The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot: The new and unforgettable Richard & Judy Book Club pick

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Margot had fallen in love with a star-gazer who was fond of quoting poetry to her, particularly “The Old Astronomer to His Pupil” by Sarah Williams that ends with this wonderful stanza. This multi-generational novel about friendship is something special: moving, joyful, and life-affirming.”— Good Housekeeping, UK (Book of the Month)

They’ve started to say “life-limiting” instead now. “Children and young people with life-limiting conditions . . .” Lenni is a terminally ill 17 year old Swedish native who will spend the remainder of her short life in the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital. Although she is dying, she is not inclined to spend the rest of her life in the sterile hospital room where her daily visitors consist only of doctors and nurses. She heads to the hospital chapel to break up the monotony of dying. There, she meets the soon-to-be-retired Father Arthur. Thank you to #netgally, #mariannecronin, #harpercollinspublishers for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.When Lenni meets Margot, their connection is immediate, unique, and their new and unlikely friendship is born. During art class Lenni and Margo discover their combined age's equal one-hundred-years. They decide to celebrate their discovery by painting a picture for each year they have lived. No,' she said gently, linking her arm through mine, 'it's not depressing, it's beautiful. They've been gone for who knows how long, but we can still see them. They live on.' Friendship is a big theme of the book, how do Lenni’s friendships with Margot, Father Arthur and New Nurse change her? Margot travels to Vietnam to see Meena – where is the furthest you have travelled to see someone you love? The answer I have, the only one I have,” he said, “is that you are dying because you are dying. Not because of God’s deciding to punish you and not because He is neglecting you, but simply because you are. It is a part of your story as much as you are.”

I am not going to say anything else about this wonderful book other than it you haven't yet read it, then please do. It is funny, and sad, and tragically beautiful. A book that is going on my 'forever' shelf. A book that contains lessons for us all, ones that most of us never knew we needed. A beautiful friendship if formed between 17 year old Lenni and 83 year old Margot during their hospital stay. They celebrate each other and their life experiences in this wonderful story of life, memories, friendship and love. This was a good one! Even though the two main characters are in the end stages of their lives, Lenni at 17 and Margot at 83, it’s still a sweet and touching novel. They meet in the hospital while attending an art class and become fast friends regardless of the age difference. Margot loves gazing at the stars and on a cold clear night, Margot leads Lenni outside the hospital doors and into a quiet area. There they gaze at the millions of stars. When telling Lenni that the stars “that we see the clearest are already dead” Lenni states “Well that’s depressing”. “No, she said gently, it’s not depressing, it’s beautiful. They’ve been gone for who knows how long, but we can still see them. They live on”. This was a beautifully-written inspiring story of hope, destiny, wisdom and spiritual awareness, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot focused on living life to the fullest, no matter how much time you have left. It was about making peace with your own mortality, finding a place where you belong, and that family is not always blood-related. Sharing and preserving their best and worst memories helped Lenni and Margot define what moments of their lives they truly cherished, and reconcile with those that were painful.

A heart-warming story about how friendship can grow between people of different generations." — BBC Lenni and Margot’s story definitely made me cry a few times, and the journey was worth every tear. This book isn’t just about Lenni’s terminal illness. It’s about the depth of friendship and love, overcoming immense grief, and the beauty in humanity. The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is not a book about illness – it is a joyous, heartfelt and sometimes funny story about life. The two unlikely friends provide strength to one another as they face the inevitable. In addition to Lenni and Margot, there is a wonderful cast of characters who add warmth, depth and humor to this incredible tale. Captivated by Margot’s long and storied life, Lenni concocts a creative scheme. They will make paintings of pivotal moments from their lives, one for each of their combined 100 years, as a way to chronicle their stories and transport themselves away from the reality of hospital beds and surgeries. As they paint, their creative body of work begins to surprise them, as well as their fellow artist patients and excited art teacher, Pippa. With the encouragement of hospital chaplain Father Arthur and a favorite nurse, Lenni and Margot press on through memories both painful and breathtaking. I love snark and wit, but I’m not a fan of teenagers whose every utterance out of their mouth is snarky and witty. Especially not to an adult, let alone a priest.

Father Arthur, the hospital chaplain, is a kind, thoughtful soul. He struggles at times to answer all of Lenni’s questions with honesty and often finds MY THOUGHTS: "Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” - Sarah Williams, The Old Astronomer to his Pupil. The audiobook is beautifully narrated by Sheila Reid and Rebecca Benson and takes you on a memorable one-hundred-year journey during the 11 hours of listening time. This novel is both funny and sad . The main characters are Lenni who is 17 and Margot who is 83 . Both are terminally ill. They meet in hospital in the art class run by Pippa. Lenni is immediately drawn to Margot and they strike up an extraordinary friendship. They plan to paint a hundred paintings to represent their hundred year age together. After meeting in the terminal ward’s art class, two women (one 17 and one 83) bond through life, love and friendshipin this Uplifting and heartstring-tugging story." Parade (Ultimate Summer Reading List)The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is a remarkably good novel. That being said, the voice acting of Sheila Reid and Rebecca Benson takes the story to a new level. The accents are beautiful, and the emotions are pure. If you are fortunate enough to have a choice, listen to this book. You will want the narrator’s voices speaking Lenni, Margot, and Father Arthurs words. This is one of those cases where the voice actors take the story to an entirely new level. Book Club and Discussion Questions (SPOILERS) A charming, fiercely alive and disarmingly funny debut novel in the vein of John Green, Rachel Joyce, and Jojo Moyes—a brave testament to the power of living each day to the fullest, a tribute to the stories that we live, and a reminder of our unlimited capacity for friendship and love. A heart-warming story about how friendship can grow between people of different generations." Rebecca Thomas

Author Marianne Cronin has written a beautiful, emotional book that will surprise you and will stay with you for a long time. And yes, you will cry. To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything. Reverend Author said he was better with ‘what’, ‘who’ , and ‘how’ questions, more than ‘why’ questions. Artistic and talented eighty-three-year-old Margot Macrae is in the same hospital with severe heart problems and awaiting a second surgery. Margot is full of living, wisdom and generosity!What I mean is, you’re not dying right now. In fact, right now you’re living.’ Margot and I both watched her try to explain. ‘Your heart is beating and your eyes are seeing and your ears are hearing. You’re sitting in this room completely alive. And so you’re not dying. You’re living.” Finally, and most importantly, I was bored. The storytelling needed to be sharper. Very little in this book was unique, and it was a chore to read.