Saving Daisy by Phil Earle
Oct. 25th, 2013 11:00 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
”For as long as I could remember it was always about the three of us.
Me.
Dad.
And mum’s shadow.”
Daisy’s mum is gone.
Her dad refuses to talk about it.
As far as Daisy’s concerned, it’s all her fault.
As her life starts to spiral out of control, panic leads to tragedy and Daisy’s left alone.
But sometimes the kindness of a stranger can turn things around.
A stranger who desperately wants to save Daisy – if she’ll only let herself be saved …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Phil Earle’s second YA novel is a companion book to the critically acclaimed BEING BILLY and, given that it focuses on one of the characters in that book, I’d been hoping for another powerful contemporary tale that shines a light on real teen issues. What I found was a soapier beast and that’s because Daisy’s problems, although serious, are essentially passive. She’s not someone who drives events, even though she blames herself for them. The tremendous guilt and anxiety she feels makes her passive and reactive and her inability to stand up for herself even when bullied frustrated me (even though I acknowledge it’s true to life). I also found the internal monologues a little repetitive and when her therapy worker, Ade starts talking about the application of logic, I wish it had come sooner. It’s a very worthy book and I think there’s a lot here that could help teens struggling with self-harm, but (and I feel bad for saying this) it didn’t make for an interesting read for me and I found myself skimming the pages. It’s an okay read but not as good as BEING BILLY.
Me.
Dad.
And mum’s shadow.”
Daisy’s mum is gone.
Her dad refuses to talk about it.
As far as Daisy’s concerned, it’s all her fault.
As her life starts to spiral out of control, panic leads to tragedy and Daisy’s left alone.
But sometimes the kindness of a stranger can turn things around.
A stranger who desperately wants to save Daisy – if she’ll only let herself be saved …
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Phil Earle’s second YA novel is a companion book to the critically acclaimed BEING BILLY and, given that it focuses on one of the characters in that book, I’d been hoping for another powerful contemporary tale that shines a light on real teen issues. What I found was a soapier beast and that’s because Daisy’s problems, although serious, are essentially passive. She’s not someone who drives events, even though she blames herself for them. The tremendous guilt and anxiety she feels makes her passive and reactive and her inability to stand up for herself even when bullied frustrated me (even though I acknowledge it’s true to life). I also found the internal monologues a little repetitive and when her therapy worker, Ade starts talking about the application of logic, I wish it had come sooner. It’s a very worthy book and I think there’s a lot here that could help teens struggling with self-harm, but (and I feel bad for saying this) it didn’t make for an interesting read for me and I found myself skimming the pages. It’s an okay read but not as good as BEING BILLY.