The First Time Lauren Pailing Died #AlysonRudd

About The First Time Lauren Pailing Died 

Lauren Pailing is born in the sixties, and a child of the seventies. She is thirteen years old the first time she dies.

Lauren Pailing is a teenager in the eighties, becomes a Londoner in the nineties. And each time she dies, new lives begin for the people who loved her – while Lauren enters a brand new life, too.

But in each of Lauren’s lives, a man called Peter Stanning disappears. And, in each of her lives, Lauren sets out to find him.

And so it is that every ending is also a beginning. And so it is that, with each new beginning, Peter Stanning inches closer to finally being found…

My review of The First Time Lauren Pailing Died 

The First Time Lauren Pailing Died is a highly original, thought provoking and emotional roller coaster of a read. Many people have stated that this book is similar to The Time Traveler's Wife (one of my all time favourite books) but I actually believe that this book stands in a league of its own. It's a book about parallel lives, about chance encounters and the choices that we make that shape our lives.

Lauren is able to see different versions of herself in prisms of time. Snapshots that show her living a different life. Although one thing remains the same, that of Peter Stanning who is missing. We read about all of these fractured lives that Lauren lives thriugh, and follow her in her search for Peter.

This is such a thought provoking read. It questions the fragility of life. That one wrong decision could change everything. It also highlights the fact that we are all connected and that our actions impact others and what happens in their lives.

I raced through the pages of this book. Lauren, her mother and father are all engaging characters, each with their own unique story to tell. It touched upon death and change, but also the joy that is to be had from living life, and that we should seize every moment. A unique and enjoyable read.

The First Time Lauren Pailing Died is published by HQ on 11th July. 

With thanks to the publisher and and NetGalley for  the Advanced Reader Copy.