A novel which will speak to women of forty, fifty and upwards as it shows how even strong women can feel vulnerable and unwanted in a society which values youth over wisdom, beauty over experience. The two main characters, best friends since they were teenagers, are Clara, a workaholic, feminist TV producer and Jo, a sad, deserted wife. They come together in a cosmetic make-over programme which will test their beliefs - and their friendship - to the hilt. Pete Street, rock star recluse, blunders into this mesmerising, haunting and very contemporary tale about self-esteem, identity and transformation.
A truly intelligent, incisive page-turner with so much to say about women's lives - a sharp, satisfying treat of a read! - Kate Harrison, author of The Secret Shopper novels Nott-Bower makes good use of the extreme makeover TV documentary format to question the inherent value of radically changing a woman's physical appearance to build her confidence. - Jenny Gorrod, Dundee University Review of the Arts The Making of Her is a story of two mature intelligent women who have so much more to offer the world and who have yet to fulfil their potential. It is a novel of hope and positivity. An excellent read. - Jo Derrick, editor, The Yellow Room Readers old enough to remember Barbara Raskin's ground-breaking 1987 novel Hot Flashes will take comfort in a novel that focuses not on thirty-somethings but the travails, physical and emotional, of fifty-year-old women. The novel's combination of commitment and readability are reminiscent of Elizabeth Buchan and Anna Quindlen - Elsbeth Lindner, BookOxygen It's a rare treat to find someone who shows as much startling potential as debut novelist Susie Nott-Bower. The Making of Her is an entertaining story, with characters you cannot help but become attached to. Nott-Bower writes of her characters' insecurities and worries with touching precision and a competence that made me feel as though these characters really exist somewhere. - Kate Wilson, Dead Ink I usually read in the afternoons if I am free, and found myself looking forward to getting back to the book to find out how the story was developing. I organise a reading group, and this certainly would be a book I would recommend, if I hadn't already read it! -Dixie James, Prospero It's not often that I stay up all night to read a book - but that's exactly what happened when I read The Making of Her, Susie Nott-Bower's first novel. - Ceri Whealdon, Editor of FabAfterFifty I really do urge you to read this....thought-provoking and deeply moving, yet also so uplifting. The characters' inner lives, their hopes and dreams and private despairs are handled so delicately. The author never crushes them in her grasp but seems to stand back and let them live and suffer and grow and, in the end, fly free...A very accomplished debut which I thoroughly recommend. I will be eagerly awaiting the next novel by this talented author.' - Lucy Lawrie, author of Tiny Acts of Love
