Scan barcode
lavendar_fr0g's review against another edition
In theory, this one is right up my alley but I didn’t find myself wanting to finish it.
It’s not much of a mystery- outside of waiting to see how the murder gets out and all. There’s a level of just feeling bad for everyone involved- I will note that not only is the author (apparently) a psychologist but may also be referring to a specific case as mentioned by some reviews.
Some of the European slang can get repetitive and the protag has a weird tendency to point out/describe people as fat; kinda gave me the ick but I’m assuming that’s on purpose.
It’s not much of a mystery- outside of waiting to see how the murder gets out and all. There’s a level of just feeling bad for everyone involved- I will note that not only is the author (apparently) a psychologist but may also be referring to a specific case as mentioned by some reviews.
Some of the European slang can get repetitive and the protag has a weird tendency to point out/describe people as fat; kinda gave me the ick but I’m assuming that’s on purpose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Fatphobia
Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy
lizardgod's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical trauma
killmoore_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
bluemc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Alcohol
david_slack110507's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was definitely a heavy hitter of a book particularly with its themes and its take on the topic of nature vs nurture with the book taking a stance on the latter. The start of the book really took me along time to get through which was probably not helped by other factors such as reading other books at the time as well as having exams going on in school that limited my reading time particularly of this book however when I got to the latter half of this book it truly made up for the slow and somewhat boring start of the book, at that point I was fully engrossed in what was going on in a way that I hadn't been when I was reading the first half or so.
The premise of this book is really unique/original in not only having the book be from the killer's perspective but also having said killer be a child is very fascinating aa it opens for many discussions on the topic of nature vs nurture and in this case whether 8-year old Chrissie's murder of fellow child Steven was something that she was simply born to do or whether it was her surrounding environment such as a lack of attention, care (Both emotional and physical), and food at home that shaped her into a child capable of such a crime. It was really fascinating to read through especially as you see it through Chrissie's perspective as one part of the two perspectives, we follow throughout this book with the other being Julia, Chrissie grown up with a new identity and a daughter of her own named Molly who she fights to ensure does not end up like her.
Chrissie's perspective is purposely childlike and shows the harsh realities of life and how they are received by a child such as thinking that death is not permanent and not fully understanding the consequences of her actions and how they affected other until much later in her life. It's interesting to read through as while we get reasoning as to what drives Chrissie to do these things such as an emotionally abusive and toxic household, Chrissie is never absolved of her crimes and is fairly judged for the horrible things she did. Meanwhile, Julia is left picking up the pieces of her past actions as a new woman with a daughter who she fears will turn out just like her, I will admit that at the start of Julia's storyline, it was pretty boring to me as it was very exposition heavy as to how she got to this place in her life but after the exposition is placed on the backburner, the story becomes a lot more intriguing and we get to see Chrissie's growth as Julia such as when she recognises how good of a friend Linda was to her despite how horrible she was to Linda as a means of getting power in a life where it was scarcely at her disposal.
My only issues with the book is that the start is quite slow and does feel like it's being done simply to set up the second half and the main events of the book, but it does pay off eventually just acts as a potential discouragement to continue on if the reader finds it too boring. Also, on the blurb it states that there is a storyline featuring Julia being afraid to answer phone calls that come from someone who knows her past and going in I assumed that this would be a driving factor of conflict, yet this ends quite anticlimactically and so too does other parts of the book which could affect some reading experiences but i think the handling of the books themes more than make up for it.
The premise of this book is really unique/original in not only having the book be from the killer's perspective but also having said killer be a child is very fascinating aa it opens for many discussions on the topic of nature vs nurture and in this case whether 8-year old Chrissie's murder of fellow child Steven was something that she was simply born to do or whether it was her surrounding environment such as a lack of attention, care (Both emotional and physical), and food at home that shaped her into a child capable of such a crime. It was really fascinating to read through especially as you see it through Chrissie's perspective as one part of the two perspectives, we follow throughout this book with the other being Julia, Chrissie grown up with a new identity and a daughter of her own named Molly who she fights to ensure does not end up like her.
