I have a terrible habit of choosing a book because of its front cover and then start reading it without having any idea what the story is actually about. This happened with "The World at My Feet". The cover was so pretty and I was instantly drawn to it and after borrowing it, started reading.

From the cover, I was expecting a lighthearted, sweet read but in reality, this novel was about a young woman struggling with acrophobia. Ellie was a keen gardener and social influencer but found it almost impossible to step outside her front gate. Her garden was her sanctuary and she didn't want to leave.

"The World at My Feet" was a compelling read. I was heartbroken for Ellie from the start and as I gradually learned about her past, this feeling only intensified. Her panic attacks, crippling anxiety and tendency to catastrophise events were realistically portrayed. Learning about the conditions in Romanian orphanages during the 1990s after the revolution was horrific. No child should have to live like that!

However, the novel had many lighthearted moments thanks to Gertie, Lucy, Oscar and Jamie. Overall, a fabulous read. ( )

Don't you love it when a book takes you completely by surprise? Usually when I see a cover design for a book with a butterfly and flowers on the front, it usually indicates the novel isn't going to be for me. I received an unsolicited copy of The World At My Feet by Catherine Isaac from the publisher back in January and it sat on my 'maybe' pile for a few months before I decided to give it a go. Boy was I wrong, I loved this!

Ellie is a social media influencer and avid gardener suffering from agoraphobia. Living in a granny flat behind her parent's home in the English countryside, she makes a living from her sponsored gardening posts on her highly successful Instagram account EnglishCountryGardenista.

I was interested to get to the root cause of Ellie's agoraphobia and when I did, I found I was fascinated by the topic and spent a few nights Googling post-revolution Romania. I remember the shocking footage that emerged in the 1990s showing the terrible living conditions within the orphanages in Romania and it was interesting to explore in this novel what might become of a child raised there.

Offsetting this dark beginning to Ellie's life, her gardening career was a sheer delight to read about and despite not having a green thumb, I really enjoyed following her around the garden and reading her Instagram posts in the book. Those hashtags were a great touch! And the dialogue between Ellie and young Oscar really warmed my heart.

Ellie's struggle to work through her agoraphobia reminded me a little of Amy in Everything Is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray; another case of 'don't judge a book by its cover just because it has flowers on it'. Lesson learned? Maybe not, but these books were definitely two exceptions to my 'rule' this year and both were impressive five star reads.

The World At My Feet by Catherine Isaac was a terrifically enjoyable contemporary novel with moments of character insight and inspiration and I was willing Ellie through as she lost her way and dusted herself off again.

* Copy courtesy of Simon & Schuster * ( )

Posting as ‘EnglishCountryGardenista’, thirty-five-year-old Ellie is a highly successful Instagram influencer. Her 56.6k followers know that, whatever questions they have about growing plants successfully, whatever problems they are experiencing, she will always give them helpful advice. All the beautiful photographs she posts are testament to her skills as a gardener but what they don’t show are the piles of rubbish behind her shed, the plants which fail to thrive or the dirt under her finger nails – after all, visitors to her site “don’t want ugly or messy”, do they? However, what her followers are also unaware of is that she is agoraphobic and hasn’t managed to move beyond her garden gate for more than two years. But then someone comes into her life who may finally force her to confront her fears and change her life.
Harriet is a journalist. Her job has taken her into many dangerous places all over the world. She always remained passionate about wanting to ‘make a difference’, but without making herself part of the story. Following the fall of Ceausescu's communist government, she is sent to Romania to report on conditions in the country’s state orphanages and the horrific sights which she witnesses will change her life. As the story unfolds, the reasons for Ellie’s struggles with her mental health become clearer as the reader learns more about how Harriet’s role as an investigative reporter connects with Ellie’s previous experiences.
The story moves backwards and forwards between 1989 and 2018, with the greater proportion of it being told through the present day, first-person narrative of Ellie and her Instagram posts, with Harriet’s back-story being told in the third-person. Although the link between them isn’t revealed until about a third of the way through the story, I’d guessed what it was much earlier than this. Unfortunately this meant that for a time I found myself being somewhat distracted by wondering whether I’d be proved right! However, once I discovered I was, I felt able to fully engage with this powerful and moving story and, when I turned the final page, knew that its characters and its themes would be likely to remain in my thoughts for some time to come.
I found each of the characters to be exceptionally well-drawn and entirely credible. With just one exception (no spoiler from me!) I both liked and felt able to identify with all of them. I really enjoyed spending time in their company, even though there were times when I agonised for Ellie as I followed her struggles to understand, and overcome, her emotional problems. Each of the other characters (family, friends and therapist) played a part in encouraging and supporting her as she revisited some very dark times in her life; whilst their individual ways of doing this were very different, all their interventions were driven by loving concern.
Although many of the themes explored were disturbing and heart-breaking, there were some wonderful moments of humour and lightness, mostly provided by the delightful five-year-old Oscar, with whom Ellie forms a special, often hilarious friendship, and Ellie’s rescue dog Gertie, described as … a half shih-tzu – the other half, according to the woman in the dog’s home, being ‘God knows what!
I was very impressed by the psychologically credible way in which the author not only described Ellie’s panic attacks, crippling anxiety and agoraphobia, but highlighted the reasons behind the ambivalence she felt about confronting the traumas of her past. I’ve worked with many people experiencing such problems and think that the author’s portrayal of Ellie’s emotional anguish was faultless, as were her portrayals of the reactions of the other characters when they felt their efforts to help were ineffectual. I find it hard to believe that anyone would be able to read this story without feeling considerable empathy for all involved.
For anyone who can recall those truly shocking reports from thirty years ago of the appalling conditions which were uncovered in the Romanian orphanages, who can vividly remember the reports of abuse and starvation and those harrowing images on our television screens of traumatised children living in grossly overcrowded and filthy conditions, parts of this story will bring all those memories flooding back in a powerful and disturbing way. We all know that childhood trauma, particularly when it is prolonged, has long-term physical and emotional effects which cannot easily be overcome. I think the many ways in which the author captured this so accurately and sensitively indicate that she must have done a considerable amount of research before writing this novel. I also appreciated the fact that she built into her story the fact that, although the treatment of children in the care-system in modern day Romania has in many respects improved, conditions for these vulnerable children remains far from ideal.
Although there is a romantic-love element to this story, I liked the fact that it didn’t become the main theme but was, instead, part of a much more generic exploration of the healing power of loving relationships with family and friends for anyone facing trauma and loss. I also really enjoyed the gardening metaphors: the recognition that when plants are neglected they will wither and possibly die but, given the right care and nurturing, they will grow strong and thrive.
I haven’t read any of Catherine Isaac’s previous novels but very much enjoyed her engaging writing style in this perceptive and poignant story. Its many thought-provoking themes would make it a good choice for book groups. I’ve now discovered that, using the pseudonym Jane Costello, she had written nine very successful ‘rom-coms’ before deciding to take her story-telling in a different direction. Since 2018 she has written two novels (You Me Everything and Messy, Wonderful Us) using her real name and I certainly feel encouraged to read those – although must admit to not being tempted by the rom-coms!
With my thanks to NB and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. ( )