Kate Hamer’s debut novel, The Girl in the Red Coat, was a gripping portrayal of a young girl’s abduction. Hamer is now back with The Doll Funeral, whose protagonist, Ruby, learns on her 13th birthday that she is adopted. The novel’s dual narrative alternates between Ruby’s search for her real parents, and the story of her birth mother’s pregnancy, marriage, and abandonment of Ruby.
Ruby is not a conventional teenager, and there is a dark, supernatural, fairytale quality to the novel. Throughout, Hamer writes with great skill and emotional depth – about the confusions of adolescence and identity, the bond between mothers and daughters and the redemptive power of love, wherever we may find it.
• The Doll Funeral by Kate Hamer is published by Faber (£12.99). To order a copy for £9.74 go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99
