As you read about the separate lives of these individuals living in the part of Las Vegas most of us don't hear about you wounder how could their lives collide? But collide they do and when it comes to looking out for vulnerable children (no matter how old) maternal instincts usually win out in the end.

While there are separate story lines going on here the book is not too confusing to read and has a surprising ending I didn't see coming.

A compelling and poignant story with an intersecting story of four different characters and one big tragedy that reminds us of the harshness of life and yet the powerful choices we can make under adversity.

Laura McBride’s first novel ‘We are called to Rise’ was an incredibly good read. Set in Las Vegas, it tells the story of Avis, a woman in her fifties; Bashkim, an eight year old boy; Luis, a returned soldier and Roberta, a social worker. My favourite perspective to read was Luis’, but having said that I found all of the stories to be well written and contain likeable characters. While I enjoyed Roberta’s perspective, I don’t think it was really necessary and the book would have worked without it too. I loved McBride’s descriptions of Las Vegas from the eyes of the locals, to whom the lights and casinos are nothing special, and who know about the less flashy sides of town. The stories collided in a powerful way that was exciting to read. I was worried that the ending would be clichéd and a little too perfect but that wasn’t the case in my opinion. All of the stories gelled very well and once I got to know the characters I liked switching between perspectives. The only thing I didn’t like was the somewhat abrupt ending of Avis’ part in the novel. However, I would highly recommend this book and loved reading it!