Now here’s the thing. I very, very, rarely reblog a book review, but with Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life by Helen Fisher one of my books of the year, I simply had to participate in the paperback blog tour to celebrate this wonderful story. My huge thanks to Sara-Jade Virtue of Simon and Schuster’s Books and the City for inviting me to take part.

Published in paperback by Simon and Schuster on 18th July 2024, Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life is available for purchase through the links here.

Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life

Joe loves predictability. But his life is about to become a surprising adventure.

Joe-Nathan likes the two parts of his name separate, just like his dinner and dessert. Mean Charlie at work sometimes calls him Joe-Nuthin. But Joe is far from nothing. Joe is a good friend, he’s good at his job, good at making things and good at following the rules, and he’s learning how to do lots of things by himself.

Joe’s mother knows there are a million things in life he isn’t prepared for. While she helps guide him every day, she’s also writing notebooks full of advice about the things she hasn’t told Joe yet, things he might forget and answers to questions he hasn’t yet asked.

Following her wisdom – applying it in his own unique way – this next part of Joe’s life is more of a surprise than he expects. Because he’s about to learn that remarkable things can happen when you leave your comfort zone, and that you can do even the hardest things with a little help from your friends.

My Review of Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life

Joe likes his routines.

Oh my word. Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life is utterly beautiful. I absolutely adored it. I’d heard nothing but positive things about Helen Fisher’s latest book, but that didn’t prepare me for the total joy in reading Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life. It completely filled my heart with happiness.

The plot is relatively gentle as Joe learns that change can be good, but it also embodies powerful and dramatic themes that illustrate to perfection how judging others and making assumptions can make us blind to the truth of their lives – and of our own. It’s no exaggeration to say that I wish every world leader, every person in a position of power and influence, could read Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life so that they come a little bit closer to the human compassion and understanding displayed by Joe and Janet.

Joe is a wonderful creation. He is quirky, funny, and absolutely the most engaging character in fiction a reader might wish to meet. I loved all the characters – even the noxious Owen who adds balance to the kindness of others. The fact that there’s a limited number of characters, most of whom work at The Compass Store, gives an intimacy that enables the reader to know them thoroughly. Chloe is a complete triumph. Her sweary and abrasive nature ensures there’s no cloying sentimentality in Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life, but rather a finely tuned balance of imperfection that makes the book so affecting, so beautiful and so unforgettable.

With themes of friendship and love, bullying of various kinds and loyalty and compassion, Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life can be read on many levels. At its simplest it’s an entirely entertaining story about a person slightly different to other people. However, that is to do a disservice to this gorgeous story. Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life is a story about humanity. As Helen Fisher peels back the layers of Joe’s personality, so she illustrates profound kindness and understanding, making the reader laugh aloud and shed a tear on the way so that this is a book not to be forgotten. It’s a stunner.

I could not have loved this book more. I finished it with a smile on my face, an almost physical ache in my heart and a moistness in my eye. Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life is just fabulous. Read it.

About Helen Fisher

Helen Fisher spent her early life in America, but grew up mainly in Suffolk where she now lives with her two children. She studied Psychology at Westminster University and Ergonomics at UCL and worked as a senior evaluator in research at the RNIB. She is now a full-time author. Space Hopper was her first novel.

You can follow Helen on Twitter/X @HFisherAuthor and find her on Instagram.

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