A review by grace_paz
Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth

emotional inspiring relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

OH HOW THIS DESTROYED ME

What a beautiful piece of literature this was. So emotional and compelling. So simple but passionate. The sweetest, plainest moments are transformed into raw and heartfelt images that are dashed across the page in bursts of red and orange hues. But it didn’t feel over emphatic which is something that can be a concern. It’s a perfect balance of fervour and simplicity that tie together. 

“It makes perfect sense to want to be inside her mouth, to be torn to pieces by her…” 

Our narrator, Lucy, is lost in obsession and this is clear throughout. All you want for her is happiness and yet she is self-sacrificing. And rightfully so, she’s a young adult. But there isn’t a hatred for her at all like in so much literature where the narrator is innocent and making mistakes. You pity her, you can understand the choices she makes, the decisions, the moments where she says something or does something questionable.  

“It might be beautiful to look at, but it is abysmal to exist in; a sweet, sad dream. And while I think of a million places that I would rather be, I fear that I will never have the nerve to leave.”

You feel so strongly for this person who is bursting with love and passion and is forced, by others around her and at times herself, to push those feeling down. 

Set in the lonely but peaceful countryside, I found I related a lot to how Lucy felt, especially when I was her age. Her fear to truly leave home and in turn, Savannah, is so heartbreaking. She is constantly drawn back to this place and person of familiarity and comfort, even though both aspects are strenuous and complicated. 

“‘I used to stare at your mouth so much.’
I tell her. She puts her arms around my neck. 
‘You should have said. I’m always staring at you.’”

The longing in this novel is so visceral. You are wholly encapsulated in Lucy’s obsession and love for Savannah. It is so innocent and endearing to read as someone who has also experienced the love of and for another woman. There are parts that simply made me cry over the yearning and then the fall into intense love that sapphic couples share. 

The ending is so aggravating but also I understand why it is done, Lucy and, us as readers, are left with a tale unfinished and untold, forever stuck unknowing whether the two young lovers work it all out. 
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