Review: Book makes readers think about dying in a new way
Associated Press | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 years, 6 months AGO
“Daisy Cooper's Rules for Living,” HarperCollins, by Tamsin Keily
Due to a clerical error made by Death himself, 23-year-old Daisy Cooper dies decades before she is scheduled to do so.
Daisy becomes trapped in limbo, unable to fully move on to the land of the dead, but also unable to fully return to the living. So she begins working as Death’s assistant while they figure out if there’s any way for her to return home, rejoin the loved ones she so desperately misses and finish out what was supposed to be for the rest of her life.
As Death and Daisy work together to get Daisy home, they begin to form a unique bond that makes Daisy start to question which world she really belongs to.
Tamsin Keily’s “Daisy Cooper's Rules for Living” has some beautiful moments, and at times makes readers think about living and dying in a new way. Nevertheless, it was difficult to become completely absorbed in the universe that Keily created. The world of the afterlife felt half-formed, with the rules and order of things not fully fleshed out. Readers don’t learn enough about the system, how Death came to be, or why he appears in human form, which makes his humanlike emotions - and thus the relationship he forms with Daisy - perplexing. As such, the ending felt disappointing, with not enough questions answered.
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