As a teenager I read Twopence to Cross the Mersey and it really stuck with me for a long time, so when I saw this on a shelf of books being sold for charity I thought I could spare a pound. It took me a while to get into it but I found the central part of the story of Manuel growing up in the Liverpool slums quite gripping. The strong character of his mother in particular. As Manuel got older the story started to accelerate and it felt a bit rushed in places but overall it was worth a read. The ending in some ways felt quite fitting but in others was just a bit too awful for me. I guess I'm left with mixed feelings about the book as a whole - and an urge to reread some of her others! ( )