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Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers
Published by Macmillan, 2007

Life on the Refrigerator Door is presented exclusively in a style of note writing. Notes are exchanged by Claire and her mother, Elizabeth, during the course of a life-altering year. In this short novel dealing with sadness, pain and a whirlwind of emotions, the reader is drawn, very effectively, into the story, which is told in a series of notes pinned to the refrigerator door. Indeed this unique style of writing will make an attractive read for teenagers who might be reluctant to tackle a long novel.

The emotional roller coaster is suspended very often to include daily events in Elizabeth’s and Claire’s lives. Even though Elizabeth has had the shattering news of a breast cancer diagnosis, life must go on.

We are reminded that we should pay more attention to the important things in life, such as, making time for the people we love and making sure we let them know how much we appreciate them.

This debut novel for Alice Kuipers highlights the distances that can develop, and the gaps that can sometimes never be bridged, between people who live closely together but are caught up in the everyday mayhem of daily life.