Welcome to the third of my ‘Calendar Chaos’ posts, in which I take the books I received in my 2024 book advent – each cover representing a different period of time – and review them for you!
Up first in February is FEBRUARY and the book is Sunflowers in February by Phyllida Shrimpton.
Read on to find out more…
Blurb: Lily has died in a car accident. The trouble is, Lily’s really not at all sure she wants to ‘move on’ . . . This funny, heartbreaking novel is perfect if you loved John Green or The Lovely Bones.
Lily wakes up one crisp Sunday morning on the side of the road.
She has no idea how she got there. It is all very peaceful. And very beautiful. It is only when the police car, and then the ambulance, arrive and she sees her own body that she realises that she is in fact . . . dead.
But what is she supposed do now?
Lily has no option but to follow her body and she sees her family – her parents and her twin brother – start falling apart. And then her twin brother Ben gives her a once in a deathtime opportunity – to use his own body for a while. But will Lily give Ben his body back? She is beginning to have a rather good time . . .
A moving, startlingly funny and yet achingly sad debut novel from a stunning new talent.
Review: Despite the bright, sunny cover and frequent moments of humour, this story cannot help being heartbreakingly sad, as it explores the aftermath of a teen girl’s sudden and tragic demise.
Not only do we see Lily’s shock and despair as her life is cut short, but we then follow her as she sees her friends and family falling apart without her. I was reminded very much of The Lovely Bones, except that the cause of death in this book was more accidental – still as devastating but without the distressing sexual undercurrent.
I did think there would be plenty of humour in Lily’s hanging around in spirit form (mostly just very sad) and then getting her second chance at corporeal life (still sad and also anxiety-inducing). Even the classic romcom shenanigans that ensue from her fiddling about with Ben’s social life just made me feel terribly anxious on Ben’s behalf and desperately sorry for Lily, as her ‘borrowed’ life can never be the same as getting her own life back.
So, despite an upbeat tone, lots of sibling snark and some She’s the Man style hijinks, I found myself crying and crying as I read this book. But I couldn’t put it down. And, much like the characters, I found the story ultimately very cathartic and healing, with its messages about moving on and letting go.
Highly recommended, but do stock up on tissues first!
About the author:
Phyllida Shrimpton is a full time UK author who first wanted to write a novel after having a vivid dream at the age of 15 which she thought might make a good plot for a book. Finally in 2015 she stopped procrastinating about it and turned this dream into a reality. Sunflowers in February, published in 2018 won the Red Book Award in Falkirk, Scotland and was shortlisted for the Centurion Book Awards for Bath and North East Somerset schools. The Colour of Shadows was published in 2019 and was shortlisted for the Amazing Book Awards.
Making the move to writing adult fiction, Every Shade of Happy, published in August 2022 by Aria Fiction was shortlisted for the Gorsedh Kernow’s Holyer an Gof Cornish culture awards.
The Storyteller by the Sea, published September 2023 is her latest novel.
Phyllida’s books are centred around uplifting fiction and with the firm belief that there are always two sides to every story.
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