Barbara T

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.

The Original's plot is well-done. The events keep you guessing if the long lost Charles (son and heir) is the original or an imposter. We follow the plot through cousin Grace who exists as an almost invisible part of the estate household. Grace's one secret talent is copying famous paintings and finding ways to make money in the counterfeit painting industry. The book does a good job of developing Grace's character as she deals with Charles, life, and art. We learn a lot about the seamy side of the 1890's era and the quest for money and financial stability.