Sunflowers in February by Phyllida Shrimpton

 

sunflowers
Sunflowers in February by Phyllida Shrimpton

 

 

Originally published: 8 Feb 2018

Author: Phyllida Shrimpton

Set in: UK

Genre:  YA

Page count: 345

Reading dates: 27-30 March 2018

Star Rating: 3.5/5

Thank you to Hot Key Press and the author for sending me a copy of this.
The cover drew me in (its so pretty with the foil detail) and it seems I have a thing for yellow books in March!

On a cold February morning, Lily wakes up at the side of the road with no memory of how she got there. It’s not until the police turn up that she realises she is actually dead – her broken body lies just a few feet away, the obvious victim of a hit and run. Having no idea why she can still think, why no one can see or hear her however hard she tries, Lily travels first to the funeral home where she witnesses her parents grief and then stays to  see her own funeral. She has no control over where she goes, generally being pulled to the person who is thinking of her.

And then her twin brother Ben gives her a once in a deathtime opportunity – to use his own body for a while. But Lily doesn’t want to give Ben his body back – she isn’t ready to give up on life just yet.

A great study on the relationship between twins and also a study of grief – as a parent of a child of a similar age to Lily, it really pulled on the heartstrings! A great debut novel, which was much more than I expected it to be.

Other books told from the point of view of a dead person include:

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
More than This by Patrick Ness

 

 

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