Thank you very much to Red Door Press and Author Cat Walker for providing a free copy of The Scoop in exchange for an honest review!

*Content warnings: cancer, homophobia, references to war and genocide, trauma, references to death of a partner*

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Contemporary

Synopsis (from publisher’s website): Casey Jones's life is a mess. Her job bores her, her parents confuse her, and she has repeated nightmares about her ex-girlfriend. In a moment of madness, she packs in her job and plans an adventure with her school friend, long-time lad Danny.

What she didn't plan for was an extra passenger, in the shape of Danny's estranged twelve-year-old son, Ari, who has problems of his own. 

The three of them are thrown together for an intense rollercoaster ride in Alice, a converted bright pink ice cream van through some of the most beautiful and dangerous places in the world, from Tulse Hill to Tibet.

Review:

First Impressions

The first thing that struck me about The Scoop is how relatable it is – from being disillusioned in a crummy office job to finding out that travelling isn’t quite like a Hollywood coming-of-age movie when you’re lost, cold or trying to negotiate weird visa rules.

All of these chaotic events are narrated by Casey, who is relentlessly positive, funny and irreverent. Her perspective had me hooked on the story right from the beginning.

Plot

The most exciting part of the story, the road trip, gets underway without any unnecessary build-up. As Alice (the converted ice-cream van!) and her crew move quickly from country to country, the entire book is fast-paced and engaging.

At times it did feel there was a bit too much going on and the reader was plunged into a slightly overwhelming history lesson. Having Casey as a narrator helped to make up for this though – it became like a history lesson from your favourite, most enthusiastic teacher! 

I often found the historical background intriguing too, as it added an unexpected depth to the story. Meanwhile, the laugh-out loud moments interspersed throughout, combined with Casey’s unpretentious commentary, mean The Scoop still retains the feel of a light, summery read.

Characters

The quirky cast of characters that tag along at certain points of the journey – from a posh socialist lecturer to an overzealous missionary – added a great deal to Casey’s hilarious bemusement at life! Casey herself remained my favourite character and I loved following her emotional journey throughout the book.

Favourite quote:

“The world has become so much smaller these days, now that Thailand has become the new Costa del Fish’n’Chips and the exotic is more like the everyday. We seem to have lost a sense of the world as a place to explore. Paradise has become mundane. But there must still be something out there worth experiencing.”

Read if: you want to vicariously travel the world despite lockdown, in the company of a funny, irreverent and relatable heroine!

The Author:

Cat Walker is a Brighton-based author, who, having lived and travelled all over the world, has come to rest (for now) in sunny Saltdean, where she lives with her wife and baby son. Brighton has been a source of inspiration for Cat’s writing, and a local hockey team recently became the subject of (probably) the world’s first lesbian field hockey musical ‘Honeybees: The Musical’ co-written and directed by Cat, which sold out performances in Brighton, Eastbourne and the famous RADA Studios (formerly the Drill Hall) off the West End of London.

But her greatest dream has been to become a published novelist. After 13 years of rejection letters this dream finally came true this year… only to happen in the middle of a pandemic

Cat’s debut novel The Scoop, was published by RedDoor Press in March 2020.

Publishing in the pandemic has been a strange experience for both authors and publishers, but we firmly believe that many people are looking to books for some escapism from the news of the corona virus, especially if the story takes you on an adventure around the world, to exotic places like Kathmandu and Tibet.You can find out more about the Author, Cat Walker on her social media.

Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Buy The Scoop Here!

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Written by Florence Edwards