Publication Day Review: Eleven Days in June by R.P. Gibson Colley

Eleven Days in June (The Little Leaf Series, 1) by R P Gibson Colley

Devon, 1985. Dan is 20, lives in a sleepy village and works in a small DIY shop. He likes numbers and hero worships Lord Nelson. But he finds ordinary people difficult to understand and he’s certainly never kissed a girl. His mother mocks him, and he misses his father and he pines for Ollie, his only childhood friend who truly understood him.

But, despite it all, Dan thinks he’s happy enough. Until one June day, the beautiful and mysterious Libby walks into his shop - and into Dan's life. 

Libby’s sudden appearance turns Dan’s ordered existence upside down. But Dan soon realises that Libby isn’t who she seems. Who exactly is she? What is she hiding, and, more importantly, who’s that threatening man always looking for her?

In trying to help Libby, Dan comes to realise what’s missing in his own life, and, in turn, appreciates what’s really important…

A gentle story about a young man going about his life and the challenges he has to deal with.

Twenty-year-old Dan works at a local DIY shop. However, he's not like other young men of his age. He's single and doesn't have a girlfriend. He lives with his mum and enjoys model-making and anything connected with Horatio Nelson. He lives a simple life, but it isn't without drama. Eleven Days in June highlights a short time in Dan's life when Libby walked into his place of work and asked for help.

Intelligent, Dan is both knowledgeable and clueless.

'Dad says I've got an encyclopaedic memory.'
...'Really?' said Ollie's dad. 'Boy, I wish you were old enough for the pub. We could do with someone like you on our quiz team.'

Lacking social antennas Dan is unable to pick up and interpret other peoples meanings. Therefore, is often seen as gullible and often exploited. It's heartbreaking to know he understands people are laughing at him and doesn't know why?

Set in June 1985 and as someone only a couple of years younger than Dan during the setting, I enjoyed the many references to the popular music of the time. Little Leaf, a small Devon village is a contrast to my own city upbringing, so I enjoyed the author's view of life for young adults at that time.

This is a delightful short novel with some unexpected intrigue and set in the not too distant past. It highlights challenges faced by youths back then which are as relevant to young and new adults of today.

***arc generously received courtesy of the publisher via Rachel's Random Resources***

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I was born one Christmas Day, which means, as a child, I lost out on presents. Nonetheless, looking back on it, I lived a childhood with a "silver spoon in my mouth" - brought up in a rambling manor house in the beautiful Devon countryside. It's been downhill ever since.

I was a librarian for a long time, a noble profession. Then I started a series called History In An Hour, "history for busy people", which I sold to HarperCollins UK.

I now live in London with my wife, two children and dog (a fluffy cockapoo) and write historical fiction, mainly 20th-century war and misery, and humorous books set in 1980s England.