Book Review: The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

I don't normally do book reviews for every single book that I read only notable ones or if I feel a very close connection to it. I just finished this book a few days ago and wanted to do a book review on this because it's relatable in a lot of ways to my own experiences in life. When I read the synopsis to this book before it came out, it broke my heart in at least three different ways. I have been in Lydia’s situation more than once and I had no way out of that loss and grief to this day to a certain extent. 

A quick little summary on this book for you guys spoiler free. Lydia and Freddie have been in love since high and church bells are on the way when suddenly Freddie dies in a terrible traffic accident and she doesn’t know how to cope with it. A doctor prescribes her some sleeping pill that allows her to go to a universe that runs parallel with her real one in which Freddie is alive. 

Josie Silver does an amazing job in the portrayal of love and loss in this book. I have yet to read her first book but this book twisted my heart on every single page. It was so beautifully painted like a classic painting with every single word. I felt pulled right into Lydia’s shoes and reminded of my own loss that I have suffered of loved ones through the years. Silver’s writing style is very easy flowing which made the read quick and enjoyable. 

I loved how she swapped back and forth between the two worlds which transitioned well. Silver dares to touch a very interesting theme of what if parallel worlds did exist in real life. What if in another world – certain things never happened and some people end up together that would never have. It rang a powerful message on how some forces can’t be tampered with. A person cannot live in two separate worlds peacefully that’s just not how it works. Lydia’s selfishness in the first half of the book of wanting to be with Freddie nearly costs her a job, her mother and sister, and her sanity. In the alternative world, Lydia gets her wedding to Freddie, but she soon realizes she’s not the same woman Freddie expects her to be. I remember I read a quote along that lines that said don’t disrupt the flow of time or natural order of you and others will pay the price. I believed this theme was the main drive of the entire book and I loved it. 

Something that was a little lacking to me was Jonah’s character. I get the story is surrounding Lydia and how she copes with Freddie’s death but Jonah is a very interesting character. I wished we saw more of Jonah’s side of the story from his perspective. You get glimpses of it but not enough because he seemed like such an interesting character on his own. 

One thing that I loved most between Lydia and Jonah was pretty much in the second half of the book where they were at opposite ends of the world but still kept in such close contact. I felt that the time they spent apart really allowed both Lydia and Jonah to see how important to each other- especially Lydia more than Jonah. I mean Jonah pretty much confessed to Lydia in the alternative universe causing Lydia to start questioning herself and what Jonah meant to her. A life lesson—sometimes taking a step back is good for two people instead of being in each other’s faces everyday. 

It  really takes a hard whack over the head to realize what you have right next to you instead of drowning in grief, to treasure and value those around you that are still there rather than dwelling on those who are gone. It nearly costed Lydia to lose her family, job, and her oldest friend to realize that and that was a hefty price to pay but she managed to break the surface in the end. The message I got from this book is as unbearable as times are remember to treasure what you have today because it could be gone tomorrow. But the most important thing is to never forget you are never alone in whatever situation you find yourself in.