Haven’t They Grown is a thriller novel by Sunday Times bestselling author Sophie Hannah, published in 2020.
I haven’t read any of Sophie Hannah’s other novels before but I knew Haven’t They Grown was featured on Richard and Judy’s 2020 book club list. I’ve been trying to work my way through the list so this was my latest read.
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Plot
While taking her son to a weekend football match, Beth realises the match is being played just minutes from where her former best friend now lives. Beth hasn’t seen or heard from Flora or her family for over twelve years after their friendship fell apart. Beth knows that seeing Flora would bring back painful memories but the temptation to see her again, even from a distance, is too much to resist.
Beth parks outside Flora’s large, gated house and moments later Flora returns. Beth is shocked to see Flora encourage two children out of the car, and call their names – Thomas and Emily. Flora appears, as you would expect, twelve years older.
However, the children, Thomas and Emily, look exactly as they did twelve years ago when Beth knew them. How can that be? Why haven’t they aged? Beth is determined to find out the truth about the family, whatever the cost.
Haven’t They Grown Book Review
The book had a really interesting premise and I really wasn’t sure how it was all going to play out. It kept me gripped and guessing until the end. Some aspects of the story I did figure out but I was surprised by others.
I found it to be quite dark and sinister in places and a lot of the characters were quite unlikeable. Beth is an exhaustingly relentless character who seemed to have quite a weird obsession with her old friend. There was an incident that ended their friendship twelve years ago and I found Beth’s reaction to it really dramatic and irrational.
Some aspects were a bit far fetched. She was constantly cancelling on her clients as she tried to investigate and at one point just popped across the Atlantic on a whim, which was quite unbelievable. Her husband seemed a bit of a walkover who never really stood up to her. I’m all for strong female characters (and women in general) but she constantly avoided the truth and did whatever she pleased, despite her husband’s reservations.
I did like the relationship Beth had with her daughter as so often teenagers are portrayed as surly, ungrateful nuisances so it was nice to see a different interpretation. However his son seemed as neglected as her poor husband – he was barely mentioned after the opening chapter!
There was a random scene midway through where a teacher was accused of racism and her daughter faced suspension from school. It seemed to have little to do with the story and I’m not sure why it was included. Perhaps it was to show the character of Beth and highlight her relentless to prove her point and get her own way. Either way, I found the whole scene a bit bizarre and unnecessary.
However, despite my reservations, I did quite enjoy the story. Yes, the characters are annoying. Yes, the antagonist is a pantomime villain with no redeeming qualities at all. And yes, it is far fetched. However, I enjoyed the premise and it was interesting enough to keep me reading until the end.
This book was featured as a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. Click here to find more books chosen for the Richard and Judy book club.
What to read next
If you enjoyed Haven’t They Grown by Sophie Hannah, you may also like The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell and The Couple at No.9 by Claire Douglas.