Humbled and Honored: Book Review for The Nightingale and The Sunflower From Readers Favorite

Reviewed by Melanie Kennedy for Readers’ Favorite

The Nightingale and The Sunflower is a short story by Suzy Davies and follows a family in Ukraine as they try to live their lives during the Ukraine-Russia War. Mom, Dad, and their three girls have to flee their home and move far away as their country is plunged deeper and deeper into conflict. A chance encounter with a soldier delivers sunflower seeds to Daniela. As they carry on their journey and meet other refugees, the sunflower seeds symbolize hope for the parents and children, displaced and missing their homes. Planting, tending to, and building structures for the sunflowers to grow and flourish brings the children and adults together in the little community. Together they paint an exceptional mural of a nightingale, celebrating its powerful and beautiful song and the effervescent colors of the mural become a beacon of hope in trying times.

Suzy Davies writes an extraordinarily hopeful and promising story for the people of Ukraine. The message in The Nightingale and The Sunflower is one of love and expectation. There is hope that the world will be a better place and that we can all build a better world for ourselves and future generations. The story transcends the Ukraine-Russia War and can be applied to any struggle humankind faces at this time. I cannot imagine what Ukrainians must be going through at this time, but I wish and pray that they can find even the smallest hope in their daily lives and be as brave and confident in a brighter future as Daniela is, thanks to the image of the nightingale and the sunshine from the growing sunflowers.