#BlogTour – #BookReview of One Hundred And Fifty-Two Days by Giles Paley-Phillips @eliistender10 @annecater @unbounders #152Days #RandomThingsTours

I’m delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for the beautiful and lyrical One Hundred And Fifty-Two Days by Giles Paley-Phillips. Thank you to Anne Cater and Unbound for giving me the opportunity to read and review this stunning and poignant book.

About the book:

He will be allowed to visit his mother soon.

His mother who is terminally ill, his mother who he has been barred from seeing as he recovers from his own bout of pneumonia.

Until then, with the help of his physiotherapist Freya, he must navigate his increasingly empty and isolated existence: his father, who finds solace in the bottom of a glass; his Nana Q, whose betting-slip confetti litters her handbag; his friends, who simply wouldn’t understand.

Time passes with the promise of soon, but one hundred and fifty-two days later the boy will come face to face with his grief, and move beyond to a world full of possibility, hope and love.

About the author:

Giles Paley-Phillips, is the Award-Winning Author of The Fearsome Beastie, winner of The People’s Book Prize 2012, Heart of Hawick Children’s Book Award 2013, Bizziebaby Gold Award, The US Forward National Literary Award and Shortlisted for The Rotherham Children’s Book Award 2012 Tamara Small and the Monsters’ Ball is shortlisted for The People’s Book Prize 2013.

He has written several picture books, including Things You Never Knew About Dinosaurs, Princess Stay Awake and a collection of nonsense poetry.

Giles’ first novel for adults One Hundred and Fifty-Two Days come out in March 2020.

Giles’ is co-host and producer of the award-nominated Blank Podcast and regularly writes for Aquila Magazine.

Giles lives with his wife and two sons in East Sussex

Follow Giles on twitter @eliistender10

My Review:

One Hundred And Fifty-Two Days by Giles Paley-Phillips is a small but powerful book that packs an emotional punch to the gut with its beautiful, lyrical and heartfelt words. A short book it may be, but its message will resonate with so many of us who have experienced profound grief and loss in our lives.

One Hundred And Fifty-Two Days is the brutally honest and raw account of a teenage boy who is trying to come to terms with the imminent loss of his mother to a terminal illness. Unable to see her because of his own battle with a bout of pneumonia, the boy feels increasingly isolated as his father crumbles under the pressure and his Nana Q is unable to offer him the solace he needs. With the help of his physiotherapist, Freya, the unnamed narrator must navigate a sad and lonely world, with the promise of ‘soon’ his only comfort as the days since he last saw his mother turn into passing weeks and months.

Drawing on his own personal experiences, Giles Paley-Phillips has written a beautifully profound and memorable book that will see the boy slowly begin to come to terms with his grief and loss, until one day he feels strong enough to be able to move forward into a life full of hope and possibility.

Written in a beautifully poetic style, the lyrical beauty of the author’s words spoke to me on a very personal level. In what could have been a very bleak account of grief and loss, he has somehow managed to strike a balance that leaves you with an overwhelming feeling of hope as you turn the final page.

Moving, poignant and emotionally satisfying, One Hundred And Fifty-Two Days gives a heartfelt insight into one young boy’s experience of loss, grief and hope. A stunning read that will stay with me for a long time to come.

An exceptional read that I would highly recommend.

One Hundred And Fifty-Two Days by Giles Paley-Phillips is available to buy now: Amazon UK

Check out what these other lovely bloggers have to say about this book: