'Touching, tender . . . filled with wonderful humour' Sarah Haywood

'A very special book' Katie Fforde

The Sunday Times bestselling novel, perfect for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and The Rosie Project.

My name is Hope Nicely. Why am I writing this book? That's easy. This book is going to change my life.

My boss, Karen, says a friend is a stranger you haven't met yet. I think that's right. Veronica Ptitsky and Danny Flynn are strangers, except I have met them now because they 're in my writing class. But I don't want any friends, actually (only dog ones).

I have my mum, Jenny Nicely, who says adopting me was the best thing she ever did, even if my thoughts
bounce a bit differently to other people's

Except when my life does change it isn't because of my book but because something happens to my mum, Jenny Nicely, and she isn't here anymore. And, flip a pancake, I'm not very good at being on my own.

Maybe I do need some human friends after all . . .

'A gorgeous, funny, heartwarming read. Leaves you smiling' Ericka Walker, author of Dog Days

I don't have any friends, only dog ones, because they don't make you do bad things. I don't want any human friends, actually. It's for the best

Hope Nicely hasn't had an easy life.

But she's happy enough living at 23 Station Close with her mum, Jenny Nicely, and she loves her job, walking other people's dogs. She's a bit different, but as Jenny always tells her, she's a rainbow person, a special drop of light.

It's just . . . there's something she needs to know. Why did her birth mother abandon her in a cardboard box on a church step twenty-five years ago? And did she know that drinking while pregnant could lead to Hope being born with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder?

In a bid to find her birth mother and the answers to these questions, Hope decides to write her autobiography. Despite having been bullied throughout school, Hope bravely joins an evening class where Hope will not only learn the lessons of writing, but will also begin to discover more about the world around her, about herself and even make some (human) friends.

But when Jenny suddenly falls ill, Hope realises there are many more lessons to come . . .

Hope Nicely's Lessons for Life is a heartwarming, coming-of-age novel about loneliness, friendship, acceptance and, above all, hope.