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A review by angelahayes
If We Had No Winter by D.L. Pitchford
4.0
4 Stars
If We Had No Winter is the first book in the Billie Dixon series and debut novel by D.L. Pitchford. It is a college romance, coming of age, new adult story that explores the issues that are part of early adulthood and college life.
Wilhemina (Billie) Dixon is an insecure, introverted, artistic, and mathematically minded first year college student. She is a little overwhelmed with adulthood and college life. She has unresolved issues with her absentee father, and her parents divorce. So, attending college where her father works is an added stress for her. Billie is somewhat closed herself off from people as a way to avoid being hurt, or dealing with feelings. She tutors maths as a way of helping make ends meet, and the guy she’s been tutoring develops a crush on her. Her best friend lives next door, which is great- but his roommate is hard to deal with. Billie thought she had everything planned out, but life had other ideas. This story explores how life happens and sometimes the best laid plans go awry. Billie learns about mistakes and consequences. About love, relationships and friendship. And, about herself.
The story is told from a first-person perspective, Billies- so we see the story through her eyes. We get front row seat to her inner dialogue and this gives us an insight into her as a person. I found it hard to like Billie to begin with, I wanted to know more about her- her back story, family situation etc. The story was also a little slow to get going, while the author laid the foundations to the story- so that may have also played a part in me taking a while to invest in Billie and her story.
The characters are authentic, complex, believable and over-all, likeable. They are the real gems in this story. I also appreciated the character growth and development that occurred over the course of the story.
I loved how the author used ‘winter’ as a metaphor for adversity. Quite clever. I was left with questions at the end, which I hope will be addressed in the next book.
An enjoyable, honest, slightly sarcastic, and interesting story from this debut author.
Thank-you, Ms. Pitchford!
If We Had No Winter is the first book in the Billie Dixon series and debut novel by D.L. Pitchford. It is a college romance, coming of age, new adult story that explores the issues that are part of early adulthood and college life.
Wilhemina (Billie) Dixon is an insecure, introverted, artistic, and mathematically minded first year college student. She is a little overwhelmed with adulthood and college life. She has unresolved issues with her absentee father, and her parents divorce. So, attending college where her father works is an added stress for her. Billie is somewhat closed herself off from people as a way to avoid being hurt, or dealing with feelings. She tutors maths as a way of helping make ends meet, and the guy she’s been tutoring develops a crush on her. Her best friend lives next door, which is great- but his roommate is hard to deal with. Billie thought she had everything planned out, but life had other ideas. This story explores how life happens and sometimes the best laid plans go awry. Billie learns about mistakes and consequences. About love, relationships and friendship. And, about herself.
The story is told from a first-person perspective, Billies- so we see the story through her eyes. We get front row seat to her inner dialogue and this gives us an insight into her as a person. I found it hard to like Billie to begin with, I wanted to know more about her- her back story, family situation etc. The story was also a little slow to get going, while the author laid the foundations to the story- so that may have also played a part in me taking a while to invest in Billie and her story.
The characters are authentic, complex, believable and over-all, likeable. They are the real gems in this story. I also appreciated the character growth and development that occurred over the course of the story.
I loved how the author used ‘winter’ as a metaphor for adversity. Quite clever. I was left with questions at the end, which I hope will be addressed in the next book.
An enjoyable, honest, slightly sarcastic, and interesting story from this debut author.
Thank-you, Ms. Pitchford!