The List of Suspicious Things

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Gloriously funny, utterly heartbreaking, and really just brilliant, We All Want Impossible Things is one of the best novels on friendship I've ever read. I loved it. AJ PEARCE, author of DEAR MRS BIRD Jennie: Hannah is an incredibly talented writer, one whose work I had admired on the course. The first time she told me that something I had written wasn’t working I felt very emotional – not just because I knew she was right – I also really appreciated that she had the best interests of my book at heart.

The topic of leadership fascinates me. But I believe many of us have a closed opinion of who our leaders are. As a child of the 80s and a born and bred Yorkshire lass, as soon as I read the first line of this book, I knew I was going to love it. It invoked childhood memories of growing up in Yorkshire - the dialect, the accents and growing up in a small community. Newman's clearsighted and bracingly funny first novel is a moving celebration of friendship, love and cherished memories DAILY MAILPeter Sutcliffe’s presence dominated Jennie’s early life, but it was only upon his arrest that she realised how closely their lives had touched. Her mechanic father worked with Sutcliffe, frequently servicing the lorries he drove.

I absolutely adored this...what a beautiful, emotional novel it is, both heart-breaking and heart mending, with flawed, oh-so-human characters and events extolling the joy and pain of love, loss and life-long friendship. JILL MANSELL Interestingly, I’ve always said I’d be an author, since childhood. I feel as though I had an inner knowing about where I was meant to be and what I was meant to be doing. My biggest lesson has been to really strip away all the ‘shoulds’ and the things that society expects of you, for example “you should focus on your career”; “you need to make money”. And after her PhD? Perhaps a memoir, perhaps another novel, but her die is cast; and they aren’t showing a return to HR.

Both parents are really proud that it’s about Yorkshire, because it’s not necessarily a place that is reflected in literature in abundance. In Newman's hands... this tale of love and friendship is tender, funny, life-affirming joy. MARIE CLAIRE, 'Best Books of 2023'

You know when you just know a book is going to be huge, that a talented new author has burst on the scene?? Well, here we have it. First of all, the characterisation is exemplary. I love Miv and she’s an unforgettable character and yes, you could say she’s obsessive but she’s only looking for distraction from difficulties at home. Miv has good instincts even if she doesn’t entirely understand what she sees which is certainly true at the start when her naivety is clear to see but not at the end. Her friendships are a thing of beauty especially with the lovely Sharon, the “Terrible Twosome” and their friendship is wonderful. It isn’t all plain sailing by any stretch as they witness some cruelty and meanness that beggars belief but sadly is all too believable. All the characters spring to life, even the ones you’d rather didn’t. Many of our students find their writing community on our courses – are you still in touch with any of your course mates?

Jo Nadin is Jennie’s PhD supervisor, a Senior Lecturer in the University’s English Department and an author of several successful books. She said: “I’m thrilled for Jennie, but not at all surprised. Her writing is touching, funny and insightful. I can’t wait to see it in print.” Miv's family life is troubled, her mum has had a nervous breakdown and hasn't spoken for sometime. Her aunt has moved in to help take care of them, but with the ripper still out there, Yorkshire isn't what it used to be and there is talk of moving away. This is devastating to Miv, who would then lose her best friend, Sharon, the one stable thing in her life. Her solution is to catch the ripper, so she starts the list of suspicious things and sets out with Sharon to investigate. Along the way, the pair meet a strong cast of characters and form a pretty tight group of friends. I just knew. It was straightforward, obvious, strong. It was September 2019 and I can then chart everything else that happened. I didn’t have a strong feeling for what I wanted to do, I had no plans other than not to continue to do what I was doing. Plot/structure –regardless of the characters, is there any similarity in how the books works/is structured? E.g., feminist retellings of Greek myths. The List of Suspicious Things follows 12-year-old Miv as she navigates a 1970s Yorkshire plagued by the Yorkshire Ripper.