Cecelia Ahern's debut novel, PS, I Love You, follows the engaging, witty, and occasionally sappy reawakening of Holly, a young Irish widow who must put her life back together after she loses her husband Gerry to a brain tumor. Ahern, the twentysomething daughter of Ireland's prime minister, has discovered a clever and original twist to the Moving On After Death concept made famous by novelists and screenwriters alike--Gerry has left Holly a series of letters designed to help her face the year ahead and carry on with her life. As the novel takes readers through the seasons (and through Gerry's monthly directives), we watch as Holly finds a new job, takes a holiday to Spain with her girlfriends, and sorts through her beloved husband's belongings. Accompanying Holly throughout the healing process is a cast of friends and family members who add as much to the novel's success as Holly's own tale of survival. In fact, it is these supporting character's mini-dramas that make PS, I Love You more than just another superficial tearjerker with the obligatory episode at a karaoke bar. Ahern shows real talent for capturing the essence of an interaction between friends and foes alike; even if Holly's circle of friends does resemble the gang from Bridget Jones a bit too neatly to ignore (her best friend is even called Sharon).

While her style can be at times repetitive and her delivery is occasionally amateurish, Ahern deserves credit for a spirited first effort. If PS, I Love You is any indication of this author's talent, readers have much to look forward to as Ahern matures as a novelist and a storyteller. --Gisele Toueg


From Publishers Weekly
Ahern, the mediagenic 22-year-old daughter of Ireland's prime minister, debuts with a sweet, sentimental tale of a young widow's trials and triumphs in the year after her husband's death. Soul mates Holly and Gerry married in their early 20s; when Gerry dies of brain cancer at 30, Holly is utterly bereft. But Gerry has a final gift: a series of letters, which Holly is to open on the first of each month from March to New Year's, and which will guide her on her journey from grief. Gerry correctly predicts that Holly will not have gone through his belongings by June, found a new job by September or considered falling in love again by December, but with his posthumous epistolary encouragement she does all those things. She also enters a karaoke contest, takes a beach vacation and dances at a holiday ball she'd always attended with Gerry. The months pass as close friends help prop Holly up; around her, a marriage falls apart, a couple gets engaged and a friend announces her pregnancy. Within her tight-knit family, Holly's youngest brother makes a revealing film of her birthday party, her elder brothers change places in her allegiance and her parents take in one stray grown child after another for stays short and long. Ahern's speed (she wrote the book in three months) and her youth do show-the wisdom in evidence owes much to Nicholas Sparks and Sophie Kinsella-and her prose is pedestrian. She boasts a natural storytelling talent, however, resulting in a compelling tale sparked by an unusual premise. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From AudioFile
Holly and her husband, Gerry, would joke about leaving each other a list of things to do to help them move on if one of them passed away. When Gerry dies, Holly is amazed to find that he actually did make her a list. Each month he has left an envelope with instructions for a task that helps get her back into the world. Victoria Smurfit gives Holly an expressive Irish voice that lacks the depressed tones one would expect from a grieving widow. Rupert Degas portrays the male voices, which are loving and supportive. The story is charming, and the characters are well suited to the tale. J.F.M. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Ahern, daughter of the Irish prime minister, writes a charming, heartfelt debut. At age 29, Holly Kennedy is reeling from the loss of her soul mate and husband, Gerry, to a brain tumor. Before he died, Gerry mailed her a packet of 10 envelopes, one for each month from March to December. The envelopes contain a list of things for Holly to do to help her get through the coming year and ultimately move on. The instructions range from tasks as simple as buying a new outfit to harder ones, such as going to the ball she used to attend with Gerry. Luckily, she has her best friends, Sharon, who is married to Gerry's best friend, and Denise, to help her through--until she realizes they are moving on with their lives and she isn't. Ahern herself might be all of 22 years old, but she has realistically captured the ups and downs of a woman whose life has fallen apart and how she picks herself back up and moves on, one step at a time. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Boston Globe
"Four and a half hankies out of five."


Marie Claire
"A first-class first novel."


Irish America
"An amiable page-turner about love, loss and recovery."


Marian Keyes
"Sweet and sad and funny: a charming journey from grief to hope."


Diane White, Boston Globe
"Four and a half hankies out of five."


Marie Claire
"A first-class first novel."


Nadia Lachance, Elle Girl
"This book is a celebration of friendship and family, and in the end left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling."


Booklist
"A charming, heartfelt debut."


Book Description
A novel about holding on, letting go, and learning to love again. Now in paperback, the endearing novel that captured readers' hearts and introduced a fresh new voice in women's fiction -- Cecelia Ahern. Holly couldn't live without her husband Gerry, until the day she had to. They were the kind of young couple who could finish each other's sentences. When Gerry succumbs to a terminal illness and dies, 30-year-old Holly is set adrift, unable to pick up the pieces. But with the help of a series of letters her husband left her before he died and a little nudging from an eccentric assortment of family and friends, she learns to laugh, overcome her fears, and discover a world she never knew existed. The kind of enchanting novel with cross-generational appeal that comes along once in a great while, PS, I Love You is a captivating love letter to the world!


About the Author
Cecelia Ahern, the 22-year-old daughter of Ireland's prime minister, holds a degree in Journalism and Media Communications. She has completed her second novel, Rosie Dunne, and is at work on her third. She lives in Dublin, Ireland.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A novel about holding on, letting go, and learning to love again.

Now in paperback, the endearing novel that captured readers' hearts and introduced a fresh new voice in women's fiction — Cecelia Ahern.

Holly couldn't live without her husband Gerry, until the day she had to. They were the kind of young couple who could finish each other's sentences. When Gerry succumbs to a terminal illness and dies, 30-year-old Holly is set adrift, unable to pick up the pieces. But with the help of a series of letters her husband left her before he died and a little nudging from an eccentric assortment of family and friends, she learns to laugh, overcome her fears, and discover a world she never knew existed.

The kind of enchanting novel with cross-generational appeal that comes along once in a great while, PS, I Love You is a captivating love letter to the world!

Cecelia Ahern, the 22-year-old daughter of Ireland's prime minister, holds a degree in Journalism and Media Communications. She has completed her second novel, Rosie Dunne, and is at work on her third. She lives in Dublin, Ireland.

FROM THE CRITICS

Booklist

A charming, heartfelt debut!

Bookpage

Poignant and comical, introspective and farcical.

Boston Globe - (Diane White)

Four and a half hankies out of five.

Irish American

An amiable page-turner about love, loss and recovery.

Elle Girl - (Nadia Lachance)

This book is a celebration of friendship and family, and in the end left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling.Read all 10 "From The Critics" >

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