Lilac in Winter

by Susan Pogorzelski

Lilac Sophia Carpenter is sixteen years old. She’s going to be sixteen years old for the rest of her life.

Confined to her bed as her health declines, Lilac lives her life in daydreams, imagining her love story to her former best friend, Nathan Emery. But Lilac and Nathan haven’t talked since that fateful night—the night of her sister’s wedding, when her health worsened and his life unraveled and the already-fractured pieces of their friendship became irreparable.

With the comfort of her daydreams becoming more and more elusive, Lilac must decide if reality can be greater than her own imagination when there’s little time left for living.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Young Adult, Ebooks

193 pages, ebook

Published March 26, 2019

About the author

Susan Pogorzelski is the award-winning author of Gold in the Days of Summer and The Last Letter. When she's not writing novels of nostalgia and the magic of everyday life, she works as a consultant and editor at Brown Beagle Books, is an intuitive energy practitioner at Susan Dawn Spiritual Connections, and is the founder of LymeBrave Foundation. She lives in South-Central Pennsylvania with her beloved family and pets.

Reviews

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well written, sobbed like a new born, why the fuck did I read this and this should be classed as self harm. Ciao

[Anne Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a giveaway and had to read it immediately and read it in one sitting. This was a really good book in getting to know who Lilac is and her story and of course Nathan. It was touching and special. The one thing that I would say about this, is that it was sometimes hard to tell who was narrating the chapter until you got a little further in.

[Marie Girulat · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautifully written story. I don’t know who recommended this book, but I loved it!!! The story is heartbreaking, and I felt so many emotions as I read Lilac’s story.

“Lilac Sophia Carpenter is sixteen years old. She is going to be sixteen years old for the rest of her life.”

Lilac is dying and daydreams of her future life, college, career, marriage, and the love story she has with her best friend, Nathan. They have been friends since they were six, until the fateful night that Nathan’s home life unravels, and he finally understands how sick Lilac is.

This story was beautiful. The author interspersed Lilac’s daydreams of how life would be should she live with her friendship with Nathan over ten years. The life changing things these two tenneagers went through were heartbreaking.

I read this book in less than one day. I would highly recommend this book if you are looking for a unique story.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

NOTE: I received this book from a GoodReads giveaway. I read the entire book in order to give my honest opinion. My review follows.

I did not like this book. I found it too sappy and too long. The daydreams were too confusing through most of the book. I was thinking that the protagonist was travelling in time instead of daydreaming! I also don’t like the vulgar language in this book. I’m really tired of authors resorting to vulgar language to show that characters are angry about certain situations. There are other descriptive ways that you can get that point across. I would not recommend this book to others.

[Willa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good YA book. Finishing it at work (lunch? break? - of course!) probably wasn't a good idea though. Good thing we didn't have clients walking in or calling. Good thing the supervisor wasn't there. I couldn't stop the tears. This is a story about a 16 year old coming to terms with love and death, broken and healed relationships.

[Kimberly Diez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway. I enjoyed the story, although I found it to be somewhat anticlimactic. It felt like there was a huge buildup to the event that ended their friendship, and once the cause was finally revealed, it was not nearly as dramatic as I had imagined. Nevertheless, it was a quick, easy, and enjoyable read.

[Julie Kleckner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad but meaningful

It was a little confusing going back and forth, trying to figure out what is real and what was a dream. I did get a lot of meaning out of the book however. Story told from a different perspective, which really makes you think.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️ A beautiful book about being sick and how it affects your relationships. I loved the complexity of the emotions in this book. Would have liked less of the daydreaming, it got a little confusing.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great read! Great characters and story. Loved it!!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and read it in one sitting. Such a beautiful story. Make sure you have some tissues handy though.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good storyline and read

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fast read. I really enjoyed it

[Stephanie Lau · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sad story

[Hesper Budge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from Goodreads. It has a melancholy but thoughtful vibe, heavy on the daydreaming as a coping mechanism, that I really quite appreciate.

[Katherine Paschal · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Review can be found at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/ **

Lilac spends her time day dreaming her life at different ages, ages she will never be since she will not live past age 16. In her dreams she imagines hardships and happiness equally, but the one constant is that she always imagines her ex-best friend Nathan by her side. But Nathan and she have not been friends for years, one event ruined their friendship in a way that could not be fixed. And while Lilac fights a losing battle for more time, Nathan struggles with the unraveling of his family.

I am still not 100% sure what the plot of the book was but I am sure of the way it made me feel. I spent a good chunk of the second half of the story ugly crying over what I was reading but I could not stop reading. There was a big message of acceptance and forgiveness that ran under everything else, but there was no real plot-plot, just sad grief over the loss of a life (for unknown reasons) of a teen girl who dreams so much bigger than her opportunities allow for. I found it interesting how we never knew what Lilac suffered from, yet Susan was able to make the reader suffer and empathize right along with Lilac- her feelings became my feelings. I was sucked into the story, reading it in one sitting, it was a really fast read even while it was hard subject matter.

I loved how while Lilac is making up her elaborate fantasy stories she would drop a tidbit of real life along the way so the reader had to pay attention and put together the puzzles pieces of what was really happening between her family members and her relationship with Nathan. At first I thought there was nothing real life in them and started to realize that she had so many truths buried in her tales. I will say it completely broke my heart when she imagined herself as an old woman and how much she looked forward to the wrinkles and the creaking bones that only age gives- that she will never experience. Excuse me while I go sniffle in the corner...

I am such a sucker for "sick books" as my friends like to call them and this is a prime example of one. The story was equally compelling and heart-wrenching, and I highly recommend that you make sure you have some tissues near by- you will need them!(and maybe don't read the second half of the book in public, it might get messy.) I can't wait to pick up another tear jerker from Susan in the future.
I reviewed a complementary copy of this title.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness. This book was beautifully written and one you just couldn't put down. I cried through it (thanks so much for the headache!) but again could not walk away from it. I just won this today and finished it today. It tells of a 16 year old girl named Lilac with a terminal illness telling her story of her relationship with her friend Nathan since they were 6 yrs old. They share a bond that even was broken for some years is strong enough to come back strong. Ms Pogorzelski sure can write a book. What a talented lady. Read it and you'll know why I say that.

[Jennifer Rhines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superbly written storyline filled with immensely imagination and descriptive details.
This book definitely tugs at the heartstrings.
I found it full of profound meaning and can personally relate to it.
I highly recommend Lilac in Winter as a great read for anyone and everyone.
It captures the essence of life.