Book Review: The Whole World by Emily Winslow

Polly and Liv are both Americans studying at Cambridge University. They hit it off and then become involved with Nick, a fellow student. When Nick disappears, it sets off a chain of events that show Polly and Liv how little they really know about each other.


I really enjoyed reading this one. Though it gets off to a bit of slow start, I was soon embroiled in the intrigues and secrets of the characters. The narrative is set up a bit like a puzzle, switching point of views five times through the novel and each time giving us a clearer picture of events. This really worked on a plot level , and held my attention well.

None of the characters comes off as particularly likeable. I did start off liking Polly when she opened the book with her narration, but after seeing her through the others characters eyes, she seemed hard and unforgiving. Debut Author Winslow did a fabulous thing here though – she made me sympathize with her unlikeable characters, and she made me care. And that, of course, is quite a difficult feat to achieve.

THE WHOLE WORLD is out in hardcover now. Find out more about it at the author’s website.