The Phoenix Effect

by Efox Birdie

Seven friends throw a birthday party to hide two painful truths: one, they are no longer friends, and two, one of them is a murderer. The past, present, and future intertwine to uncover why this has happened – and simultaneously, why it has not. Reality and fantasy begin to merge as their actions reflect in the imaginary world, and collapse as they run away from home to the beach of their childhood. There, the choice to reveal their secrets awaits.

The Phoenix Effect, an experimental young adult novel by debut writer Efox Birdie, is about a group of seven close friends told through the eyes of an unreliable, gender-ambiguous narrator. It focuses on themes of uncertainty, identity, and youth, underlined by current topics of LGBT+, environmentalism, and pressures of social media. Delving through time by changing tense from past and present to future, it explores how actions can expand and escalate in a whirlwind of the butterfly effect. It is the first book of three from a yearlong project titled Sketches [youth].

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2018

About the author

Efox Birdie has wanted to be a writer even before she knew how to write – and once she learnt, she never stopped. Indeed, she spent most of her English Literature degree at the University of East Anglia writing novels instead of focusing on her essays. Now that Efox has graduated, she’s ready to fulfil her dreams in becoming an author. The Phoenix Effect, her debut novel, is the first of a trilogy set to be published across her first writing project titled Sketches [youth]. Check her out on social media!

Website: https://www.efoxbirdie.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/efoxbirdie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/efoxbirdie
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGE8...
Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/efoxbirdie

Reviews

[Brigita Ptackova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Experimental young adult fiction about a group of friends facing their new adulthood and questioning their friendship. It starts with the symbolical birthday party and ends... with what does it end, actually? The future is always uncertain, with the exception of death. I liked the author's play with the order of its plot where past, present, and future are melting in one narrative pot. There are many detailed observations which make the book very believable, namely its main characters are truly living and breathing.