 was nationwide, sale extended until Sunday. And you're very welcome back. And as promised after the break, I said we would be joined in the studio by Orlick Harrowland and Connie McGrenahan, who are going to review Stream Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent. Ladies, you're very welcome. Thanks, Jean. So the title of Extreme Sally Diamond, when I asked you to review it, Connie, what did you think of the title? Well, I kind of, I suppose, first of all, thought she was going to be a bit strange. And immediately she did strike me as being strange. I suppose she wasn't unlike Eleanor Elephant. And this is what I kind of thought initially. I thought it was going to be another kind of quirky, Eleanor Eleanor Eleanor Elephant kind of character, but who struggles socially. But as the book progressed, I learned that the book, sorry, that Sally Diamond was a much more intense character. And at the very beginning, Orlick, she says that her father had told her whatever. He died just to put her out of the rubbish, so she incinerated him. And that sort of perks you up for me. Absolutely, it draws you in very quickly. She was a very literal person, again kind of showing that, you know, she is more than likely a neurodivergent individual. So her dad, her adopted father, it always says to her, oh, when I die, just put me out with a rubbish. So when he does die, she literally does that. And I think this brings a lot of kind of newfound and negative attention on Sally and people from her past begin to reappear in her life. And we soon sort of learned then that Sally has a very disturbing kind of background that she lived a very dark life until she was seven years old and then she was sort of rescued by her adopted parents. And it's supposed to have given any major spoilers. What do we have to give a bit of the plot, Connie, to bring in the other characters? So can you give us a little synopsis without sort of maybe too far? Well, we, as Orla said, Sally is brought to the attention of the media when she burns her father's body in the incinerator on the family farm. So she's brought to the attention of the media and world media and her cruel and disturbing past comes to light. She receives a lot of attention. Messages start to arrive at her door. Some people cursing her. Some people saying that she's the devil incarnate. And then she gets a toy teddy. A toy teddy arrives, which really, really disturbs her, but she doesn't remember why. And then she finds out essentially that her first years were spent in captivity. Her mother gave birth to her in captivity. And that's where her first years were spent. So she remains unaware for a large part of the book that her mother had also given birth to a baby boy. So she's not aware of that. So then Sally's brother comes into the book as well. So he's the other narrator, effectively. There's sort of two parts of the book. Sally's brother has been raired in New Zealand by his pedophile father. And this all comes to light and just throws Sally's life into turmoil. And Sally herself is a lovely character, or let's say you're laughing with her at one stage when you go to the father's funeral with the red berry. She thinks that it was for special occasions. And then you feel for her when you hear of what her mother and her went through. Absolutely. We were talking about how she's such a literal character, but at the adopted father's funeral, the priest says to her, you know, maybe, Sally, you'll come back now to the church more often. You'll come to mass. And she says, oh, no, thank you, father. I find mass very boring. She just comes straight out with it. She can't tell a lie, but that is also what makes you like her an awful lot. And you know that she has really suffered through her life. She has been the victim of bullying in her community, social exclusion. I think a lot of those topics come in, which are very interesting. And quite hard to listen to at times. I did the audiobook, so I was listening. And that physical and emotional cruelty that she was subjected to because of her being a little bit, appearing a little bit different in the community. But what made her so likable, I think, Jean, as you say, is we go on this journey with her, where she really tries to improve her life. She really makes a conscientious effort by going to therapy, by, you know, forming friendships. Everything that her adopted mother had wanted for her and her adopted father hadn't really promoted in her life. So you kind of go on this journey. For me, I was filled with hope for her. But meanwhile, you do have this dual narration going on where this brother is in New Zealand and you've realised he's actually still with the kidnapped, the father who kidnapped Sally's mother initially. And he also is living a very kind of depraved life in New Zealand, and he believes he's got this illness that if anyone touches him, he will die. And, you know, yeah, a very depraved life in New Zealand as well. And a bit of a recluse. He's also a bit of a recluse like Sally. I suppose Peter, the brother, like Sally, were victims of their upbringing. And in the early stages of the book, when Peter goes into the room where Sally and her mother are in captivity and he kicks the mother-in-law, it's very dark and it's very visual. Very brutal, very grimy. Like you nearly felt sorry for Peter. Like you were feeling sorry for him. You know, being left in the room and not knowing who this woman was. And the next thing he's kicking her in the stomach and making her bleed. So it was hard then to feel sorry for him. And you saw that he was a product of his environment, a product of how he was brought up. But I hated the way he came in then. And I suppose I'm jumping on a wee bit, but he ruined Sally's life then. Like I knew when he came in, it wasn't gonna be good. You know, I knew when he got in touch with her, I thought this girl's doing well now and this boy's gonna mess it all up for her. You know, so he was a real hateful owl. He was as bad as his father. And he didn't think he was. You know, he thought that he was good. He went on then to with what do you call her? Lindi. Lindi. And he thought that he was being good to her by releasing her from her shackles. You know, I'm not like my father. I'm not going for young people. You know, I won't read her diary. I wouldn't do that to her. But yet he ties her up and takes away her baby. So he was a horrible character. And Connor O'Gerry, the dentist and the pedophile, he was just a real control freak. Yeah. His narration in the audio book was just unbelievable. Like the whoever was narrating for the brother and father, the voice was so sinister. Like it filled me with dread. I just knew everything to do with this man, brought nothing but absolute misery and heartache. He really was a vile