Where do you go to find peace?

Island

Author: David Almond @davidjalmond

Illustrated by: David Litchfield @dc_litchfield

Published by: Hodder Children’s @HodderFiction

Published on: this edition 2023

Price: £9.99

First line: An early afternoon, late May.

Genre: Adventure, History

Age: 10+

ISBN: 978 1 444 954 1 8 0

What’s it all about? Louise and her father have travelled together to spend some time together in their favourite spot, Lindisfarne Island. It’s their pilgrimage spot, because it helps them to connect with Louise’s mother. She loved that place so much.

However, the arrival of some unwanted/unwelcomed visitors spells trouble for their memories. Coral for dad, Dark Star for Louise, Wild Boys for nature. Will they take them into nightmares or find new dreams? Both Louise and Dark Star are both travellers looking for new paths, but will their paths cross? The island breathes them in, and changes them all, perhaps forever.

Why should I read it? David Almond is perhaps the most unique writer I have read, his voice is just incredibly different to all the others out there. As you read his writing, I often think, is that a real sentence or just a verse from a poem? His construction of sentences just seems so vague, but intriguing and right. It’s almost dream like. It took me a while to get back into his style, but once you open your mind to it, you just float along. I feel like in my review I’ve started to copy his style. This helps with the themes of the story, of longing and hope and exploring the natural world.

The story is a contemporary one, which will resonate with a lot of the readers and enable them to emphasis with the characters. Hopefully, those who are sadly missing a loved one will learn some ways to cope with their grief and still see the beauty around them. I enjoyed seeing Louise’s sense of confidence within herself increasing as we go through the story and how she gets stronger with her relationship with her dad. All the characters are brilliantly searching for something and hiding from their prejudices and fears, until they face them at the end. The story links in a loop beautifully to all tie together at the end.

Thanks to Toppsta for the review copy.