Marshmallows for breakfast (by Dorothy Koomson)

(Amazon UK link)

I first read Dorothy Koomson’s novel ‘Marshmallows for breakfast’ in 2009. It was my introduction to the author, and I liked it so much that - over the next few years - I put several of her books on my wishlist. More recently she has written psychological thrillers which appeal to me less than her earlier character-based novels, although they have plenty of tension, and are rather harder-hitting than most women’s fiction.

In the past decade and a half, I had inevitably forgotten everything about this book, including the characters.  The narrator is Kendra, a young British woman who has just returned from Australia. She’s been living and working there for a couple of years, and has left due to a crisis in her love life. We gradually learn more about the man concerned in the course of the book, and their story. He appears to have been the love of her life… and she has a letter from him which she has not yet opened. 

Kendra is moving into a studio apartment and hopes to be left alone, socially. She has a job lined up at the agency where she’s been working abroad; her boss, Gabrielle, is also a good friend. It’s clear early in the book that something terrible happened, some years earlier, which make Kendra quite jumpy, and unwilling to trust people. 

So she’s startled when she is confronted by the six-year-old twins, Summer and Jaxon, whose father is her landlord. They live at the other end of the garden, and have few inhibitions. They’re children who have been through quite a difficult period as their parents have separated. Jaxon barely speaks, and Summer has major tantrums. 

But they’re also very appealing youngsters. Dorothy Koomson has created three-dimensional children whose innocence and neediness capture Kendra’s heart. This despite her not wanting to get involved with anyone. She has quite a gift for relating to children, using her imagination and creativity to help them believe in a bit of magic. The blurb on the back says that she lets the children eat marshmallows for breakfast; this is not the case. She tells them that she likes that combination, and shows them ways to make their Saturday breakfasts special. 

Kendra and the children’s father, Kyle, have a bit of an antagonistic beginning; in a lesser author’s hands this would inevitably lead to romance between them. But Kyle is still in love with his wife, and Kendra is still in love with the man in Australia. But a friendship begins, as they bond over the needs (and problems) of the children.

There are a lot of strands to this novel, which is character-based. It’s mainly told in the first person by Kendra, with a few flashbacks (in italics, to make them clear) to gradually reveal some of what happened in her past. But there are also a few italic sections about other important characters, and it blends together extremely well. Kendra is quite outspoken, and is a good listener; but she’s unwilling to tell anyone about her own trauma. 

There are some stresses in the office, which add to the story. One of the other staff resents Kendra’s promotion, and regularly makes snide comments. Gabrielle tries to keep the peace, and it’s not until quite a way into the book that we learn that she, too, has some trauma in her past. 

When Kendra eventually opens up enough to admit, to Kyle, exactly what happened to her, there’s really nothing new from the point of view of the reader. Almost everything has been shown already, in hints, and flashbacks. But it’s still extremely moving to read her perspective. I liked her very much. I hope that, in her shoes, I would have spoken out sooner. I also hope that people reading this who have gone through something similar might be encouraged to do more quickly what she did only after many years of internal suffering.

There are a lot of serious issues covered in this book, including the importance of listening to and respecting children, although there is no preaching.  I very much liked the fact that the book manages to be completely free of bad language. It also avoids any gratuitous details, despite mentioning scenes of intimacy, and some of violence. The author gets just the right balance, in my view: enough to let the reader know what is happening, but without drawn-out or unnecessary detail. 

I thoroughly enjoyed rereading this book. I am looking forward to rereading the other novels I have by Dorothy Koomson over the next year or so.

Review copyright 2025 Sue's Book Reviews