Lenni Pettersson is terminally ill and perceptive in the way of 17-year-olds who've experienced more trauma than most people their age. She meets 83-year-old Margot Macrae in a memorable first encounter that turns comically conspiratorial: Lenni covers for Margot while Margot’s engaged in pulling something out of a large hospital rubbish bin. They’re both alone in the hospital, and each woman soon realizes that she’s found a kindred spirit.

As their extraordinary friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet. cherry red hair, which clashed with her blue uniform like there was no tomorrow. She’d only been on the May Ward a matter of days and she was nervous, especially around the airport children … Numbers don’t mean a lot to me. I don’t care about long division or percentages. I don’t know my height or my weight and I can’t remember my dad’s phone number, though I know I used to know it. I prefer words. Delicious, glorious words. This is a sad story for sure and I shed a few tears, but I also smiled a lot and was so moved by what Lenni and Margot accomplish with their One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot. It’s one of those heartbreakingly sad stories that left me with a good feeling. I don’t know as this will win any literary awards (you never know, though), but these characters with their life stories won my heart and I can’t give it less than 5 stars . I will be watching for more by Marianne Cronin. There is nothing new or exciting about her days, so she decides to go to the hospital chapel, not because she is religious, but because she can.Their combined age of 100 inspires a plan to produce 100 pieces of art to celebrate each year, and as they paint, they share stories from their past. Lenni’s are of her early childhood in Sweden, while Margot’s cover a much longer life history. When Lenni meets Margot, their connection is immediate, unique, and their new and unlikely friendship is born. During art class Lenni and Margo discover their combined age's equal one-hundred-years. They decide to celebrate their discovery by painting a picture for each year they have lived. Margot, age 83, has a serious heart condition. She had one surgery and is staying in the hospital until she is strong enough for a second surgery. Margot is a talented artist, so when the new Rose Room art studio opens in the hospital, she is one of the first to sign up for the over 80 class. She is very surprised when the young Lenni confidently marches into this octogenarian class and makes herself at home. When Lenni realizes that she and Margot have been alive a combined 100 years, they embark on a journey to make 100 paintings to celebrate their lives. Marianne Cronin earned a PhD in applied linguistics from the U of Birmingham. I enjoyed discovering that she writes with her rescue cat “sleeping under her desk.” Cronin is also an improv performer in the West Midlands, England, where she lives. Learning that bit of news about Cronin makes me understand the humor that is sprinkled throughout The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot.

They meet in an art therapy class (The Rose Room) at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital and immediately discover a chemistry between them; Lenni shines through her hospital scrubs as witty and ironic, refusing to look at the unfortunate fate that has been dealt her (“When people say ‘terminal,’ I think of the airport.”); Margot presents as eccentric and wise, with a lifetime of unexpected secrets to tell. Unforgettable, life-enhancing and uplifting, this unique story of a friendship between an older woman and a teenager received incredible praise from readers, press and retailers alike. I definitely cried towards the end, but mostly because this book made me really think about the friendships I have had throughout my life and how I can use my life to make a difference in the lives of others, if only in a simple way. If only we could all be a little more like Lenni sometimes. Eighty three year old Margot is at the same hospital due to heart problems that required surgery and will require more surgery. Lenni and Margot first catch sight of each other as Margot is trying to fish something out of a recycling bin and Lenni distracts the porter and nurse so that Margot can accomplish her rescue effort. Later Lenni gets herself enrolled in the art class for eighty years and up so that she can spend time with Margot. Margot and Lenni decide to record their combined 100 years of life with their artwork. Margot is a talented artist and for her 83 years of life Lenni records the stories that Margot tells with each picture she creates. Lenni's artwork is not of the same artistic talent but I would love to have gotten to see the pictures she made of her 17 years.

Lenni is an inquisitive and funny 17-year-old girl. She is also terminally ill. The Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital is now her home. When she meets Margot, a gravely ill, 83-year-old fellow patient, they form a close bond. Lenni is intrigued by the fact that their combined ages total 100 years. Together in their art therapy class, they decide to create 100 paintings to document each year of their lives. Through the details behind each of the paintings, we learn their stories. The two begin telling each other the stories of their lives as they paint. We learn where Lenni’s parents are, her childhood traumas, about her first kiss, etc. Margot has lead an interesting life with two marriages, but neither to the love of her life. As Lenni’s inevitable death draws near, she is comforted by Margot’s stories and the knowledge that their paintings will help them be remembered. Reverend Author said he was better with ‘what’, ‘who’ , and ‘how’ questions, more than ‘why’ questions. Lenni is 17 years old, has a gift for painting, is dying from a terminal disease and… wants to know why?

