’Ashdown’s storytelling skills are formidable; her human insights highly perceptive’ – Mail on Sunday
The Observer: ‘A wonderful debut – intelligent, understated and sensitive.’
Mail on Sunday: ‘By the worthy winner of the 2008 Mail on Sunday Novel Prize, Glasshopper is an intelligent, beautifully observed coming-of-age story, packed with vivid characters and inch-perfect dialogue.’
Fay Weldon and Paula Johnson (Mail on Sunday Novel Competition): ‘Engrossing and moving.’
Amazon: Hurry Up and Wait named in Amazon’s Top 100 ‘Customer Favourites in 2011′.
Waterstone’s Books Quarterly: ‘An immaculately written novel with plenty of dark family secrets and gentle wit within. Recommended for book groups.’
The Observer Books of the Year 2009: ‘A tender and subtle novel about alcoholism that explores difficult issues in deceptively easy prose.’
London Evening Standard Best Books of 2009: ‘A disturbing, thought-provoking tale of family dysfunction, spanning the second half of the 20th century, that guarantees laughter at the uncomfortable familiarity of it all.’
Heat Magazine: ‘The story addresses some pretty dark themes, but never strays into misery-lit territory. A slow-burner, which makes the revelation at the end even more heart-wrenching.’
Sainsbury’s Magazine: ‘A brilliant debut.’
Glamour: ‘A heartbreaking redemptive tale of family secrets that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster.’
Easy Living: ‘Carefully observed, unexpected and mesmerisingly beautiful.’
Bella Magazine: ‘Ashdown’s Glasshopper was one of our favourite books of 2009, and her second novel is another mix of compelling characters and 1980s nostalgia.’
Stylist: ‘Haunting fiction exploring the treacherous territory of adolescence.’
David Vann, author of Legend of a Suicide: ‘I love it. It’s a book that’s very fast and really rewarding as a reader. There’s a wrenching end to the first chapter that switches the mood and absolutely hooked me for the rest of the book.’
Lemn Sissay on the Simon Mayo Show: ‘A great story. It is incredibly sad but it’s incredibly enjoyable, like watching a horror film; you enjoy being frightened.’
Joel Morris on the Simon Mayo Show: ‘It reminded me of Iain Banks. If you enjoyed The Crow Road, I think you’ll get lots out of this book.’
Boyd Hilton on the Simon Mayo Show: ‘It’s an incredibly powerful, intense book. Very, very real.’
