Very sad and quite unsettling read. You wanted to hate Chrissie for what she did but also felt sorry for her for not having a stable loving family. I enjoyed the book but don't think I could read another like it, too depressing

I really enjoyed this book. The opening sentence is so powerful that it hooks the reader from the very first page.

The characters are so well developed and it helps you to understand how and why the events of the past happened and how they have shaped the future.

I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend.

What an amazing book regarding a very difficult subject matter. Chrissie is a child killer, and now a mother herself. But somehow this book is so intelligently written that I found myself sympathetic towards Chrissie due to her terrible childhood, and I was rooting for her in her journey of motherhood. An excellent read.

I thought this book was a thriller, so I feel that it has been miss marketed. However, the story is much more than that.
The writing in this book is amazing. this book will make you cry and feel every emotion possible

A outstanding and powerful read, This book was packed with tension and emotion. One of my favourite reads ever,

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Well written and really interesting. A very difficult subject matter that was quite harrowing. Recommended.

My first book by Nancy Tucker and it was a good one. Very well written. Chrissie has a horrible childhood and the author manages to make the story seem very real.

I love a book that explores children who kill . Such an interesting premise!
I just found the pacing of this story off. It felt repetitive and disjointed and I struggled to feel fully immersed.

Even though the book didn’t fully resonate with me I’d still recommend.

This book was definitely written well and had a strong message f rehabilitation and second chances that the author pushed. It started and ended with a bang, but everything else in-between was not as absorbing as you would expect from a book about a child murdering other children. I couldn't find anything within me to feel anything for Chrissie as a child or an adult, there was a real disconnect there, and the sympathy angle didn't work didn't wash with me.

⭐️ 3 ⭐️

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC, in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I enjoyed The First Day of Spring — although I’m not sure enjoyed is the right word to use considering the dark content of the book.

I thought it was well-written and the subject matter was handled with sensitivity but at times I felt the pacing was very slow. I didn’t like the character of Chrissie at all — I’m still not really sure if we’re supposed to feel any sort of sympathy for her but her voice irritated me and I thought her parts became repetitive.

Overall, an intriguing, interesting read.

I really enjoyed this, it’s a great thriller that focuses on a girls childhood and the events / factors that lead to her murdering another child. I enjoyed the changes in narrative from past to present, I found this chilling to read but couldn’t help empathise with Chrissie due to her experiences, which is really conflicting considering what she’s done!

The point of view didn’t always read as an 8 year olds perspective but the book was so quick to read I read it in one day! The pacing was really good, but I didn’t feel there were any twists and I wasn’t overly satisfied by the ending. However, this isn’t major, I still really enjoyed the book!

I would recommend this book but please check trigger warning before reading.

This book has been published, a huge thank you to Penguin Random House for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Late to the party on this one and what a difficult book to review. As the harrowing events at the start pulled me up, I wasn’t sure I would ‘enjoy’ this book. And having finished it, enjoy is not a word to use although what else do you say about a brilliant, unique, gritty, uncomfortable, dark read?

Did it affect me? Certainly! How could it not? What I will say is that it is so cleverly written, so brilliantly brought to life, that I found myself with huge empathy for Chrissie. Whilst there is never an excuse for what happened, my goodness did I begin to see and understand her troubled, reactive world.

This book is an incredible read, no holds barred! It is descriptive, unnerving, frustrating, but above all relatable! I found myself with so many ‘If only……’ moments. The subject matter is tough (child murder, child neglect and grief) and Nancy Tucker is a very skilled writer, portraying her observations, and raising compassions, of massively tough lives. Incredible, totally brilliant!

My first book by this author, and it was completely different to what I expected. I thought it would be more of a light-hearted read than it was, but it was actually quite a dark, serious and tense story. For me, it began a little slow, and the first few chapters took a bit to get through. It did however capture me as we got to find out more about Chrissie, and by the end I was hooked! Told from the perspective of Chrissie as a child and then grown up with her own daughter, Chrissie's story as a child was shocking, and quite upsetting to be honest. As an adult, I felt quite sorry for her, and if you didn't know her back story, I would have been cheering her on for a better break in life.

