What do readers think of Dandelion Is Dead by Rosie Storey? Write your own review.

In looking at the title, I wasn't sure it was about a person or a plant. However, when I realized it was about a sister relationship and facing aftermath of ones passing, I couldn't wait to read. The younger sister's coping mechanism was certainly an interesting one. One that eventually did cause more confusion. I really liked the book and its conclusion.

I really liked this book and enjoyed the main character's personality and portrayal of her sister. The MC was able to work thru a lot of her grief with those "other person" moments but ultimately, it took a cascade of events in her life to really effect lasting changes. I won't elaborate for fear of spoiling anything for readers.

I loved this book! It had just the right amount of love, humor, mystery, and chaos to keep me turning the pages to see what came next . I enjoyed every character and it was so fun to see how each one evolved during the story .. so sad when this one ended .. could have followed these characters for several more chapters :).

Dandelion is Dead is a fun, cute and emotional ride of a story. I really enjoyed the story. The plot was interesting, the characters were excellent and realistic. It made me want to keep reading. I am looking forward to reading more from Rosie Storey. The pages flew by as I read more and more. It totally captured my attention.

This will make a wonderful selection for book clubs, especially Women's fiction, General Fiction and Romance. A 5 star read for me. I highly recommend reading this book.

Dandelion and Poppy are two sisters, both beautiful and talented—Dandelion is the fearless and adventurous older sister who lived life to the fullest. "Dandelion is Dead" follows life after Dandelion's death. The book's title could have been "Dandelion is Alive" especially in Poppy's life. Poppy gravitated to spending time in Dandelion's apartment, wore her clothes and even started using Dandelion's phone. Poppy finds a dating app on Dandelion's phone with an unanswered message from a possible match. The two sisters look enough alike that Poppy could pass for Dandelion-so we are off with a specious relationship plus a real steady boyfriend. The book presents a novel take on grief and charts Poppy's course toward building her own self-image with an interesting group of characters and situations with a comic twist. The book keeps you turning pages to see how the situations turn out.

At first, I found the characters shallow, but I was wrong. It did not take too many pages to realize these complex human beings would take me on the roller coaster of a few months of their lives. So many life events scar and break us and the author reveals life events common to so many of us that have wounded her characters. As a reader sometimes I wanted to reach into the book and hug the characters, sometimes shake them, but always cared about and hoped for them. When an author is able to create that for this reader, it's the best a story can do.

This was an I interesting premise. I liked Jake and just wanted Poppy to be honest. I think every character in this story needed therapy. Overall, I stayed engaged with the book and overall, thought it was good.

Author Rosie Storey holds a Master’s degree in creative writing and works as a writing coach. Around 2018, she left her corporate career “and trotted into the darkness, naively believing I was about to become a novelist. I went on to write nine drafts of a book that would never be published.” When she finally let that book go, Dandelion Is Dead “opened up in my mind like a wildflower.”

Dandelion Is Dead is a unique, imaginative, and contemporary story about surviving loss, grieving, and again finding happiness in a world that a loved one will never inhabit again. It is also an exploration of the complicated relationship of two sisters with vastly different, distinct personalities.

Storey has crafted a charming, deeply touching story populated with flawed, empathetic — if not always likable — and believable characters The conclusion may be foreseeable from the very first page, but discovering how Storey steers her characters toward it is a captivating and enjoyable experience.

Dandelion has been dead for two hundred and thirty-one days. A hedge fund manager by age thirty-five, she left her London flat to Poppy, her younger sister. So far, Poppy has locked the door of the bedroom that was Dandelion’s and contemplated getting the flat ready to rent. But she’s really not ready to do that yet, as evidenced by the fact that she spends time there by herself, frequently carrying on conversations with the departed Dandelion. At thirty-seven, she is a successful photographer and has been in a relationship with Sam for five years. She anticipates an engagement soon, although Sam has not yet proposed. He is apparently waiting until after the first anniversary of Dandelion’s unexpected and devastating death.

When Poppy’s cell phone is destroyed, she goes in search of Dandelion’s which has never been restored to its factory settings. All of Dandelion’s texts, photos, and apps are as she left them and Poppy begins perusing them for the first time, her “grief . . . a starvation.” Looking through the dating app Dandelion used, Poppy realizes that “her sister lied a lot, which was no surprise.” She finds a message that was sent to Dandelion by Jake more than a year ago. Dandelion never responded. Jake wrote, in part, “I can feel your heat.” Jake’s photos are unusual. In one, he is seen playing with his three-year-old son. She feels Dandelion nudging her and before she knows it, she is replying to Jake as Dandelion, rather than herself, concluding the message with “I’m back.”

