Synopsis: "At the sweet age of nine, I saw my coastline commit murder." Andy grows up haunted by the memory of a terrible event, but his passion for daffodils, and the influence of Angie, the gorgeous girl in the year above, help him to overcome the ghosts of the past. A moving novel that explores both the beauty and bleakness of life and the effect the past can have on shaping the future.

Review: A startling and graphic description of a tragic accident opens this second novel from Gareth Thompson. Andy is the only witness and is caught in a helpless web of despair of his inability to prevent or assist the situation. The story then rejoins Andy not long after his fifteenth birthday. The reader sees him as a relative loner, living with his Mohican-sporting, junk food addicted father in Millom, an old, northern ex-mining town, friendly on the surface but ruled by underworld bandits. After befriending Angie, the sixth form golden girl who is leading a surprising double life, a series of coincidences and connections unwittingly cause Andy to become entangled within the subculture that rules Millom. With his granddad, Andy’s only real confidante, lying dangerously ill in a nursing home and his dad displaying some worryingly out-of-character behaviour, the only constant and predictable thing in Andy’s life seems to be his never-ending guilt and fear of the sands that were the setting for the opening event, sharply contrasted by his love for daffodils.

Told in the first person, this is a bittersweet tale that combines family issues with first love and small town underworld culture. Written in the present day, a serious story with touching insight into the confused world of a sensitive teenager attempting to come to terms with his past and future without losing sight of the present. With a male protagonist, this may appeal more to mature male teenage readers, but an enjoyable and gripping read for all older readers.

Publishing February 2008

2007-11-11