The prologue shows Becca with her student friends at a New Year's Eve party. Afterwards, she and her boyfriend Ollie and their flatmate Joe hang out for a while, wondering what they might be doing in ten years' time...

This is a character-driven book, exploring themes of loss and grief, the rediscovery of love, family jealousies and ties across the generations. It also looks at the importance of following one's dreams. I found myself relating quite strongly to Becca as she starts to take charge of her life, trying to find out what she really wants to do.

The writing is wonderful, the characterisation good, with a few caricatured extras. The theme could have been rather morbid; but it's beautifully done, and a potentially odd supernatural element of the story feels realistic and encouraging. My only faint complaint is the sheer number of characters - I found some of the school-friends rather flat and lost track of who they were; they didn't seem to add much to the story.

Definitely recommended. Enjoyed on re-reading nearly nine years later, too.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/01/ten-years-on-by-alice-peterson.html ( )