December Book Club

I’ve been going back and forth so much on a choice for the December book club. December being such a busy time I think that this book choice will also be the January book club too. I think it would be lovely to review/discuss end of January, so there is plenty of time to read with a mince pie or two. Or you could pick it up in the new year.

It was between Grady Hendrix’s How to sell a haunted house and Sunburn. Although I thought it could be fun to read a little bit of horror fiction but I just gravitated towards Howarth’s Sunburn.

As always I really hope you can read along and let me know how you’ve found the book!

A bit about the book -

It's the early 1990s, and in the Irish village of Crossmore, Lucy feels out of place. Despite her fierce friendships, she's always felt this way, and the conventional path of marriage and motherhood doesn't appeal to her at all. Not even with handsome and doting Martin, her closest childhood friend.

Lucy begins to make sense of herself during a long hot summer, when a spark with her school friend Susannah escalates to an all-consuming infatuation, and, very quickly, to a desperate and devastating love.

Fearful of rejection from her small and conservative community, Lucy begins living a double life, hiding the most honest parts of herself in stolen moments with Susannah.

But with the end of school and the opportunity to leave Crossmore looming, Lucy must choose between two places, two people and two futures, each as terrifying as the other. But only one can offer her real happiness.

Sunburn is an astute and tender portrayal of first love, adolescent anxiety and the realities of growing up in a small town where tradition holds people tightly in its grasp.

A bit about the author -

Chloe Michelle Howarth is an Irish writer. She grew up in the West Cork countryside, and the landscapes, culture, and people of rural Ireland have served as an inspiration for her writing.

She first became interested in literature as a teenager, and in 2015, she moved to Dublin to study English, Media, and Cultural Studies in IADT Dun Laoghaire. During her time in college, she developed her love of writing, as well as performing and traveling. Chloe currently lives in Brighton.

Chloe’s novel, Sunburn, was shortlisted for the inaugural Nero Book Awards in the Debut Fiction category.

Pages in book - 288

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