Chrissie's perspective is purposely childlike and shows the harsh realities of life and how they are received by a child such as thinking that death is not permanent and not fully understanding the consequences of her actions and how they affected other until much later in her life. It's interesting to read through as while we get reasoning as to what drives Chrissie to do these things such as an emotionally abusive and toxic household, Chrissie is never absolved of her crimes and is fairly judged for the horrible things she did. Meanwhile, Julia is left picking up the pieces of her past actions as a new woman with a daughter who she fears will turn out just like her, I will admit that at the start of Julia's storyline, it was pretty boring to me as it was very exposition heavy as to how she got to this place in her life but after the exposition is placed on the backburner, the story becomes a lot more intriguing and we get to see Chrissie's growth as Julia such as when she recognises how good of a friend Linda was to her despite how horrible she was to Linda as a means of getting power in a life where it was scarcely at her disposal.
My only issues with the book is that the start is quite slow and does feel like it's being done simply to set up the second half and the main events of the book, but it does pay off eventually just acts as a potential discouragement to continue on if the reader finds it too boring. Also, on the blurb it states that there is a storyline featuring Julia being afraid to answer phone calls that come from someone who knows her past and going in I assumed that this would be a driving factor of conflict, yet this ends quite anticlimactically and so too does other parts of the book which could affect some reading experiences but i think the handling of the books themes more than make up for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Fatphobia, Violence, Vomit, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Sexual content, and Alcohol
megan_bbender's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Before anything else, I cannot believe that this book was Nancy Tucker's first fiction novel. The writing was flawless, it always flowed so well. I was always so intrigued and wondered what could happen next. There was never a dull moment and I was always on the edge of my seat. This book was always on my mind while I was reading it, I never wanted to put it down.
Chrissie is absolutely terrifying inside and out. She's nightmare-fuelling, even as an adult. I always felt tense when Chrissie was doing something, like an accident just waiting to happen all of the time. It's hard to see a young child as scary or as a villain, Nancy Tucker created an amazing portrayal of young evil.
This book loves to toys with your emotions and morals, I found myself warming up to Chrissie towards the end which disturbed me just as much as the book.
I one hundred percent recommend this book to anyone who is considering reading it and I will definitely be keeping up with Nancy Tucker and her other books.
Chrissie is absolutely terrifying inside and out. She's nightmare-fuelling, even as an adult. I always felt tense when Chrissie was doing something, like an accident just waiting to happen all of the time. It's hard to see a young child as scary or as a villain, Nancy Tucker created an amazing portrayal of young evil.
This book loves to toys with your emotions and morals, I found myself warming up to Chrissie towards the end which disturbed me just as much as the book.
I one hundred percent recommend this book to anyone who is considering reading it and I will definitely be keeping up with Nancy Tucker and her other books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death and Infertility
eve0094's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
peytonliveslife's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Vomit, and Alcohol
nocturnalnitwit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Alcohol
travelseatsreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
From the very first line I was immediately hooked on this book. A little girl has killed a little boy and the most frightening part is...she liked it.
There's been a few books recently with the trope of a young child gone bad, and while these have been gripping reads, The First Day Of Spring stands miles ahead in so many ways. For me, it's one of the few of these types of books where it's possible to empathise and with the child who has done such terrifying acts. Nancy Tucker writes so well and draws you in so much that you flip from being revolted one minute to then wanting to scoop up Chrissie and rescue her the next.
The book switched back and forth in timelines and perspectives and it flowed brilliantly. It gave such a good insight into the Chrissie before and after her crimes and indeed what may have caused such unthinkable actions.
There is no doubt this is a harrowing read, from the descriptions of the murder to the repetitive neglect of Chrissie by her mother but it is one of the best books I've read in quite a while and poor Chrissie will stay with me for a long time to come.
There's been a few books recently with the trope of a young child gone bad, and while these have been gripping reads, The First Day Of Spring stands miles ahead in so many ways. For me, it's one of the few of these types of books where it's possible to empathise and with the child who has done such terrifying acts. Nancy Tucker writes so well and draws you in so much that you flip from being revolted one minute to then wanting to scoop up Chrissie and rescue her the next.
The book switched back and forth in timelines and perspectives and it flowed brilliantly. It gave such a good insight into the Chrissie before and after her crimes and indeed what may have caused such unthinkable actions.
There is no doubt this is a harrowing read, from the descriptions of the murder to the repetitive neglect of Chrissie by her mother but it is one of the best books I've read in quite a while and poor Chrissie will stay with me for a long time to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcohol