"'Twelve' is a thoroughly intriguing novel studded with thoughtful and witty insights, and I've never read a book before that contained both ecstasy trips and gardening tips. Vanessa Jones's writing is measured and elegant, but there is an underlying panic here at the ridiculous business of being alive." ARTHUR SMITH

"Lily's lifestyle is an enviable one but she is unhappy. Lily is alienated, disaffected bored and neurotic. When a man hands her a note on the Tube bearing his name and number [however], she rings him in hope of adventure. Vanessa Jones frequently gives us passages of virtuoso writing. Comparisons can be invidious, but 'Twelve' could be seen as a book narrated by a more intelligent, self-aware and literary Bridget Jones, with the journals of some of her close friends thrown in." PETER CARTY, 'Time Out'

"Lily is a twentysomething woman who lives in London with a dull job and no man. The subtitle asks 'How should a young woman live now?' and Lily's quest is for a real life, an escape from temporary measures. Lily's confessional narrative tracks her confusion, her sense that she should be somewhere else, someone else. As 'Twelve' progresses, Jones layers each chapter with a different characters voice: old friends, a down-to-earth neighbour and Lily's date, Colin. There are sensitive, incisive observations and a knack with words that twists the imagination. By asking the unexpected, this first novel is unsettling, unusual and perceptive." AMAZON.CO.UK.