Jake and Poppy, posing as Dandelion, agree to meet. She tells herself it will be a one-time occurrence — “an escapade” on what would have been Dandelion’s fortieth birthday. Of course, they are attracted to each other – there is “undeniably a vibe.” But Poppy is playing the role of Dandelion, adopting her style and personality, which causes her to wonder which sister Jake is really attracted to. And Poppy knows she can’t continue the charade. It isn’t fair to Jake, Sam . . . or her. She isn’t Dandelion and never will be. All her life she has felt as though she lived in Dandelion’s exceedingly long shadow – less confident, less mischievous, less successful, less vivacious, less desirable. And Dandelion did not like Sam, finding him “snide and basic,” which was a source of conflict in their relationship.

At forty, Jake is divorced and living in a flat that can generously be described as modest, even though he could afford a nicer home. His ex-wife, Zoe, lives with their son, Billy, to whom Jake is completely devoted, in the house they once shared as a family. He carries the guilt and remorse of being responsible for the failure of his marriage, and is lonely. “I certainly failed at being the man I hoped to be,” he admits. After just that one date with Poppy, Jake is enchanted.

As the “will they or won’t they” story proceeds, Storey examines the demons that complicate Jake and Poppy’s ability to fully commit to nurturing, honest relationships. In addition to being disappointed in his own behavior, Jake is still dealing with childhood trauma. He was abandoned by both of his parents for different reasons and under vastly different circumstances. He believes he has forgiven his father, and they have reestablished their relationship, largely because his father dotes on and adores Billy and being a grandfather. But Jakes’s complicated, tangled emotions fuel his outward ambivalence and inner still-simmering anger and resentment toward his lascivious father.

Poppy met Sam when she was photographing a wedding and they fell into a relationship quickly and easily. He was “sure of himself” and Poppy found it “easy to go along with him,” so she “let him carry her over his shoulder into a relationship.” Poppy has, until recently, let Sam make all the decisions, letting him have his way, believing “she wanted his way, too.” Within their relationship, Jake is “the patriarchy,” a fact Poppy has recognized and begun railing against, angering Sam and initiating arguments.

Storey illustrates how an unexpected life change – in Poppy’s case, Dandelion’s death, and for Jake, the dissolution of his marriage and family life – destroys equilibrium and calls core beliefs into question, inspire reevaluation of choices made up to that point. Storey’s compassionate depiction of her characters makes their journeys captivating and relatable. They are both adrift. The foundations of their lives have been ripped away from them, and they are both searching for a new normalcy that will bring them happiness and satisfaction.

Poppy impetuously responded to Jake’s message, not realizing that by doing so she would hurl herself further into an abyss of grief, mourning, longing, and having to confront the sad truth about her relationship and future with Sam. Can she summon the strength to finally step out of Dandelion’s shadow, strive for what she really wants, and be herself, unapologetically? Jake continues to flounder and make unfortunate choices that jeopardize any shot he might have at a future with Poppy.

Storey says, “Don’t let the title of my debut novel fool you – Dandelion is Dead is a story about life. Although I wasn’t going to be able to give Poppy back her sister, I could show her that she could still be surprised by the heat and humor of her own life.” And despite all of the entertaining back-and-forth, on and off-again, dishonesty, and emotional upheaval her characters endure, Storey manages to do just that through crisp, sometimes hilarious dialogue and a perfectly paced narrative. Every character is fully developed and vividly authentic, and brings dimension and depth to the story. That is especially true of Jetta, Dandelion and Poppy’s best friend. Poppy was mystified by the last disagreement Jetta and Dandelion had. It was particularly and uncharacteristically venomous. Through a surprising plot twist, Storey reveals the depth of Dandelion’s devotion to her sister, and demonstrates how uncomfortable and painful a test of true friendship can be.

Ultimately, Jake and Poppy learn a great deal about forgiveness, reconciling the past in order to move forward, and standing in one’s power. Dandelion Is Dead is an accomplished and poignant debut in which Storey relates an achingly sad story about two people whose lives have been transformed by tragedy and mistakes who manage to find each other . . . along with hope and love. Dandelion Is Dead is an engrossing and memorable reminder that, as Storey notes, “Love doesn’t end with life.”