Description
Never has an ugly duckling turned into such a beautiful swan…
Book One in the Perennials Trilogy, Becoming Lili tells the story of an ugly duckling girl, Phyllis. Bullied viciously at school and unloved at home, Phyllis is a lonely teenager longing for so much more from life.
Suddenly, a tragedy and a random encounter with a stranger offer her to opportunity to have it all… if only she has the courage to change, to grasp the chance with both hands.
In the years that follow, her dreams of attaining friends and beauty are realised, and others join her on her journey to Becoming Lili. But then she meets Jake, and Lili finally realises that even when you seem to have it all, sometimes the one thing you want, is the one thing you just can’t have.
Becoming Lili is an epic, heart-warming tale of aspiration, love and friendship, set against the backdrop of the vibrant 1990’s, and is packed full of unforgettable characters you will instantly fall in love with.
Amazon
Karen’s Review
Phyllis was the name of my grandma and some names comes back into fashion, I doubted this one would. When I found out it was the name of the main character, I was surprised.
However, all would be revealed.
Having read Julia Blakes’s other books, shorter ones, I might add, I knew I just wanted an enjoyable story to relax with.
Phyllis becomes Lili – clever title. The lonely, ugly ducking grows up to be a swan and makes a group of eclectic friends; people who become very loyal to her because of her good heart. I enjoyed reading their stories, too.
All the things I was taught over the years about writing were thrown out of the window. You weren’t supposed to jump into different character’s heads when you have one main character. You’re also not supposed to have blocks of text telling what happened, you’re supposed to show it. So I admire the author for doing her own thing, and it worked. There was nothing wrong or confusing, just entertaining, as it should be. So the advise here is to always challenge the norm and do things your own way.
The only thing I wasn’t too keen on was the guy that Lili fell in love with, Jake. I just didn’t like him from the start. Don’t they say you can’t help who you fall in love with, but then this was Lili’s story. There were enough interesting people and liaisons for it not to matter too much..
A lot happened at once as we reached the conclusion. A few years were all crammed into a few pages. If the author pursued every storyline to its end, this book would have been even bigger. Instead she told a story, and by the time we reached the end, we knew there was more to come. That turned into Chaining Daisy, which having read this, I just have to read that too.
Becoming Lili is what I would describe as a blockbuster, and if you want to lose yourself in the pages of a good book, then look no further. This is it.
Other books I’ve reviewed from Julia Blake, who you’ll see is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.
Erinsmore
Lifesong
Fixture and Fittings
Lost and Found
Julia also has a great blog and writes frank and honest posts once a week. You can find that here.
Karen J. Mossman 
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