But I Smile Anyway…

Along with writing, I have been reading as much as I can, and the next book on my Kindle was one I had downloaded a while ago, from a recommendation via a blog interview with the author Dianne Noble. I actually can’t remember who posted the interview, but it was touching enough to make me want to get the book!

The blurb:

When Polly’s husband is jailed for paedophilia, she flees the village where her grandmother raised her and travels to India where she stays with her friend, Amanda.

Polly is appalled by the poverty, and what her husband had done, and her guilt drives her to help the street children of Kolkata. It’s while working she meets other volunteers, Liam and Finlay. Her days are divided between teaching the children and helping with their health needs. But when Liam’s successor refuses to let Polly continue working, she’s devastated to think the children will feel she’s abandoned them.

After a health scare of her own, she discovers her friend, Amanda, is pregnant. Amanda leaves India to have her child. At this time Polly and Finlay fall in love and work together helping the children. Tragedy strikes when one child is found beaten and another dead. Polly feels history repeating itself when Finlay becomes emotionally attached to a young girl.

Can Polly recover from her broken heart and continue to help the children, or will she give up and return home?

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My reviews on Amazon and Goodreads:

What a great book! Dianne Noble has really captured the essence of the sights and smells of the real India. Not the splendour of the Taj Mahal, the high-end hustle and bustle of Mumbai, but the reality of life for many slum dwellers and their children.
I was truly touched, reading the story of Polly, who escaped to India, following the arrest of her husband for paedophilia. It’s an emotional story, showing the changes that helping those who most need it, can change you and your outlook on life. I thoroughly recommend this book.