The Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot

Are you ready for a book that will make you smile and break your heart at the same time?? If you are, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is a book I would strongly recommend. (And just look at how pretty the cover is!) When I had picked this up - knowing it was a book about a bond of friendship - I was expecting light and fluffy, with some drama in there somewhere. (Because what good story about a friendship doesn't have some conflict, right?) Well. I was not exactly on point with my guess. (Which, in a way? Actually made me love this book even more. It was an unexpected gift.)

Lenni is a seventeen year old girl who likes to ruffle feathers, and spends all her time in her pajamas. Oh, and she's in a terminal illness ward for kids at a hospital in Glasgow. Yep. The heartbreak starts early with this one; as Lenni is already living at the hospital when the story begins. Margot, on the other hand? Is an 83 year old woman with a ton of spunk, who always dresses in purple and likes to break the rules. (She is also a terminal patient at said hospital.) 

The two form the most unlikely of friendships after Lenni helps Margot out of a predicament in the early pages of this book. While much of this book takes place in the past as Lenni and Margot share the most emotional memories of their lives. They hold nothing back, and form an unbreakable bond.

Other characters in this book that you just have to adore include Father Arthur - the priest Lenni visits in the hospital chapel, and New Nurse - a nurse that is never named, but champions young Lenni on a few fronts against the less likeable characters in this novel (Jacky, who is rigid in her rules. But.. I would assume a lot of nurses caring for terminal patients would be!) 

As Lenni and Margot share their stories, they paint their most memorable experience from each year in their lives. And thus, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot. I don't want to give too much away. I loved this book and finished it in less than 24 hours. If you like books that make you cry, take you places, and make you laugh - pick this one up! (And let me know what you think!)