fiction books about nursing homes

Reading Ladies

The great escape from woodlands nursing home [book review].

January 15, 2021

The Great Escape From Woodlands Nursing Home by Joanna Nell

Genre/Categories: Contemporary Fiction, Humor, Friendship

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Hattie Bloom is eighty-nine and she prefers birds to people and loves living alone in her small (although decrepit) home surrounded by her trees, plants, and feathered friends. Hattie is especially worried about an owl nest in a tree that the neighbors want to cut down. While climbing the tree, Hattie falls and ends up in a nursing home for rehab. She doesn’t adjust well to her new environment and entertains ideas of escape. Harold is another resident of the home that also dreams of escape. Hattie and Harold meet at the Night Owls social hour organized by a beloved nurse who desires to provide services for the residents who have a difficult time sleeping at night. Hattie and Howard join forces in unsuspecting ways.

My Thoughts:

Quirky Characters: I love quirky characters and especially more mature quirky characters! Click here for a list of a few of my favorite quirky characters. Hattie and Harold will definitely have a place on my list! Hattie is grieving the loss of her privacy and independence. She’s determined, a nature lover and nature writer, a reader, self contained, blunt, reclusive, and mentally sharp. Harold is a people person, a ladies’ man, humorous, determined, a proud driving instructor, a wannabe standup comedian, determined to acquire a license to ride his mobility scooter, and a good friend. Completely opposite, will reserved Hattie and optimistic Harold become friends?  Will they make their escape? Can they work together to save a beloved nurse?

Don’t underestimate them!

“Everyone expects so little of us, expects us to be completely incapable. That’s our secret weapon. Our disguise, if you like.”

Writing: Joanna Nell writes a heartwarming and uplifting story filled with humor, insights, and empathy.  She draws complex, likable, and relatable characters. Although The Great Escape was thoroughly enjoyable, the ending really landed it! The ending is strong, compelling, poignant, and pulls everything together nicely, landing this in the “memorable read” category.

I also appreciate that Joanna Nell’s experience as a GP and her nursing home visits informs a great deal of her research and writing for this story. You can sense that she admires, respects, and adores her characters.

Themes: Thoughtful themes in The Great Escape include friendship, taking risks, determination, adjusting to life’s circumstances, kindness, independence, and the nursing home environment.

Recommended: I’m highly recommending The Great Escape From Woodlands Nursing Home for fans of quirky characters, for readers who love more mature characters, for those who might have an interest in the mental health of nursing home residents, and for those looking for a heartfelt, feel good, “uplit” story! Book clubs might love it!

My Rating:  4.5 Stars

The Great Escape From Woodlands Nursing Home Information Here

Meet the Author, Joanna Nell

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15 comments.

I love quirky mature people 😅 my great aunt falls into this category and she is such a hoot.

😍 Awww! You might enjoy this story!

Sounds cute, the nursing home shenanigans are real 😂 except right now they really aren’t, covid is making things more of a horror show 😐

It is cute! And written by a doctor, too!

Books with quirky characters are always enjoyable. Really enjoyed your review. I will have to add this one to my TBR and hopefully, I will enjoy it, though it certainly sounds like one I would like.

I hope you end up enjoying it! Thanks for commenting!

Great review Carol!

Thanks Kym!

This sounds delightful! Thanks, Carol!

It was fun Debi! 🙌

[…] 4.5  Stars. (ARC). Heartfelt contemporary fiction. Quirky, mature characters. Review of The Great Escape From Woodlands Nursing Home here. […]

[…] I couldn’t resist a quirky, light, women’s fiction rec (with senior citizen rep) from Shelley at Book’d Out. ***UPDATE: 4.5 Stars. A very fun story! My review of Great Escape here. […]

[…] The Great Escape From Woodlands Nursing Home by Vicky Zimmerman (nursing home antics+friendship) […]

[…] The Great Escape From Woodlands Nursing Home by Joanna Nell […]

[…] Hattie and Harold in The Great Escape From Woodlands Nursing Home by Joanna Nell are […]

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The Great Escape from Woodlands Nursing Home Paperback – May 17, 2022

Purchase options and add-ons.

The joyous, charming and utterly irresistible new novel from the author of mega-bestseller The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village At nearly ninety, retired nature writer Hattie Bloom prefers the company of birds to people, but when a fall lands her in a nursing home she struggles to cope with the loss of independence and privacy. From the confines of her 'room with a view' of the carpark, she dreams of escape. Fellow 'inmate', the gregarious, would-be comedian Walter Clements also plans on returning home as soon as he is fit and able to take charge of his mobility scooter. When Hattie and Walter officially meet at The Night Owls, a clandestine club run by Sister Bronwyn and her dog, Queenie, they seem at odds. But when Sister Bronwyn is dismissed over her unconventional approach to aged care, they must join forces -- and very slowly an unlikely, unexpected friendship begins to grow. Full of wisdom and warmth, The Great Escape from Woodlands Nursing Home is a gorgeously poignant, hilarious story showing that it is never too late to laugh -- or to love. 'Tender and funny' Woman's Weekly 'Whip-smart dialogue, humour and sarcasm. A heart-warming story, extremely well written and highly addictive' Sun Herald 'Lively and whimsical ... with some serious points to make about ageing, love, community and friendship' Sydney Morning Herald 'This heartwarming story about growing old gracefully - and disgracefully ... is a funny, witty and thoroughly enjoyable read for all ages' Daily Telegraph

• Print length 384 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Hachette Australia
• Publication date May 17, 2022
• Dimensions 5.05 x 1.2 x 8.3 inches
• ISBN-10 073364287X
• ISBN-13 978-0733642876
• See all details

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About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hachette Australia (May 17, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 073364287X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0733642876
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.05 x 1.2 x 8.3 inches
• #10,822 in Humorous Fiction
• #73,296 in Women's Literature & Fiction

About the author

Joanna nell.

Joanna Nell was born in the Midlands and graduated from Oxford University with a medical degree in 1991.

In 2003 she moved to Australia where she now works as a GP with a passion for women's health and care of the elderly.

Joanna writes character-driven stories of self-discovery for women of a certain age, creating young-at-heart characters who break the rules and defy society's expectations.

She lives on Sydney's Northern Beaches with her husband and two children. THE SINGLE LADIES OF JACARANDA VILLAGE is her first novel.

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