Rights have already been snapped up at auction or pre-empt to HarperCollins US, Fayard in France, Planeta in Spain, Mondadori in Italy, United Sky in China, Baltos Lankos in Lithuania and, concluding a seven-way auction in Germany, to Penguin Verlag. It is also under offer or at auction in Sweden, Hungary and Romania so far. A charming, fiercely alive and disarmingly funny debut novel in the vein of John Green, Rachel Joyce, and Jojo Moyes—a brave testament to the power of living each day to the fullest, a tribute to the stories that we live, and a reminder of our unlimited capacity for friendship and love. Lenni is 17 years old and is hospitalized for a fatal condition. Margot is 83 and is in the same hospital for serious cardiac issues. They briefly meet at a dumpster inside the hospital, then later in the Rose Room where patients convene for art projects. Seventeen plus 83 equals 100 years of life between Lenni and Margot. Together they set a goal of creating 100 paintings covering these 100 years. No-one knows that better than seventeen-year-old Lenni. But as she is about to learn, it's not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with.This is a wonderful and beautiful story despite the fact that Lenni is dying, she’s living her last months with as much joy as she can. It captivates, grabs you by the heartstrings and makes you laugh out loud at some of a Lenni’s actions and innovative thinking. The ending is a deeply emotional tear jerker and really touches you as you feel as if you have become friends with the characters. Ensure tissues at the ready. Nothing about The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot worked for me. The premise sounds incredible: Lenni and Ma The paintings of Lenni and Margot are accompanied by stories that provide snapshots of their lives. From Lenni we learn of her first and only kiss, her alcoholic mother, and the father she sends away. We learn of Margot's marriage, and her husband's abandonment of her following the death of their infant son; of Meena, the woman who saved her; of Humphrey who fostered Margot's love of the stars and which she passes on to Lenni. One of the most beautiful moments in this book for me was when Margot takes Lenni outside the hospital to look at the stars: ABOUT 'THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT': Life is short. No-one knows that better than seventeen year old Lenni living on the terminal ward. But as she is about to learn, it's not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with. Charged with light and colour. Gloriously original and full of wisdom, humour, and hope. It made me think and care and laugh and cry. One of my all-time favourite books' HAZEL PRIOR, author of Away with the Penguins

Her interactions with the hospital chaplain, the gentle Father Arthur, are both amusing and thought-provoking for both of them. She visits the chapel only because she has discovered they have to let her go there if she wants to – religious reasons, and all that. A brief escape from the May Ward. The nurse says it gently as she explains that the hospital has started to offer a counseling service for young patients whose conditions are “terminal.” She falters, flushing red. “Sorry, I meant life-limiting.” Would I like to sign up? I could have the counselor come to my bed, or I could go to the special counseling room for teenagers. They have a TV in there now. The options seem endless, but the term is not new to me. I have spent many days at the airport. Years. Lenni is seventeen, terminally ill, motherless, and although her father visits her, albeit infrequently, his visits just make it harder on her. He’s miserable when he visits, watching her and knowing there is nothing he can do to prevent her from dying, and she isn’t up to the burden of cheering him up, so she tells him not to visit again. This multi-generational novel about friendship is something special: moving, joyful, and life-affirming." - Good Housekeeping

Lenni

Lenni and Margot are two of the most wonderful, warm, witty and wise heroines I've ever met. Beautiful and glorious' CLARE POOLEY, author of The Authenticity Project Beautifully narrated in lilting Scots voices, one mature, the other youthful, utterly credible, for once, never distracting. Life is short. No-one knows that better than seventeen year old Lenni living on the terminal ward. But as she is about to learn, it's not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with. I struggled to think how to phrase exactly what had brought me here. A long dead man and his unequally loved sons. A fish. A priest. An itching to do anything other than mind white water rafting. . . None of those made enough sense to verbalize in front of a geriatric audience.