Solace of the Road

by Siobhan Dowd

Hardcover, 2009

Status

Available

Call number

823.92

Genres

Collection

Your library

Publication

David Fickling Books (2009), Edition: 1, Hardcover, 272 pages

Description

While running away from a London foster home just before her fifteenth birthday, Holly has ample time to consider her years of residential care and her early life with her Irish mother, whom she is now trying to reach.

Media reviews

Kirkus

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2009 (Vol. 77, No. 17))
Holly, a 15-year-old ward of the state, is placed with foster parents who, though they try very hard, can't break through the barrier she has constructed around herself, mostly to forget her early life with her uninterested mother. After

she discovers a blond wig that seems to add years to her age, Holly hits the road, bravely reinventing herself as Solace, a young woman with an attitude. Her destination, across England and Wales, is Ireland, where her mother must surely be. Experiences along the way help her rediscover lost memories. Holly's character is fully developed and bright with a quirky humor. Holly's insights and observations are completely plausible, as is her voyage of discovery, described in lovely, pitch-perfect language. A last gift from Dowd.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50

Solace of the Road is beautifully written by Siobhan Dowd and tells the story of teen Holly who hates her foster family, hates her school, and generally her whole life. But when she finds a blonde wig she is able to transform into a different character, the fearless Solace. She decides to leave,

take to the road, get herself to Ireland and find her mother and although Holly/Solace calls the A40 the road to freedom, the reader is in constant fear for this young girl.

Life on the road is hard but Holly is lucky enough to find a few good people who help her along her way, but still she has hours of time alone with nothing but her thoughts and eventually, the real memories of what life was like with her dysfunctional mother emerges and Holly realizes that she has nothing or no one to run to.

I found Holly’s story touching even as it was told with both humor and grit. Her stress and loneliness at dealing with a new foster family and then with the dangers of being alone on the road felt very real. Solace of the Road is a simple story elevated by the author’s empathetic storytelling.

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7 more

LibraryThing member TigerLMS

Holly Hogan is a teenaged orphan in a group home near Londo. She dreams of reuniting with her mom in Ireland. When a couple begins the adoption process, Holly's self-doubts cause her to run away with little more than a stolen blonde wig and a little bit of money. In the wig, Holly becomes Solace,

and she can free herself from some of the inhibitions, doubt, and memories that plague Holly. However, she can't quite rid herself of the memories that continue to come back the nearer she gets to what she thinks she wants. Siobhan Dowd's character is well written and I think many teens will relate to her, even if they've not been abandoned, aren't British, or haven't run away. This is a serious book, but enjoyable nonetheless, and readers will undoubtably cheer for Holly by the end of the novel.

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LibraryThing member abbylibrarian

Holly's a foster kid, but not for much longer. She's found a fabulous blonde wig and when she puts it on, she feels fabulous and unstoppable. She turns into Solace. And she's ditching her foster home and setting off for Ireland to find her mom.

Siobhan Dowd had a real talent for creating a sense of

place - I felt like I was right beside Holly every step of the way. Though the plot occasionally lagged and you have to be committed to figuring out the heavy British slang, it was definitely a memorable journey and I felt the ending was worth the trip.

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LibraryThing member lilibrarian

Holly Hogan is a care babe, whose mother left her behind years ago. Now taken into a foster home with a couple who cares for her, she still longs to find her mother in Ireland, and sets out on her own the day before her fifteenth birthday. Wearing a blonde wig and pretending to be older, she

hitches, steals and sneaks her way towards Ireland and herself.

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LibraryThing member francescadefreitas

I had a hard time getting into this books, while I could feel for Holly I couldn't get over the constant feeling of danger her roadtrip brought me. I was entirely to scared for her the entire time to enjoy reading her story. Young girls roaming around the UK with no money and no sense - eek!

LibraryThing member nicola26

I was really looking forward to this book. I really liked the premise and I thought it would be something I could enjoy. I wasn't that impressed with it, though. I just couldn't bring myself to like Holly which made it hard to like the book in general. She really didn't come across as a nice person

and I found it hard to sympathize with her. I could understand somewhat her reasons for the thoughts she had but it didn't make me find her interesting. Some parts of the book did make me a laugh a bit but overall it was pretty underwhelming. It was easy to read though and did keep me interested enough to read on to the end so it wasn't all bad.

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LibraryThing member briannad84

I liked this book, but agree with one reviewer that it was hard to like the character of Holly. She was very selfish. It ended a bit differently than I expected, I kept thinking she'd find her mom but that she wouldn't want anything to do with her or they'd even start another life together. Liked

all the different slang that UK kids use compared to Americans. Sad to hear this author died so soon, she was very good and will be visiting more of her work!

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LibraryThing member lydia1879

This was probably my least favourite book of Dowd's that I read.

I liked it but I didn't connect with the characters on such a deep level as I did with the protagonists or characters in her other books. This book mainly focuses on Holly who is a child in the foster care system in Britain, and while

I'm sure Dowd had many astute things to say on the matter I don't really remember much of the book, which tells me a lot.

Dowd leaves a lot of her words unsaid, leaving the reader to fill in the emotional blanks in the story. And she did do this in his book but I just wasn't terribly satisfied.

It was readable, but definitely not my favourite of hers and certainly not the most memorable.

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