character. And I found the chapters around Peter slash Steven's friendship with Ranyi. Do you remember the neighbor next door he made friends with a boy? And, you know, we all know what happened to the boy. And, you know, the father was so hateful to the auntie of that boy. And you just saw really how evil he was. Yes. You really saw into the mind, didn't you? Yeah. It was like you could see into the mind of a pedophile. It was really, it was very dark and very disturbing. Yet a very compelling read and very well written. And I think because you're rooting for Sally, and I think I had a wee bit more hope in Steven slash Peter than you did Connor. Like you're saying you immediately kind of were against him. Whereas I thought maybe, maybe when the dad is gone, if he could just get rid of the dad, maybe he'll be okay. But as we learn, you know, that really didn't happen. Unfortunately. So, and as Connie says, then he brought a negative aspect, then very negative aspect into Sally's life when he appears there. I suppose there are so many other minor characters as well as the main ones. And I suppose the father and mother who adopted they were psychiatrists and doctors. And there was a difference in opinion in how Sally was to be brought up. I think the mother wanted her to be integrated. And the father wanted to keep her isolated. And that had a bearing as well, Connie. Yeah. He was, I think the father thought that Sally was sort of his experiment. And he kept her from living a real life. Like she went around the village pretending that she was deaf. She wouldn't have to speak to anybody. And the father promoted this rather than promoting her inclusiveness. But yeah. And then Sally learns as well that her mother and father, her adopted parents' marriage wasn't as she thought it was. Her aunt Christine tells her that her mother was about to leave her father. And this is all around the time that she, when she is in turmoil, because she's met the brother. So that lends then to her being even more disappointed, I suppose. You know, or upset. And she becomes very angry and she becomes quite volatile. Yeah, volatile. And she'd always pull her hair out, I just suppose whenever she was frustrated and stressed. And then play the piano would soothe her as well. So she was such a likable character. Were there any surprises in the book or was there a book that you sort of said, I didn't see that coming or? Well, I think with the father, like with Sally's narration, I feel everything that was happening was quite pleasant. But every time it switched to the point of view of the brother, I felt there were loads of twists and turns there, to be honest. And it was all so dark and so sinister and the father moving to New Zealand and buying a house that had a barn out the back. And next thing, you know, Daddy had me out helping. Soundproofing. Soundproofing the barn. And you just know, you know, you're sort of filled with this thread and then they go to the park one day and they see a little girl climbing a tree and it's stomach churning at times. It really is. But as I say, it's still very compelling. I think there's the twist with the man that arrives in her town. And we're all wondering, could this be the brother? Could this be the brother? So there's a wee twist there. I'll not say too much without giving it away. But I think it was a really strong page turner. I mean, I was completely invested in it. I won't say how I felt about the end yet. You might get there, Jean, but overall very invested in it. And, you know, I really enjoyed it and was rooting for her. What did you like most about the book, Connie? And what did you dislike most about the book? I liked the way it swung between the two main characters. And I found it easy to understand. Sometimes when that goes on, you can get a wee bit mixed up. I think it was very straightforward. I think the characters were all quite strong. Her and Christine, the doctor who was her mom's friend that sort of took her on. I liked that she had all those people backing her up, advocating for her, disappointing the way it turns out at the end, as Orla said. But hopefully, as Orla said outside, there might be a sequel. You know, the way it was left at the end. But I did like the characters in the book, you know, apart from, of course, the father and her brother, Peter or Steve or whatever. And would you echo that, Orla, or do you have a different point of view on the likes and dislikes? No, I probably am similar to Connie, although, you know, yeah, no, I would agree actually, because I did really enjoy the brother's sections of the book as well. I enjoyed Sally's, I enjoyed, you know, her life coming together. So many positive things were happening for her that had never, you know, she had never experienced that before. She'd never experienced friendships. I felt there was a real peak in the story when she had the party at her house and she hired a bouncy castle for her friends and children. And, you know, you really felt this is all going so good. And then, you know, when the brother, you know, makes an appearance in her life, unfortunately, then, we know the outcome. We don't want to ruin it for potential readers out there. But as I say, the one hope I would say is that there is potential for a sequel there so that maybe there is happiness ultimately for Sally, but it really could go anywhere. You'd like to see another book. We definitely would like to see another book. Definitely. And out of ten, what would you give us, Connie? Well, you said about taking one away for the ending, so I think I'll do that as well. And maybe just one more, too, because I didn't like the father and the brother, so I'm going to go eight. And yourself, Orla? Oh, eight and a half, eight and a half, because, again, it was the ending just really, it was really sad for the ending. But it wouldn't let you off reading it. Oh, no, I mean, yeah, I'm invested in Sally and if there's anything else coming up in the future in relation to her, I'll definitely be tuning in. And I think loads of people would enjoy getting to know the character of Sally. But be prepared, because it is a dark and disturbing read. The themes are very, very mature and quite dark. And very visual as well, I thought. You could actually see all of this happening. Absolutely. You were right there with her and him. So, well, thank you so much. I think I would give it a nine. I said it was a page turner. I took it and hauled it with me. There in September and I had it finished in four days. And I nearly prepared to go to read the book then took it out for a minute or something like that. Yes. So, that says a lot, doesn't it? So, ladies, thank you so much once again for coming up and reviewing the book. And we might have you back again, maybe in 2024. Oh, thanks, Jane.