Oh hello there.
It’s been a while, but Willow and I are back on track with our book club, and currently enjoying the Dark and Hollow Star Saga. Full review coming soon… BUT FIRST!
Something pretty exciting happened in January.
Willow. Became. A. Published. Author.
So I had a very happy start to the year reading a book that one of my favourite people wrote! I knew I’d like it. But I didn’t know I’d be up in the early hours of the morning because I couldn’t put it down. I explained to Willow once I was done that I needed an outlet for my gushing, and she has permitted me to write this review – so here I go:
First of all, what really got me about this book were the beautiful, detailed scenes that I saw painted in my mind as I read it. If you want to know how it feels to turn into a mermaid, launch yourself out of the sea, feel the cold air on your skin and then splash back into the ocean, this is the book for you. No matter how fantastical the situation (and given the dream setting, some situations are pretty fantastical), it doesn’t feel jarring, but familiar and believable. So, yes, since you asked – I do feel I know exactly what it’s like to float around in space before being transported back to earth by a rocket-speed fluffy white cat made from stardust. Don’t you?
On the topic of awesome descriptions, I should probably have known what I was in for from page one, when Willow lets us know that Mayu, one of the main characters, loves the smell of singed dust on a hot radiator… oooh, same! I didn’t realise until I read it, but I know exactly the smell she means. This brings me on to the second reason I loved A Headful of Skye: I really cared about the characters. They feel like real people who have been fully thought out and develop over the course of the book. For example, when we were first introduced to Skye, I was quite hoping Mayu was going to give her a slap. But, as the story went on, I got to understand her and was rooting for her by the end. When it comes to Mayu, she feels familiar and like you’ve known her for years. You know her favourite smells, why she loves her friends, and her biggest regrets – you really care about what’s going to happen to her.
So, back to me reading until the early hours of the morning… There’s a darkness running through the story and a mystery that gets progressively more urgent to solve. Dark figures and recurring symbols start to appear in Skye’s dreams, and you’ll have to keep reading to find out who the scary dudes are, what they want, and what they’re looking for. I had that satisfying feeling that I guessed some of what was uncovered – at points I felt I knew something that Mayu didn’t, and was squirming around in my chair wanting to tell her. But, just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was a twist I didn’t see coming at all.
All in all, there’s no book I’d rather take with me on a trip to the other side of the world. For realsies – here it is 10,553 miles away in Sydney:
Can’t wait to see what Willow does next!
Willow H. Wood 