Stepping Up (by Sarah Turner)

(Amazon UK link)

If I had seen Sarah Turner’s novel ‘Stepping Up’ in a charity shop or book sale, I might well have bought it. The cover is appealing, the blurb on the back intriguing. As it was, I bought a Kindle edition on special offer, because the book was allocated for the June meeting of our local reading group. 

When I started reading, I thought it was going to be a light-weight and somewhat fluffy novel. I was surprised, as the books chosen for the group are usually more literary, encompassing a range of different cultures and historical periods. ‘Stepping Up’ is set in the UK, in the 21st century. And the initial ramblings of the rather clueless thirty-year-old Beth didn’t lead me to suppose that it would have any depth. 

Beth, who is the first person viewpoint character of the book, is hungover, and late for work. Her car won’t start, and her parents - whom she lives with - are babysitting her three-year-old nephew. She ponders calling her best friend Jory but he will be at work. So after much mental activity, including wondering how long she will stay in her current job (for Beth has a history of leaving jobs within a few weeks), she decides to lie and say she is ill.

She relaxes, eats junk food and turns her phone off. She ignores the house phone when it rings, and browses her computer, only to find, when she eventually turns her phone on again, that there are a flurry of messages awaiting her. Most of them tell her to get in touch with her parents. She phones her father, only to learn some devastating news…

It’s the middle of March when the book opens, and the story runs over the course of the year, finishing on New Year’s Eve. During that time, Beth has to take on some unexpected responsibilities, while in shock and grieving. She learns a lot about herself in the process. So in that sense it’s a classic coming-of-age novel, even if she’s rather older than would be expected for someone so clueless. 

But it’s essentially a character-based novel, albeit one with several subplots. And the characters are very well drawn. Most of them are likeable, but with quirks that make them feel realistic. Beth is untidy, heedless and lives in the present, but she cares deeply about her family and friends. She’s also willing to acknowledge her faults and mistakes, and do what she can to fix them. 

Beth’s mother is highly organised, in stark contrast to her younger daughter, and disapproves of most of what Beth does. One aspect of the novel is their growing to appreciate each other more: Beth, in getting involved in her teenage niece’s life, realises what her mother went through fifteen years earlier. And her mother sees that while Beth’s methods might be unconventional, they can have a positive outcome.

Polly, Beth’s niece, is a three-dimensional person too, full of hopes and fears, plagued by something that worries her desperately, which she doesn’t want to talk about. There’s a lot of insight into her life, and I liked her very much. Her brother Ted is much younger - he has his fourth birthday during the book, although from his language he seems rather younger. But he’s a delightful character, full of curiosity and energy.  

Then there’s Albert, an elderly widower who lives next door to Polly and Ted, who is really very lonely. He seems grumpy but, again, he’s quite believable: he doesn’t want to acknowledge that he’s lonely so he is rather crusty when anyone offers to help. I was slightly bemused at Albert's unused mobile phone still being charged after having been dumped in a drawer for such a long time, but it wasn't a big deal. 

There’s a tragic element running through the book. There's someone lying in hospital in a coma, with little idea, at first, whether this person will ever recover. We don’t learn the answer to that, slightly to my surprise, but the final scenes are, on the whole, hopeful. And perhaps it would have been a distraction if anything definite had happened. 

But there’s also some humour; partly in misunderstandings as Albert and Beth’s parents try to get to grips with the world of mobile phones and the Internet. And partly in Ted’s mistakes, although some of them are bittersweet. I thought it a good blend; the tragedy which besets the whole family has ramifications for the rest of their lives, but there’s a sense in which they, particularly Ted, have to move through it and find new ways to live. 

And there’s a low-key romantic thread, which includes its own miscommunications and uncertainties. It’s a bit predictable, but I wasn’t sure my predictions were correct until the end when the two people concerned finally acknowledge their feelings. Happily there are no bedroom scenes to skip over - there aren’t even any passionate kisses; instead, there’s a lot of hope for a long-term and committed relationship. There are places where I smiled, places where there was almost a tear in my eye. 

The writing style had me interested even in the first chapter when it was just Beth’s internal monologue. By Chapter Two I was hooked, and could barely put the book down. The pace is excellent, the writing good, and the mixture of subplots and character development work extremely well. I liked the fact that there are no ‘bad’ guys; the main conflict of the book lies in the situation that’s described at the end of the first chapter, with further, lesser conflict in the differences of opinion between Beth and her mother, and in Polly’s secrets. 

Most people, as Beth mentions during one stressful scene, are ‘good’ - and that’s an emphasis of this thoughtful, encouraging novel. I love the way that the different marriages observed or described are happy and long-lasting, and that the ending of the book, even if somewhat open, is encouraging and uplifting. 

Definitely recommended if you like women’s fiction, and if you’re not negatively triggered by a shocking tragedy early in the book. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews