On the other hand, such liberation may result in self-indulgence and her new venture is not entirely free from this. I will admit, I was a bit confused in the first 30 or so pages as I wasn't used to the way it was written but stick with it I promise. The "Paper Cup" of the title being the literal one that sometimes got filled with a smattering of change from busy passers by. I couldnt put this down and I will be thinking about this book and the characters for a long time to come. It is a heartfelt story and makes your heart go out to Kelly who has nothing but good intentions in life.

The novel is based in Dumfries and Galloway – or more accurately the ancient Rhins, Machars and Stewartry counties. When a drunk bride-to-be drops her engagement ring and Kelly finds it, she has to decide if she's ready to take a journey across the country and back in time to face her past and let her feelings in. A set of circumstances pushes Kelly to set off on a mission, of sorts, which sees her follow a pilgrimage trail in the South West of Scotland, setting out from her usual Glasgow spots.It was initially on my radar last year and I was meant to go to an author talk in my home town, however family circumstances meant I missed the event. There are picaresque novels which are only one damn adventure after another, leaving the leading character no different at the end from what he or she was at the beginning, but Paper Cup is more than that.

The biggest convenience of all is that the wedding just happens to be in the same town where Kelly grew up. I loved how these parts of the story were randomly inserted into the story, it was almost as if they were thoughts creeping into Kelly’s mind, reminding her of who she was, who she’s become and maybe who she really wants to be. It’s a story of hopelessness and ultimately, the humanity that binds us together and keeps that hope alive.

This pilgrimage leads her on a trudge across Scotland, meeting a cast of characters (Collieflower the dog being the highlight) and ultimately her moment of redemption, where the reader finally finds out why Kelly is estranged from her family. On her journey from Glasgow to the south-west tip of Scotland, Kelly encounters ancient pilgrim routes, hostile humans, hippies, book lovers and a friendly dog, as memories stir and the people she thought she’d left behind forever move closer with every step. Full of compassion and hope, Paper Cup is a novel about how easy it can be to fall through the cracks, and what it takes to turn around a life that has run off course.