The storyline was riveting and held my attention more and more as the story moved on. It can be quite a disturbing read at times, so be aware there may be some trigger points. The story will certainly stay with you well after you have finished the book.

An emotional rollercoaster, that’s the only way to describe this book. When I started to read this I was unsure if I could get past the first chapter, but I stuck with it and then found I couldn’t put it down.
Chrissie is a heartbreakingly damaged little girl, she’s eight years old and has just killed her friends little two year old brother. What follows is a disturbing story that tells us how this child got to carry out such a heinous crime.
Fast forward twenty years and we meet Julia previously known as Chrissie.
Nancy Tucker very cleverly writes a dual timeline to convey the horrors that this murder had on both the community and the young girl who committed this terrible crime.
This is a well crafted story, horrific and heart wrenching mostly, but with light at the end of the tunnel it asks the question, are people born bad or can they change ?
Many thanks to #NetGalley for my copy of this book.
I would give this book 4⭐️

Description 🔖

Chrissie is eight years old and she has a secret: she has just killed a boy. The feeling of it made her belly fizz like soda pop. Across her neighborhood, Chrissie’s playmates and their parents are tearful and terrified. But Chrissie rules the roost – she’s the best at wall-walking, she knows how to get free candy, and now she has a secret, thrilling power she doesn’t get to experience much at home, where food is scarce and attention scarcer.

Twenty years later, adult Chrissie is living in hiding under a changed name. A single mother now, she cares deeply for her own young daughter, which is why she’s so terrified when it appears that people are looking for them. The past is coming to catch up with Chrissie and she fears losing her child, the only thing she cares about.

General Thoughts 🤔

Well it’s an understatement to say that this book took me by complete surprise. The cover and title of the book made me think that I was in for a reasonably easy going read but dramatic at the same time. What I ended up getting into was a very tense book that was emotionally draining and had me holding my breath through the majority of it.

One thing in particular that I enjoyed about this book was that despite the dark subject matter and the insanity of the situation, there was still humour. Young Chrissie was unknowingly, a comedy genius.

Characters 👫👭👬

Young Chrissie was the character that broke my heart the most. She had so much personality and so much sass that if she had had caring and loving parents, she could have had an amazing childhood and I’m sure she would have been fantastic in school. Instead, Chrissie wasn’t supported at home, wasn’t loved and wasn’t cared for so her sassiness manifested in some negative behaviours. That said, she was hilarious and her snappy one liners did have me howling.

Older Chrissie carried all of the scars from her childhood and severely lacked self confidence. I spent a lot of time wishing I could tell her that she was a fantastic mother and that she was doing a good job. I suspect that it wouldn’t have made much difference though and that Chrissie would unfortunately spend her entire life doubting herself and looking over her shoulder.

Writing Style ✍️

This book was dark and there were moments that definitely had me shocked but it was clear to me that the author didn’t write this purely for shock value. I liked this as some books with dark content do feel that way and the message can get lost. In contrast, I think Nancy Tucker was brutally honest in her writing and I got that impression from the way she entwined standard everyday events with the horrendous ones in such a simple way. For me, this was reflective of real life. Not everything is 100% doom and gloom 100% of the time and this came through in the writing.

I loved that this book was split between young Chrissie and older Chrissie and I was able to see how what had happened in her childhood was impacting her adult life chapter by chapter. Ending the story from the perspective of Chrissie’s daughter was a lovely finishing touch.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

I loved this book. It was brutally honest and scarily dark but written beautifully. Every chapter had me more gripped and I was hooked on following these characters through their heartbreakingly devastating lives. A fantastic psychological drama that I am kicking myself for shelving for so long. I wholeheartedly recommend this one.

The book was loosely based on the real life killings of Mary Bell, but done in such a way of giving the reader another type of perspective to the real life story. Made for a good read, disturbing and solid.

I wish I’d read this sooner. Thank you Randsom House and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
This was a harrowing read at times, but well written and sympathetic.
I would recommend

I tried really hard to read this book but it just didn't grip me & quite frankly the subject matter repulsed me

This book is dark and wonderfully written. I was hooked from the first time. I would highly recommend read but make sure you go into it knowing what you are going to experience; authentic, disturbing and unforgettable