Minty

Christina Banach

(Review written on 20/05/2020)

WOW! What a beautifully written story Minty is.

Minty and Jess are teenage twin sisters. The story is set in Scotland and begins with a promised day out being cancelled. The girls are taken on a trip to the coast instead, with their parents and two dogs, Remus and Romulus (which I think are fabulous names!). Minty and Jess rush on ahead with the dogs. When Remus ends up in the rough sea, in obvious distress, Minty tries to save him and soon finds herself fighting for her life amongst the waves too as Jess runs to alert her parents who were catching them up. From this moment on their lives will never be the same again. My heart was hammering at this point. As a parent, and a sister, I can only imagine the distress.

I don’t really want to say anything more about the actual story as I don’t want to spoil anything for future readers. It has been a highly emotional read, but also quite amusing at times. It is told from the point of view of a teenager after all. Minty is a lovely, endearing character. Her own rollercoaster of emotions is very real and believable.

My heart went out to Jess. I’m very close to my sister, who is five years younger than me, but I know twins generally share an extra special bond. Her reaction to Minty’s accident is just heart-wrenching. She made me want to wave a magic wand and make everything better. No-one wants to see a child in such pain. As the story progresses though and she becomes more hopeful she really made me smile. There’s no way of knowing how we would cope in the same situation. It doesn’t bare thinking about.

I could totally relate to their parent’s reactions to the situation. Everyone deals with these things in their own way and I truly felt for them both. The story is predominately focused on Minty’s and Jess’s relationship though and I was completely captivated. I loved their obsession with the Romans. This was an interesting aspect.

Jack plays a big part too. He’s a fascinating and loveable character with his own compelling story. I liked the friendship the twins shared with Iona and Kirsty also. They are quite integral to the story adding depth and different perspectives. The dogs are just brilliant!

This book is so full of love and heart-breaking devastation, but also hope. I finished it this afternoon with a massive lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. I could barely see what I was reading at one point if I’m being perfectly honest. Such a heart-warming, inspiring and hopeful conclusion to an emotional read. I have loved it and I highly recommend. My only regret is not reading it sooner.