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The First Day of Spring

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About this listen

'So that was all it took,' I thought. 'That was all it took for me to feel like I had all the power in the world. One morning, one moment, one yellow-haired boy. It wasn't so much after all.'

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.

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.

Fifteen years later, Julia is working in a fish-and-chip shop and 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.

That's when the phone calls begin which Julia is too afraid to answer, because it's clear the caller knows the truth about what happened 15 years ago.

And it's time to face the truth: is forgiveness and redemption ever possible for someone who has killed?

©2021 Nancy Tucker (P)2021 Penguin Audio Crime Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Urban Crime Emotionally Gripping Exciting Heartfelt Scary Tear-jerking Suspense

Critic reviews

"Tense, addictive and powered by an unforgettable narrative voice." (Paula Hawkins)

"A darkly dazzling debut, a harrowing story of neglect and cruelty written with a delicate touch and a big heart. As gripping as the tensest of thrillers and as moving and humane as the most intimate of memoirs." (Lisa Jewell)

"The First Day of Spring is Nancy Tucker's first work of fiction and my god this is outstanding.... This book is so powerful and so disturbing that I will be thinking about it for months to come. Without a doubt this goes into my Top Ten Books of 2021." (Tracy Fenton)
All stars
Most relevant
I won't lie, it's not the easiest book to listen to but the for me, the story really shows the impact of how profound an impact a childs upbringing has on their developing mind and mental health.
I was gripped, yet saddened at the same time but I was so invested in seeing a positive outcome for Chrissie as an adult, that I couldn't stop listening.
The book does touch upon issues of child neglect and child harm so won't be for everyone but it is done sensitively and we hear the reasoning of the 8 year old child as she comes to terms with her actions and her reasoning for doing what she did.
The narration was superb although I did speed it up to 1.5 as the slower pace added a depressing tone to the book.
A solid 4🌟 from me but like I say, be prepared for the book to make you feel uncomfortable at times.

A thought provoking story about nature vs nurture

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The narrator really gave life and sinew to Chrissie and later to a much more shattered Julia.

Was just a bit long but would still strongly recommend this novel

Fab narration- great story if a little long

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Amazing storyline. Done across 2 timeliness was brilliant.
Also loved the voice and the brilliant accent. definitely worth listening to again and again.

incredible

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wonderfully written and narated book. I like the voice as child and adult. The book was so sad, teh emotional neglect of Chrissie was so sad. I would listen to this book again.

Fantastic book, very sad book of emotional neglect, and the impact.

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Words can not describe this book for me, unlike anything I have read /listened to before.

You want to dislike Chrissie from the start, however as the story evolves you enter her psyche and can start to understand this poor child.


There are times in the book that take your breathe away and make me feel almost physically sick, no spoilers here but parenting plays a vital role.

The narration by Kristin Atherton is without a doubt exemplary. Her adult and child voices puts life into this hauntingly beautiful book,

This book will stay with me for sometime, I am so surprised it has not been talked about more as it is without a doubt one of the best I have listened to gut some time.

I implore you to read/ listen to this book, you will not be disappointed.

Hauntingly beautiful

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