My enormous thanks to the lovely publicists at Harper Collins who sent me a copy of The Lifeline by Tom Ellen in return for an honest review. It’s my pleasure to share that review today.

The Lifeline will be published by Harper Collins imprint HQ on 29th February and is available for pre-order here.

The Lifeline

Will is sleepwalking through life. He works a dead-end job and volunteers at an anonymous crisis line to avoid facing his own problems.

Annie is sure she has her five-year plan all worked out. But when things start falling apart, she just needs someone who will listen. . .

They’re practically strangers but soon Will and Annie rely on their regular phone calls, challenging each other to be brave and rebuild their lives.

They’ve found connection in the most unlikely of places but is it possible to fall in love with someone you’ve never met?

My Review of The Lifeline

Will and Annie meet on the phone.

The Lifeline is glorious. Tom Ellen writes with such humanity and understanding of the fragility of our flawed human natures that it is impossible not to be drawn straight into the story and to want there to be a happy ending for Will and Annie. 

Both main characters have aspects to them that ought to be unappealing but that actually serve to make them feel real and warm. Initially Will is a brash, slightly out of control wannabe band member and Annie is an angry, unforgiving slightly self-righteous daughter and sister. And yet neither is really any of those things and their development over the story is a delight to read about. I was totally invested in them as people. 

The plot of The Lifeline is relatively simple as Annie and Will’s lives become more involved when Annie rings the Green Shoots helpline Max is volunteering at. But that belies the cleverness of the narrative. It is actually multi layered because the reader has greater knowledge about Pia and Jack than do Annie and Will so that there’s a real engagement. The structure of dates and the interspersing of the day in Paris with the dual chapters featuring the two perfectly balanced protagonists give a natural and compelling rhythm that I found captivating. The reader guesses the reason why Will has stood up Annie in Paris, but the thread of mystery for Annie and the impact of that day for Will, all add up to an emotional and captivating story.

Alongside two vividly drawn main characters and a mesmerising narrative there are profound and affecting themes. Mental health features strongly, the mundanity of work, and the friendships within and challenges of our daily situations all weave into a convincing exploration of what it can be like to navigate today’s world successfully. Add in what we learn about Joe and Eric and The Lifeline is more than just a story. It’s a book that makes us consider our own lives, how we make assumptions about others and how the ability to listen to others is crucial. Tom Ellen also gives the reader the permission to ‘be brave’ and creative. 

The Lifeline does have romance as one of its themes, but more importantly, love of all kinds is at its heart – the love between friends, siblings, parents and children, for example. Crucially, however, and what makes The Lifeline such a wonderful, wonderful story is that Tom Ellen writes it WITH love. And what could be better than that? The Lifeline is an absolute must read novel and I adored it. 

About Tom Ellen

Tom is an author and journalist from London. He is the co-writer of three critically acclaimed Young Adult novels: Lobsters (which was shortlisted for The Bookseller’s inaugural YA Book Prize in 2015), Never Evers and Freshers (nominated for the 2018 Carnegie Medal). His solo adult debut novel was the romantic comedy All About Us (HQ/HarperCollins, published October 2020). His books have been widely translated and are published in 20 countries.

Tom is a regular contributor to Viz comic, and has also written for publications such as Cosmopolitan, Empire, Evening Standard Magazine, The Daily Mash, Glamour, NME, ESPN, ShortList, Time Out London, Vice, Stylist and many more.

You can follow Tom on Twitter/X @TomEllen7.