The Herd by Emily Edwards #NetGalley #TheHerd @BantamPress

The Herd by Emily Edwards

Published by Penguin Random House, Transworld Publishers (Bantam Press)

Publication Date 3rd February 2022

Book Description:

Two best friends

Elizabeth and Bryony are polar opposites but their unexpected friendship has always worked. They're the best of friends, and godmothers to each other's daughters - because they both trust that the safety of their children is their top priority.

One little secret

Little do they know that they differ radically over one very important issue. And when Bryony, afraid of being judged, tells what is supposed to be a harmless white lie before a child's birthday party, the consequences are more catastrophic than either of them could ever have imagined.

Every parent's worst nightmare . . .

My Thoughts:

When I started reading this book it very much reminded me of another book I'd read in recent times by Melissa Hill, Keep You Safe which is also an emotive read about inoculation and its risks vs benefits. The arguments put forward in both books are extremely valid and both books would make excellent subjects for book club discussions.

In this book, a Richard & Judy book club pick, Bryony and Elizabeth are parents of young children, close friends yet have very different parenting styles. Elizabeth is your stereotypical 'helicopter' parent, member of the PTA and is hyper involved in micromanaging her kids' lives. Bryony is far more relaxed. The book puts forward very balanced views of the values of different styles and is non-judgmental in its overall presentation.

I started off being quite envious of the closeness of the families; the husbands rubbed along nicely as well as all the kids, all being welcomed into each other's homes like one big extended family. Until the fated birthday party when it all comes crashing down around them. Elizabeth has sent an email to all the parents (which I felt was a bit over the top) asking them to confirm that their children were fully vaccinated and asking them to basically stay away from the party and keep their distance in future if not. Bearing in mind that the children have all been mixing at school and extracurricular activities I felt it was a bit late to be posing the question. But there again, I've never been in the situation where my child needs to extra careful regarding anything like this so I then questioned whether I would possibly be the same in Elizabeth's position. Bryony's biggest mistake was not giving enough thought to her answer to the question posed which sadly comes back to bite her later on.

I felt the author put across both sides of the arguments for and against vaccination and reasons why people's judgment could be biased one way or the other. She has clearly spent a lot of time researching the different views from both a moral and scientific stance. Is Elizabeth over the top with her later actions against Bryony's family? Was Bryony too easy going in answering the initial question so flippantly?  There are so many viewpoints to consider in this book and as a parent it certainly had me evaluating the whole 'what if' my situation were different' in quite some depth in my own head. I don't think there is any right or wrong answer. We could argue forever on the subject and still never all of us agree.

The stars of the book in my opinion aren't any of the adults, but little Alba and Clemmie who absolutely stole the show with the innocence of the young.

About the Author:

After studying at Edinburgh University, Emily Edwards worked for a think tank in New York before returning to London where she worked as a support worker for vulnerable women at a large charity. She now lives in Lewes, East Sussex with her endlessly patient husband and her two endlessly energetic young sons.

The inspiration for The Herd came when she was eight months pregnant with her first son, and her husband and their vaccine-hesitant doula had an impassioned 'debate' about vaccination in their garden. As she sat there with her hands over her huge stomach listening to them both, Emily realized this was an issue which impacts us all and that it would make a brilliant topic for a novel.