Sunflowers in February is a very moving, and funny celebration of life. When Lily wakes up on the side of the road in the early hours of the morning, she knows instantly that something is wrong. Then she sees her body lying in the mud and realises that she is dead. But how can she be when she is there talking to the police, who are also looking at her dead body. Then she realises that they, of course, can’t see or hear her. Neither can her parents or her twin brother when Lily goes with the police to break the news of her death. As time goes by and Lily finds herself unable to ‘pass over’ she is pulled from one grieving person to another depending on who is mourning her most at the time. As she is pulled between her family and friends, Lily is saddened by the impact her death has had on those closest to her; they are all struggling to come to terms with their loss, not least because the person responsible has not come forward. Then, as Lily is sitting with her brother as he sleeps one night, she makes contact with him, and she is given a second chance at life. This is also her chance to find out what unfinished business is stopping her from moving on. Be warned, reading Sunflowers in February will make you cry. It is definitely not one to read on public transport! I always enjoy books from a different perspective, and the POV of a dead person is as different as you can get. I was expecting this book to be very similar to the excellent Lovely Bones (the book of course, not the film); however, this has much more humour. Despite the subject matter, there were sections of the book that made me laugh out loud (no plot spoilers!). Predominantly though Sunflowers tackles a sensitive subject – the death of a child/sibling/friend - and I empathised with a whole range of emotions while reading it: Lily’s confusion of what has happened; the intense feelings of loss and sadness of her friends and family; their anger at the needless loss of a young life; Lily’s anger when she discovers that the person responsible for her death has no intentions of owning up; and her dismay when she realises that her family are ready to start moving on without her. The whole book was a joy to read, but the final chapters stand out for their sensitivity. As Lily gets closer to her time to move on the delicacy in which her love, understanding and forgiveness is expressed is exquisite. The term ‘life affirming’ usually grates on me, but this book did really make me appreciate my life and especially the lives of those close to me.