The Girl Who Became a Tree: A Story Told in Poems

This novel in verse by poet Joseph Coelho tells the story of Daphne who is mourning the loss of her father. As she seeks solace in the library, atmospherically depicted as a forest, and on the screen of her phone, Daphne accesses both painful and happy memories and works her way through isolation and the stages of grief to re-connect with family and friends.

The author skilfully re-works the legend of Daphne, turned into a tree by her river-god father to avoid the attentions of Apollo, into a bleak and emotional YA story of loss and loneliness full of powerful imagery. Free verse and form poems combine to present themes of death, loss, hope and renewal and the dark, spiky black and white illustrations enhance the atmosphere of fear and dislocation. This is a thought-provoking book which merges fantasy and reality, inner and outer worlds, and urban and forest landscapes. It is an emotional and complex read, but those older readers who enter the forest with Daphne as she confronts the darkness inside will emerge with her into a more hopeful world.