ABOUT 'THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING': Chrissie knows how to steal sweets from the shop without getting caught, the best hiding place for hide-and-seek, the perfect wall for handstands.

The First Day of Spring - The Gilmore Guide to Books The First Day of Spring - The Gilmore Guide to Books

This is a debut like no other in this subject matter that’s thrown me in circles and bashed me head first into a wall. My thoughts were all over the place. Chrissie is a killer that fact is stated up front, but as the story unfolds we begin to see the tragedy that led to this crime and no matter how unforgivable her actions are, the actions of the adults surrounding her are also unforgivable. I am not ashamed to say that I felt my heart break for little Chrissie even though she seemed to show almost no remorse for her crimes… read between the lines in this story it truly shattered me. It is difficult not to feel sorry for Chrissie, although I absolutely do not condone the actions she took as a child. To say the mixed feelings were there throughout is an understatement. The story slowly unravels Chrissie’s life from when she strangles a neighbor boy to her life in the children’s home. In alternating chapters, we learn of adult Chrissie navigating life as a single mom while her own nagging guilt presses down on her every moment. Every single imperfect thing she does brings worry that social services will take away her child. Adult Chrissie, aka Julia, wants and expects herself to be perfect and lives in fear all the time that she is not good enough. This is billed as suspense, and it is. For as we follow Chrissie through that fateful year of her life, we wonder how it ends: how does she get caught. And as Julia manages her life with Molly, we wonder if she will be able to keep her because Julia has convinced even the reader that social services are a half a step away from taking Molly.

Fifteen years later, Julia is trying to mother her five-year-old daughter, Molly. She is always worried - about affording food and school shoes, about what the other mothers think of her. Most of all she worries that the social services are about to take Molly away. I can get you some orange squash if you like?” I sat in one of the scratchy blue chairs by the window and Ann brought me the squash in a plastic cup. It was so weak I thought it must actually be the water she had rinsed out of a plastic cup that used to have real squash in it. I used it to wet my finger and draw shapes on the chair arm. Mam didn’t look at me. She stood very straight, with one arm wrapped around her middle and one hand gripping the side of her coat. Her fingers were clawed and white. MY THOUGHTS: Inside Chrissie's head is a scary place to be. Probably the scariest place I've been. It's dark, disturbing and more than sad. An eight year old should be full of the joys of life. Chrissie is full of nothing, except rage. The word 'neglect' doesn't even begin to cover Chrissie's mother's treatment of her. She tries to give Chrissie away. Her dad keeps disappearing. The other children have two parents, they are cared for - fed, and clothed, and loved. Chrissie wants this for herself, all of it. This novel is about childhood neglect and the ramifications. A dark and totally heartbreaking story 💔

The First Day of Spring ‹ Literary Hub The First Day of Spring ‹ Literary Hub

A nightmare of a mother, and a real horror show of a daughter. Meet Chrissie, who introduces herself by stating that she has just killed a little boy. Eight years old, she loves looking at dead things, touching them. She's an equal opportunity threat, all other kids are fair game, even the scant one or two who are her "friends". Now she has a new secret. It gives her a fizzing, sherbet feeling in her belly. She doesn't get to feel power like this at home, where food is scarce and attention scarcer.I have never seen this in a store, on someone's shelves, in anyone's hands. I've never heard anyone speak of this book. But boy howdy do I need to change that. I absolutely LOVED the narrator. Damn she KILLED it (pun not intended). The voice she used for a young Chrissie was top two and it ain't two. She really brought the character to life. The scene where Chrissie yells NO ONE LIKES ME... *chefs kiss*. stars: This is a story with hang time; this is a story that will make you cry; this is a story that is sad, suspenseful, hopeful, and heart wrenching. I listened to the audio of “The First Day of Spring” and from the first minute, I was entranced. Narrator Kristin Atherton is amazing as she voices the two characters, Chrissie, and Julia.