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A review by annachalf
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
4.0
*[Spoiler-light, includes feelings from throughout book but no true spoilers]* For me, the first half of this book was pretty slow in the build up - felt like it was flipping back and forth from Lydia's 'Awake' and 'Asleep' lives a little too quickly for you to have much of buy in for the characters and storyline. However almost exactly halfway through, you start to get some bigger moments and gain insight into the important players, along with understanding the ripple effect and impact of a loss in many aspects - you also see Lydia begin to grow and gain a better perspective on the two alternative realities she's experiencing, all of which really saved this book for me.
I loved the way this book wrapped up as well - felt well thought out, more realistic (within this genre), and beautiful in how the author chose to express healing and moving forward. The second half of this story did such a nice job of acknowledging how there's nothing wrong with the life imagined, but when an unfortunate event occurs, the impact can totally change everything and forge someone down a different path of life. This other version isn't just missing the 'one' piece you lost, but also creating new strengths, skills, and wishes along the way - which can be empowering, beautiful in itself, and does not necessarily have to feel like just an accepted version or 'second best'. I really loved reading along and watching Lydia discover that for herself.
Looking back, it almost makes sense why the first half was so surface level as Lydia kind of went through the motions more immediately post-loss. Still would have loved a few more details or background woven in at that point, but overall very much enjoyed this story.
I loved the way this book wrapped up as well - felt well thought out, more realistic (within this genre), and beautiful in how the author chose to express healing and moving forward. The second half of this story did such a nice job of acknowledging how there's nothing wrong with the life imagined, but when an unfortunate event occurs, the impact can totally change everything and forge someone down a different path of life. This other version isn't just missing the 'one' piece you lost, but also creating new strengths, skills, and wishes along the way - which can be empowering, beautiful in itself, and does not necessarily have to feel like just an accepted version or 'second best'. I really loved reading along and watching Lydia discover that for herself.
Looking back, it almost makes sense why the first half was so surface level as Lydia kind of went through the motions more immediately post-loss. Still would have loved a few more details or background woven in at that point, but overall very much enjoyed this story.