The author of a very popular book series turned movie, Eve Monroe, is diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor. Follow Eve and her family as they navigate the process of making decisions, treatment, recovery, and what to do next.

This novella or short story is a partially fictionalized autobiography of Sophie Kinsella's real diagnosis, treatment, and recovery so far. Tough for her and her family, but an author does what an author does. She wrote about it. While this writing is not like her other books, the feelings come across, and knowing that it's her story, the differences in writing style can be overlooked. This is heartbreaking and encouraging at the same time. ( )

Although part of the title of this book is “A Novel”, as the author explains in an Afternote, it is mostly autobiographical, with some names and dates changed, but otherwise a reflection of the author’s recent experience.

Sophie Kinsella was diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumor in 2022, and subsequently underwent surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and a great deal of rehabilitation. She decided to write about her journey through disease and recovery, because it is what she knows now, and because her writing is “her happy place.” It is for her readers as well.

As she explains through her fictional character Eve Monroe, she has the most aggressive form of brain tumor, one that only 25 per cent of patients survive more than one year past diagnosis, with a median survival time 14 months.

So she tells us some of what she has gone through - but never in a depressing way; rather, it is in her trademark light, self-deprecatory style. She writes of her love for her family and their incredible support for her; her struggle with rage and guilt over her bad luck; her gratitude for all of her previous good luck; and the irony of how, unlike when she writes fiction, she cannot determine the outcome or be in charge of the universe. She writes: “Fate’s the boss. And there are no teasers. All we can do is wait and see what happens.”

Her only aim now, she avers, is just to keep going: “She’s been super-lucky in life . . . then super-unlucky . . . so maybe the next swing will be towards luck.”

Evaluation: This brave, warm, at times funny, and ultimately optimistic thinly-veiled biography is like a love letter to all of Kinsella’s fans. And readers will love her back for it, more than they already have for all she has given to them through her work. I am so grateful she could return to her writing after her ordeal, and hope she remains in her "happy place" at for as long as possible. Fans will not want to miss this heart-felt offering. ( )