The First Day of Spring Paperback – 18 February 2021

From the very first line of this book which reads “I killed a little boy today” there was no mistaking that this book was going to be DARK - and it absolutely was. Darkness ran through this book like the letters on a stick of rock and seeped into all its edges.It is told through the voice of Chrissie the 8 YEAR OLD killer who takes the reader by the hand and guides you through the darkness. Despite the terrifying premise of the story you cannot help but feel deep empathy with Chrissie who’s mother never showed her any love, who spent her childhood steeped in abject neglect, poverty and hunger and who was desperately let down by so many. It is an undeniably raw and harrowing story that will absolutely break your heart, but the story also shines a golden light on the power of love, redemption and friendship which will put the pieces back together again. This beautifully written book will stay with me for a long time.

I don't know how to start to describe how much I loved this book. It captured my attention from the first sentence, and it only got better page after page.It examines complex issues so well, it is heartbreaking and beautifully written. It is an horrific story, of neglect and violence, but it also shows that the potential for redemption is around the corner.I felt many contrasting feelings while reading this book... horror, hatred, but also sorrow and empathy, all directed to the same person, a child who killed another child.Not only it is a great thriller, but an analysis of the psychological consequences of child neglect and abuse. This is without doubts the best book I've read this year, and I highly recommended it to anyone!

If I tell you that this story starts with a child killing a child you might never read this book. I almost didn’t read it. The subject matter felt too dark and I literally hovered over the first page undecided…but I would have missed out on one of the most brilliant and astounding books I will read this year. Everything about this is exceptional.Whilst the story does start with the killing of a child this is not a gruesome book. Chrissie is 8 when she kills a little boy. She thinks death is temporary; she kills for the way it makes her feel which she describes as fizzing. She is a little girl who is starved in every way imaginable - neglected physically and emotionally, she endures long periods without food and without love. This story follows two narratives- that of the young Chrissie and that of Julia, who is the grown up Chrissie now with her own child.The writing simply blew me away - it’s utterly unique, raw, gritty, right to the bare bone of emotion, thought and feeling. The book imagines the unthinkable, the unimaginable, the subject we don’t want to read about…and she makes it imaginable, thinkable and a story we want to read..The strength of this book lies in the writing and in particular for me in the way it captures the voice of the child. In my early childhood in a rural Yorkshire village I often played out with children who weren’t allowed home until later in the evening, who weren’t expecting much for tea.. And I remember those conversations with friends which swing on the balance of power..I haven’t read anything which has so powefully conjured up those conversations, it unearthed feelings and emotions that were so buried.And all the way through this book your head will engage in a moral discussion -does Julia really deserve to have her own child, to what degree is Julia.. Chrissie? Did Chrissie’s circumstances excuse what happened? And you will think of your own children, and your heart will cry out against her and then you will listen to more and you will be soothed by the special and beautiful relationship between Julia and her child and not want anyone to take her away… I also listened to this on audiobook - the narrator is superb - completely and utterly the voice of Chrissie…

I was not sure at first - this is not my usual genre. However, as I read my way into the book I became increasingly involved and the story took on a life of its own. I was never Chrissie but I understand her. As a neglected child, emotionally more than physically, Chrissie brought back buried feelings and memories. Running and running through the avenue of elm trees, and, later, through suburban streets to escape the realities of home. The hopeless feelings giving way to a misplaced sense of empowerment. I locked a little boy in a shed, unlike Chrissie I did not kill. Later, the need to build a safety wall around my own children. Thank you for this book, it has helped me understand myself.

This is a book that will bring out so many emotions, revulsion, sadness, hate, pity but for me it overwhelmingly brought out the feelings of revulsion and Sadness. The book will keep you thinking way after it has finished. I can't say it's an easy read, in that the story moves along easily but the subject matter it's dealing with is in child cruelty, death and child abuse. It's a powerful story, unfortunately based on a true case.