Daphne is unbearably sad and adrift. She feels the painful loss of her father acutely and seeks solace both in the security of her local library and the escape her phone screen provides by blocking out the world around her. As Daphne tries to make sense of what has happened she recalls memories of shared times and stories past, and in facing the darkness she finds a way back from the tangle of fear and confusion, to feel connected once more with her friends and family. The Girl Who Became a Tree sees Joseph Coelho deploy a wide variety of poetic forms with consummate skill in its narration of events. He seamlessly but searingly weaves together the ancient legend of Daphne, who was turned into a tree to avoid the attentions of the god Apollo, and a totally modern tale, mixing real-life and fantasy, in which a latter-day Daphne seeks her own freedom. This is a heart-stoppingly imaginative story told in poems, at times bleak and even tragic, which is layered, rich and ultimately a tour de force of poetic skill and energy.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book has been graded for interest at 12 years.

There are 176 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2022 by Otter-Barry Books Ltd .

Kate Milner studied illustration at Central St Martin's, and is an MA student in Children's Book Illustration at Anglia Ruskin. Her illustrations and prints have been shown in London galleries and national touring exhibitions. Joseph Coelho is a performance poet, children's author and playwright. His debut poetry collection Werewolf Club Rules won the CLPE CliPPA Poetry Award 2015 and he was included on The Guardian's 2018 list 'Fresh Voices: 50 authors you should read now. ' Robyn Wilson-Owen is an exciting new illustrator, currently doing her MA in Children's Book Illustration at Anglia Ruskin University. She previously worked as a theatre set designer.