1988. 12-year-old Harper Richardson's parents are divorced. Her mum got custody of her, the Mini, and five hundred tins of baked beans. Her dad got a mouldering cottage in a Midlands backwater village and default membership of the Lone Rangers single parents' club. Harper got questionable dress sense, a zest for life, two gerbils, and her Chambers dictionary, and the responsibility of fixing her parents' broken hearts...

Set against a backdrop of high hairdos and higher interest rates, pop music and puberty, divorce and death, What a Way to Go is a warm, wise and witty tale of one girl tackling the business of growing up while those around her try not to fall apart.

"Poignant, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny and a fabulous portrait of the time." - Woman & Home

"As a first novel it has promise, with some sensitive writing and funny lines." - The Scotsman

"This is a bittersweet tale of one girl just at the cusp of becoming a young woman with a burgeoning mind of her own, and a blossoming sense of life's possibilities." - The Western Mail

"What A Way To Go is funny and sharp and it's a treat to hang out with Harper as she and her Chambers dictionary flit between her Midlands parental homes." - Emerald Street

"What a joy to read... Julia Forster's assured debut novel marks the start of a brilliant writing career." - Reader's Digest

"This amusing coming-of-age novel, narrated by 12-year old Harper Richardson, is full of humour, often of the black variety... this gauche yet likable character emerges chrysalis-like, a bit more armoured for the next stage of her young life." - Irish Examiner

"A glowing debut" - Daily Mail