Put down your phones, quit sitting in front of your computer screens, get out of your house, and enjoy the faces and company around you... The Authenticity Project has a very YOLO ( 'you only live once') vibe. It's a very sweet, cutesy, if somewhat implausible, story told from multiple perspectives. Described by Sophie Kinsella as 'a clever, uplifting book that entertains and makes you think’, The Authenticity Project is perfect for book clubs. Little do they realise that such small acts of honesty hold the power to impact all those who discover the notebook and change their lives completely.

I disliked this ridiculous feel-good novel, stuffed with clichés and implausible caricatures of people, situations, and dialogue, and presumably sponsored by Apple *. But two friends recommended it as enjoyable, uplifting fun. I fancied something light, and the premise had promise. One of them lent me a copy, so I felt obliged to read the whole thing. I did. But I wish that I hadn’t. This is an honest review of my feelings about the book. I will say less, and be rather gentler when I return it. And don’t get me started on the Australian character who Pooley uses as a dumb blond ignoramus which, for obvious reasons, made me mad. (Note to everyone who reads this, the only people to call toilets a dunny would be over 60 and everyone in Aus knows who Nigella and Jamie Oliver are. *hmph*)The story of a solitary green notebook that brings together six strangers and leads to unexpected friendship, and even love

I was quite looking forward to this book, even though I had read something along similar lines recently. The story starts with Monica, a café owner, finding a small green note book titled The Authenticity Project with the date. Inside are a few paragraphs asking, ’How well do you know the people who live near you? How well do they know you?’ And challenging people to share the truth about themselves. So it all sounded interesting. After reading the entry from Julian, Monica writes her own. And so it goes on as the book makes its way from one person to another. So the reader gets chapters from several different people and the interactions that form between these people. This is a story with a great big heart and a lot of humour. It’s a feel good read that will make you wonder about the stories of those around you and maybe encourage a little more kindness and understanding as everyone has their own authentic selves hidden inside and it may not be the image you see. Julian Jessop, an eccentric, lonely artist and septuagenarian believes that most people aren't really honest with each other. But what if they were? And so he writes--in a plain, green journal--the truth about his own life and leaves it in his local café. It's run by the incredibly tidy and efficient Monica, who furtively adds her own entry and leaves the book in the wine bar across the street. Before long, the others who find the green notebook add the truths about their own deepest selves--and soon find each other in real life at Monica's café. A green notebook, entitled “The Authenticity Project” is left at Monica’s cafe for someone to find.. Pooley was obviously going for a Love, Actually/Four Weddings and a Funeral type interconnecting characters feel. However, the whole thing didn’t work as well as it should. I didn’t find the book particularly funny, nor did I believe in the romance. At the very least, for this type of multi-character book to work, you need to fall in love with the characters and their plights. In this, their plights/plots were bland and boring and I’m afraid I had trouble liking some of the characters, let alone loving them.

The Authentic A heart-warming, feel-good story about love, loss and what it means to be human. Pooley’s debut is gloriously upbeat and gorgeously readable.” Now includes an exclusive extract of Clare Pooley's new and brilliantly uplifting novel The People On Platform 5 - available now Clare’s memoir - The Sober Diaries - has helped thousands of people around the world to quit drinking. My favorite parts were reading the personal entries, penned in the notebook, and shared without worry about who might read their words when the book is next found.