Book Review: Sky Song by Sharon Sant

I was recently caught staring into the bathroom mirror trying to see if my eyes change colour…they don’t. Two green eyes continued to stare unsympathetically back at me so I’ve concluded I’m nothing like Jacob Lightfoot, though it’s fair to say, not many people are. 

Jacob Lightfoot is the slightly strange protagonist of Sharon Sant’s debut novel Sky Song. This is the first in a trilogy that sees young Jacob discover his true identity and the huge amount of responsibility that comes with being different. 

The story starts in a recognisable manner; it opens with a scenario that evokes thousands of questions, and then relaxes into a setting of the scene that leads to a dramatic but comfortable read. This is not necessarily a criticism, this method is a tried and tested formula for young adult novels that works well, and is not to say that the plot is predictable. From poor Jacob’s rude awakening one morning by a creepy individual in his bedroom telling him that he, Jacob, does not exist, the plot hurtles around corners and loops the loops at alarming speed. It is brilliantly surprising with every chapter and Sant manages to include many themes without the plot feeling cluttered. Jacob, in essence, is a normal teenage boy; he finds it difficult to fit in, he loves his best friends, bickers with his parents and has girl problems. He also, however, has eyes that change colour, a photographic memory and a feeling that something inside him is waking up. 

One of my favourite things about this story is Sant’s characterisation. Unlike many young adult novels where the main characters seem much wiser and articulate that normal teenagers, Sant’s characters feel very real. I can easily hear their interactions and especially like how the intimacy and affection between Jacob and his friends and with his parents is always apparent without having to be spelled out. Sant obviously has skill at portraying her characters so it is somewhat disappointing that this talent doesn’t stretch to all areas of the book. I never really felt like I knew Dae at all. I would have loved more interaction between him and Jacob so that when (SPOILER ALERT) Dae dies I feel some of that harrowing sadness that envelopes Jacob when he finds out. But I didn’t pity Dae at all and it’s such a pivotal moment for Jacob that I knew I must be missing something. I think the problem I had is that a lot has to be explained to the reader; who Makash is for example, and why he is angry. The revelations about Dae have to be awkwardly communicated, which is why I think they lose their significance, and I don’t feel the reader ever quite understands who the watcher is or why this is such an important position. This may sound ridiculous but I didn’t really realise that Astrae was another physical planet until the very end, I thought it was a sort of state of mind, which obviously makes it quite different! 

It would have been great if Sant could have developed these issues further so that readers can figure out more by themselves. I, personally, would have appreciated more description and detail about Jacob’s time on/in Astrae and truly what is expected of him so I could fully understand the weight of his decision. We heard so much about Jacob hearing and feeling his home inside his head but I felt that we didn’t get to hear or feel it ourselves. 

Sky Song is the first in a trilogy so I am hopeful that many of my questions will be answered in the second and third books, which I would still very much like to read.  Sant is a talented writer and there are obviously so many excellent and creative ideas inside her head, I would just more of them on paper.

@SharonSant 

http://sharonsant.com/

Book Review: Tethers by Jack Croxall

I love a good prologue, especially in young adult adventure novels. It sets my imagination whirring, questions sprouting and I know I have to read on to find the answers. This is exactly what happened with the prologue in Tethers. Why won’t Marriot’s gun work? Who is this mysterious, snarling Mr Dufor? What are Locus One and Locus Three? Who is ‘the girl’ and most importantly, will Mr Dufor murder her?

Predictably, after scooping my ponderings into my arms and curling up so I could pin them to my chest with my knees, I read on as fast I could. Then I realised I wasn’t taking enough in so stopped, drank some tea, grabbed a biscuit and started again.

Tethers is very easy to read, it is well written and paragraphs glide by smoothly. The two main characters are engaging from the start; you recognise Karl as an adventurous young man with a slight disregard for rules, and Esther is immediately likeable with her ‘scorched-black hair’ and skill for arguing. The tranquil start to their adventure is shaped by descriptions of the sleepy village of Shraye in Victorian Lincolnshire. Croxall definitely has a knack for recreating those rural scenes and grand skies that, coming from Lincolnshire myself, I recognise appreciatively. The story then accelerates in an almost alarming manner as Karl and Esther are suddenly thrown in the path of danger, but the pace slows almost as rapidly as it sped up while they decide their course of action. I liked this unexpected change of step as it gave the story a sense of realism and provided Croxall with the opportunity to develop his characters further. It also meant that when the next dramatic event revealed itself it still felt shocking and exciting, but the structure wasn’t choppy or awkward. I found this wave-like pattern of thrills and calm, which continued throughout the book, reassuring. It gave me time to get to know the characters, to revel in their stories and personalities but never get too comfortable, as I knew something exciting would be waiting on the next page.

Being set in Victorian England gives this book a historical gleam, but its true colours lie more in adventure. As a science writer, Croxall does have a clear science fiction leaning, and the mysteries of the otherworldly stone, the Viniculum, that is found by Karl and Esther certainly have answers buried in science. However, this is not the selling point for me with Tethers. I found the most compelling aspects to be in the characters, their decisions and their motivations. It was this that created the drama for me, more so than the dangerous conspiracy right at the novel’s core. Perhaps, however, I have just tapped into the essence of why this book is called Tethers. Normal peoples’ actions, the consequences of those actions and what tethers everything together can be incredibly powerful. Alas, I’m being mysterious myself now as I don’t want to give too much away, you will have to read it to know what I mean.

 However, as much as I loved this aspect of the book, I also felt it was its only flaw. So important are the characters in this book that I wanted more from Croxall about who these people were and how they all became involved in this story. An almost impossible thing to do I grant you, by spending more time and words on character detail you run the risk of losing pace, excitement and of making the text too heavy. But I felt with Croxall’s writing everything I wanted was there in his head, it was there in his style and in ideas but was just missing from the paper. He knows the secrets in the lives of his characters and they are hinted at but never given away. Perhaps I am being too impatient and all I want will be revealed in the next two books in the trilogy, but it does make it impossible for Tethers to stand alone successfully for me. Certainly Croxall has confessed that Karl and Esther will return with new friends and old for more adventure so I will hope that I will find answers hidden in their pages.

I would definitely recommend Tethers to any fans of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, or Percy Jackson lovers. You are quickly sucked into the adventure, friendship and mystery encapsulated in this book and Croxall’s skill as a writer means he is certainly one to watch for the future. 

 @JackCroxall and blogs at www.jackcroxall.co.uk 

Tethers Kindle edition is available on Amazon