Yesterday's Sun

by Amanda Brooke

Reviewed by Coral

Moving to a quiet English countryside was meant to be the beginning of their life together for Holly and Tom. While Tom has dreams of raising a family in their new home, Holly’s difficult childhood makes it hard for her to picture herself as a mother.

When Holly discovers a moondial while cleaning their new garden, it offers her a devastating glimpse into her future: Tom, with the baby daughter he’s always dreamed of, mourning the loss of Holly during childbirth.

As she learns about the moondial and the horrible cost it asks, Holly will be forced to choose: her life or her daughter’s?

I wish this book had been longer, because I feel like it was a concept that needed to be explored more. I especially wanted to know more about what happened after the epilogue.

I know that Holly is the story’s main character, but I wished that Tom would have spent more time as part of the story, instead of away for work all of the time.

I also don’t like the often trotted out cliché that every women needs to be a mother and that everyone always tries to downplay a woman’s desire not to be a mother with “it will be different when it’s you and your kids”. I guess the author chose to make Holly someone who wasn’t sure if she wanted kids so that we would spend more time wondering what her choice would be.

 Grade: B