A total triumph: compelling, compassionate, insightful, funny and moving

Incredibly tender and astonishingly insightful. I cared so deeply for the characters and read in genuine awe. An utter gem

Touching, tender and profound in its warmth and stillness – a novel that explores family, friendship, grief and love in true, tactile detail. Beautiful and very real

A novel of radical empathy and kindness, written with poignancy, wit and immaculate observation. There is something wholeheartedly decent and human about Rentzenbrink’s writing, which has a lingering, gentle power. I can’t stop thinking about it

Sharply observed and utterly compelling, Everyone Is Still Alive had me cackling on one page and crying the next; Cathy Rentzenbrink’s warmth and wisdom are evident in every line

Unputdownable – brilliant, beautiful, moving and so funny and well-observed. If you want to know what Happily Ever After looks like, read this

A soothing, tender story with loveable characters who pull you in from the very first pages. In a world of chaos, reading this novel was a reminder to slow down, zoom in and look around

An anti-romantic comedy of Lego and disenchantment, shot through with clear-eyed compassion . . . I devoured it

I love this book. Funny, wise and clever and full of honesty and kindness. It’s a page-turner that makes you look at yourself and your relationships anew. A unique and generous novel about love, loss and friendship

A wonderful novel . . . I loved it. Gorgeous and tender, fabulous at capturing time, place and atmosphere. An utter treat

Such a beautiful, delicate book

Everyone Is Still Alive is a novel filled with quiet compassion about quotidian lives. Cathy writes with incredible insight about marriage, friendship and parenthood, in a book replete with hope. I absolutely loved it

Very funny but also sharp and poignant . . . I thoroughly enjoyed it

A beautifully written and exquisitely rendered novel about family and the anxiety of the modern world. Like life, it’s both heartbreakingly sad and terribly funny. I devoured it

Readers will know Rentzenbrink from her moving memoirs The Last Act of Love and A Manual For Heartache. This is her first novel and it sounds equally poignant, warm and wise

Kind and real, funny and touching. I raced through it

Every generation needs its own novels examining how marriage, children, dreams and ambitions can coexist. This one does it beautifully, with warmth, truth, humour and love

…the characters are sharply drawn and the author has a knack for wry phrases… if you like Motherland, you’ll love this funny, tender book.

One of the most honest, poignant and well-observed books about family life we’ve ever read… full of wisdom, you’ll be clutching your heart for a long time.

One of the most honest, poignant and well-observed books about family life. Rentzenbrink takes you by the hand and reassures you, you’re not alone . . . Full of wisdom

An eloquent, moving, warm and witty exploration of modern life, with the focus on friendship and family it’s just gorgeous

We recognise that this is a book about going to new places and the fear of new people, but also about the comfort of community, the way that even a place like Magnolia Road can be a source of the kind of friendship and support that gets you through even the darkest times

A compassionate and insightful look at relationships and friendships in a wonderfully well-observed novel that is tender, sharp and, at times, very funny

Told with a gentle touch, this is an honest and emotional look at marriage and parenthood

Warm-hearted and perceptive

One for fans of the TV show Motherland, this is a touching drama about the minutiae of family life set on a street in west London. An impressive debut from an accomplished memoirist

Brilliantly caustic