I’m not usually one to go for a book full of sadness, but in reality this book is full of the happy/sadness that we all need in our lives. It was about making peace with your own mortality, finding a place where you belong, and that family is not always blood-related. When a woman discovers a rare book that has connections to her past, long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood spent in the English countryside during World War II are revealed.

Sharp and funny, warm and wise, a remarkable friendship sparks two lifetimes of shared stories in one unforgettable book. However because of their health status, both find themselves occupants of wards near each other in the “Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus. A beautiful friendship if formed between 17 year old Lenni and 83 year old Margot during their hospital stay. Lenni's artwork is not of the same artistic talent but I would love to have gotten to see the pictures she made of her 17 years.

And in the quiet, as she carefully outlined her yellow star in gold, I got this feeling I've never felt with anyone.

This is a wonderful and beautiful story despite the fact that Lenni is dying, she’s living her last months with as much joy as she can.Through Lenni's artwork, we learn of her childhood, the mental health issues of her mother, her move to Glasgow at 7 years old, her continuous outsider status in life that persists through her school life, right up to what is important to her in the present, living under the shadow of death. The story is told from Lenni’s point of view, except she tells us about The Temp from the third person point of view, and for some reason, it works. I loved this comment by Margot “Into a room full of octogenarians she strode, with a confidence beyond her years. Threading together these two lives, Cronin not only embellishes Lenni’s brief sojourn with Margot’s dramatic adventures, but also nimbly avoids drifting into sentimental clichés.

While the story comes down clearly on the side of all-encompassing love, Mallery has struck a careful balance: There is just enough sex to be spicy, just enough swearing to be naughty, and just enough heartbreak to avoid being cloying. She studied English and Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham. Lenni Pettersson is terminally ill and perceptive in the way of 17-year-olds who've experienced more trauma than most people their age. She attempts to try Father Arthur’s patience, answering his questions with a somewhat sarcastic, mocking response.As their friendship blooms, a world of stories opens for these unlikely companions who, between them, have been alive for one hundred years.