This is a life affirming and inspiring story, a warm embrace, a hand to hold and the resounding chance to join the dots and journey to the stars. I feel like before I was always pushing everyone but now there was nowhere to go and we could just be. So when a stranger tells her she’s the sum of five people – the five people she spends the most time with – she’s suddenly no longer seeking one person. She’s looking for five.

Discover this 5-star read: 'Wow' 'Heartwarming' 'Uplifting' 'Thought-provoking' 'One of those rare, special and unique heroines' 'A joy to read' Q: A lot of your work has been adapted into films or TV series, such as PS I Love You and Where Rainbows End (Love Rosie). Has knowing that your stories could end up on the big screen changed your writing style? My heart went out to Allegra and at times I felt very sorry for her, which when I was not reading made me think of how different people go through life and the struggles we all undertake to find out where we belong. This book found me at just the right time, and I really enjoyed reading it. Like Allegra, I’ve found myself pondering on my five people and wondering about what they say about me. Is it time I made some changes?Despite the book following Allegra on her journey I didn’t feel like I really knew who she was or that she had any major character development, I just craved a little more depth from her. This, to me, hindered me really feeling connected to her and her story.

Dit is een verhaal over vriendschap en verbinding, over een zoektocht naar wie je wilt zijn en het omarmen van al je karaktertrekken, over het waarderen van de mensen in je leven, over dromen en hopen, over het maken van fouten en leren hoe je het weer goed kunt maken. Het is een boek vol excentrieke, goed uitgewerkte personages en verrassende gebeurtenissen die samen met het originele thema zorgen voor een fijne leeservaring. Het verhaal is warm, ongemakkelijk, eerlijk, ontroerend, soms verdrietig, hartverwarmend, opbeurend, grappig en niet overal even vlot maar wel mooi, geschreven in de unieke, meeslepende stijl van Cecelia Ahern. Een verhaal dat je laat nadenken en verschillende emoties laat voelen, een aanrader! Allegra realises she can’t even pin five people into her life, let alone them leaving their mark on her. But through this, and a side story of looking for her mother, Allegra develops and comes to realise that sometimes what you were looking for is what you have all along. I was so enticed by the story and Cecilia as always pulled me In with her writing style and I felt connected to each of the characters, although there were a couple with whom I did not like. This sets Allegra off on a journey to find out who those five people are and to shape her list to help improve herself. She is a great character and you enjoy spending time with her as she goes on this journey, which involves laughter, embarrassment, tears and a discovery about who she is and what she wants out of life. There was a great ending to this excellent book, which I thoroughly recommend.She and her books have won numerous awards, including the Irish Book Award for Popular Fiction for The Year I Met You. It's an uplifting story and I found myself drawn into the story of a traffic warden in Dublin on a journey of discovery which by the end will leave you wanting to cheer from the rooftop An unpleasant encounter with the owner of a Ferrari issued with many parking fines triggers Allegra; she starts looking at who and what made her, especially who are her five people who matter the most. Some unpleasant realisations push her to the limit. All Allegra has ever wanted was to join the Garda, but when that falls through, she moves to Dublin to work as a traffic warden and look for her mother. Allegra is een bijzonder en eigenzinnig personage. In het begin komt ze erg gesloten en afstandelijk over, maar zodra je meer te weten komt over haar achtergrond, karakter en missie vallen steeds meer puzzelstukjes op hun plek en word je meegenomen in haar leven. Hoewel ik over sommige aspecten daarvan graag nog meer had willen lezen en ik het gevoel heb dat er een ondoordringbaar laagje overblijft, dat je niet volledig tot haar kern doordringt, leef je zeker met haar mee en sluit je haar uiteindelijk in je hart. Ze is onzeker, heeft een laag zelfbeeld en wil zo graag ergens bij horen dat ze regelmatig over haar eigen grenzen heen gaat. Ze vindt het moeilijk om sociale situaties in te schatten en kan soms bot uit de hoek komen, ze is stoer maar kwetsbaar, trekt een pantser op maar heeft een klein hartje. Ze is zeker niet perfect en je wilt haar wel eens aanmoedigen om andere keuzes te maken, maar met vallen en opstaan groeit ze en wordt ze sterker.

While the book is predictable to a great extent (which women’s fiction isn’t?), I admired how it didn’t succumb to the romance trope. “Boy and girl means boy falls in love with girl and vice versa”. Not in this book, no. I found that very refreshing. I can honestly say listening to the audio version of this book left me in such a better mood. Cecelia Ahern has a great way of writing romance, with a huge slice of humour. It's one of those books that you enjoy every second of and find yourself smiling your way through, with some real laugh out loud moments too. Her legacy from her mother is more complicated – until one question from a stranger inspires a change. What if it isn’t about fitting in, but finding the people who make you who you are? Who would those people be?A: I can’t think of books that specifically changed me, no, but there are stand out books in my life. The Famous Five, Sweet Valley Twins and The Babysitters Club represent the first books that got me hooked on reading as a nine year old. I read The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield during a period of great change and transformation in my life which opened my eyes to so much. The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, The Tiny Wife by Andrew Kauffman, The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-Mi Hwang, The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Theriault are my ideas of the perfect books and a left-of-field genre I adore. First, if you are a feminist or really consider how Allegra came into the world ,you will see that it is completely wrong for a professor to have a relationship with a student. I can’t write more about this element as it will spoil things but this whole part was complete BS for me. In fact it makes me angry. What if the people who have the power to change your life are the ones who have been there all along… MyHome.ie (Opens in new window) • Top 1000 • The Gloss (Opens in new window) • Recruit Ireland (Opens in new window) • Irish Times Training (Opens in new window) Although things didn't go exactly to plan, Allegra still makes the best of her new life and is content with her lot. Until she meets someone who changes her perception of her life and the people she surrounds herself with.

The 10 hour long audiobook is narrated by Amy McAllister and she is fabulous. She brings not just Allegra to life but imbues all characters with appropriate emotions. Her accent, her enunciation, her moods... all match the character she was voicing. Because of the relatively slow pace of the book, I think it ought to work much better as an audiobook. I’m actually leaving comments open for this – which I don’t usually do… as I pondered if I actually have ‘five’ people at the moment. In the book Allegra ultimately realises she does, and they’re not who she expects. P.S. Я люблю тебя", думала: "Гляди-ка, такая юная такая хорошенькая, дочь премьер-министра и знаменитая писательница. Верно пишет какую-нибудь фигню?" И нет, писала она отлично. Потом была еще история про невидимого друга, "Посмотри на меня". А потом я решила, что переросла такое чтение. Как-то наверно представилась себе враз помудревшей, готовой отныне читать только нобелевских (пулитцеровских, букеровских) лауреатов. "Веснушку" взяла с изрядным снобским скепсисом. I point out that she went to journalism college but she says, “I was really bad at that part of it. I loved radio and film and TV and not the print side …” I adore characters who struggle socially as they tend to be sensitive, clever and capable of teaching me, the reader, so much more about life and myself.Gelukkig heb ik daar verandering in gebracht. Ik heb er verandering in gebracht toen ik 'De som van jou en mij' oppakte. De cover van dit boek is prachtig. Het schreeuwt: lente! Cecilia Ahern is truly a gifted writer, who would have thought a beautiful book such as this could have been woven from a business driven motivational quote.