After a rather abysmal weekend with dreary wet windy weather, I decided to curl up in an armchair with the fire blazing and read. The first book which came to hand was ‘If you could see me now’ by Celia Ahern. Shamefully it has been sitting on my bookshelf gathering dust for several months now waiting to be read… better late then never I suppose!!
First of all I should mention that this book is definitely for older students, and I would recommend it to year 10 +.
The books central character is Elizabeth Egan, a confident self-made businesswoman who owns a successful interior design company in a sleepy Irish town. However the order in her work life is not replicated in her family life. Elizabeth’s mother disappeared when she was 10, making her father a withdrawn recluse, and Elizabeth responsible for the upbringing of her little sister. Unfortunately her sister has grown up to become an uncontrollable alcoholic forcing Elizabeth to adopt her six-year-old nephew Luke. Once again taking on a parental role, squashing her own desires and ambitions for the future.
All these responsibilities have made Elizabeth loose her sense of fun, spontaneity and lust for life.
Matters get much worse when Luke starts to talk to an ‘imaginary friend’ named Ivan. This causes Elizabeth to worry that Luke is going to end up like his wayward mother, living in a fantasyland…and here is where the story begins to get interesting…Ivan is actually not an ‘imaginary friend’, but is a REAL person who has his own personality, and enjoys pizza’s with olives (yuk). Unfortunately he can only be seen by people who need his help. As this is usually children, Ivan is shocked when Elizabeth begins to see him to.
The story tells the tale of Elizabeth and Ivan’s growing relationship and is full of amusing events, and really touching moments, which keep you gripped. The question is can Ivan find out how he can help Elizabeth and why she needs him? And will the story end happily for both characters as they slowly begin to fall in love?
You will have to read it to find out!
Miss Belcher
