was the most amazing thing about America. He bit off the biggest chunk of bread that could fit in his mouth. It was sourdough, which he liked because it was so chewy. Mike Gayle just gets better and better and HALF A WORLD AWAY might be the loveliest yet. (Jenny Colgan, author of The Little Shop of Happy-Ever-After) These are people who matter, situations one can believe. Most readers will find themselves caring very much. A life-affirming read.‘ Vine Kerry and Noah couldn't have had any more different upbringings if they tried, but yet there are a few similarities in their lives.

Half a World Away follows the heartbreaking story of two siblings, Kerry and Noah, who are taken into care and live very different lives. With now her mother has passed away, she decides to find her brother, Noah Martineau who is a successful barrister, with a posh voice and a wife and daughter living in a big house.

He closed his eyes and stayed very still, concentrating on his electricity. He could feel a slight tingling in his hands. He hadn’t even known what electricity was when he was first adopted from Romania four years earlier. In Romania he’d lived in four different group homes, and none of them had electricity. The incredibly moving and uplifting novel "Half a World Away" is an acute observation of human nature and is written by Mike Gayle, bestselling author of "The Man I Think I Know". Now, his world is turning upside down. His parents are seeking the adoption of a child residing in Kazakhstan. Not able to understand that love can encompass and enfold more than one child, he firmly knows he is being replaced because he is not doing a good job.