Written by KEL MENTON
 |
| © Chrissy Curtin artist |
An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.
Hello, and welcome to my latest Book Review, featuring this week a Adventure in YA Fantasy Romantic Fiction.
Without further ado, and with my trusty housekeeper, Mrs H, ready with the tissues, lets get on with the show!
AUTHOR: Kel Menton
Illustrations by: Chrissy Curtin
Published by: Little Island
Publication date Paperback:
Paperback 13 digit ISBN: 978 191 507 1743
UK Cover price for Paperback: £8.99
US Cover price for paperback: $12.99
Amazon KINDLE price: N/A
Pages: 271
Age range: YA
WARNINGS: Yes. This book contains references to self-harm, suicide, and references to symptoms of borderline personality disorder. There is also homophobic and transphobic speech, and reference to past sexual abuse.
The book contains a list of helplines for those needing help/advice on or if affected by any of the book's content.
The book seeks to raise awareness of the issues covered, and as such is written appropriately for the target YA and older audience.
SPOILER ALERT
Yes. Some as to plot direction and characters.
Thank you to...
We are exceedingly grateful to Graeme Williams and Little Island Publishers for offering us the chance to Read & Review this excellent story.
As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, received as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review.
First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy.
The plot
Our book opens with a prologue, and us discovering a boy has taken himself off to a large and forgotten wood with the intent of taking his own life. Having done the deed, he lets the blood flow and asks that they let him rest there in peace.
Hanan is our protagonist, and we catch up with him as he is poised to enter a local cafe in a seaside town not far from Cork, Ireland, called Skenashogue. He is the boy in the wood.
How he came to survive the incident, he does not know, but the experience has left him with something he cannot quite fathom or control. When Hanan is sad, things around him darken. The greater the depth of the despair, the worse things happen. Angry wasps physically attack the windows of his mother's cottage where he lives. Flowers wilt and die. Even the shadows draw in, wishing to attack and overwhelm him and the area he is in. But, when he is happy, flowers bloom brighter, the sun shines more, and clouds just disappear. Others haven't caught onto the connection between Hanan and the happenings.
After he is scalded and cut during an accident in the cafe, he falls for a boy who caused the event and takes him home when he collapses. As the boy's hands touch Hanan, he feels the darkness of the world he lives in and is tormented by, lift. His heart brightened and he felt once more alive. It is such an intense sensation, one he does not wish to lose and craves more of.
Pax is that boy, and he has his own tale to tell. He has undergone surgery to become the outward boy he always knew he should have been. His father, however, sees him as a monster and freakish daughter, and Pax has suffered viciously at the hands of his drunken and bigoted parent. So much so that he now lives in the village with his aunt May, who reads tarot cards and such.
Their adventure begins when the two boys stumble into each other late one evening at Hanan's favourite spot to be alone, a secret cove. The two boys start to see more of each other. But twists and turns and derailments hinder their progress. Doubts on each boy's part as to what the other wants, if they like them, or as in Hanan's case, whether he will only bring trouble and hurt on Pax (and drive him away) and himself, define the story.
With each boy having a past, demons if you will, something that hurts or haunts them, it was never going to be easy. Given the potential Hanan has to cause damage and pain, he thinks he is acting for the best when he runs away from an impromptu kiss with Pax.
Pax, though, is left confused and frustrated. Is this just another person who has raised his hopes only to break his already fragile heart? Both can be seen by the reader to be in love, yet caught up in very real emotional, physical and cognitive dilemmas that keep them apart, willingly or not. When demons, both physical and fay start to come home to roost, this tale shows its strength and shines.
Which is where I really must stop this review for fear of giving away the drama.
So, what did we think?
I was utterly captivated by this tale. Never have the characters felt more personal, their plight and situation so real, so very human and of this age.
Beautifully crafted, it is at times brutal, brutally frank, and savage. And at other times it is heartbreaking, magical, then bouncing to joyous. The writer has crafted something so deeply personal, so emotional, and yet it is not about them.
It is as delicately spun as gossamer threads and yet also so very strong, cohesive and as intricately woven. What drives this tale is the essence of love and friendship, of making errors on the road. Overcoming adversity in the face of so much pressure and undeniable evil that lurks in some minds and expressed by those that are all too prevalent in the news, creates the darker side of this story.
The fantasy element comes from as much of who our two lead characters are deep within, their essence, as the fay and magic that they encounter. It was not overplayed and slipped easily into the story once revealed and plays delicately through to the end.
It was a delight to see Hanan and Pax come into their own, separately and then finally, together. The journey they each have is unique and spellbinding. Because of the way the story unfolds, which is delightful, the truth of each player's life and background is released and realised slowly. The pace is never slow but gathers speed towards a dramatic conclusion that really has the reader turning the page.
I happily state that, like all great books, and this is an amazing story, the end of this book is clearly not the end of the adventure. But life, love and the highs and lows along the way are just like that, too.
I have necessarily skipped lots of the twists and turns, the nuances of which there are many. Hopefully, we have whetted your appetite nonetheless and will give this a read.
Crunch time.
A joyous, delicious, emotional ride that had us on tenterhooks. It will tear you apart, patch you together only to be torn apart in another way. And, I wouldn't have had this story any other way, and so glad that I was offered it to review.
Make no mistake, this is far more than the 'trans romance' as described by the publishers. It is different, in a very good way, and fuller-bodied and something very special.
A highly recommended YA read.
KEL MENTON Can be found on Instagram & Twitter
LITTLE ISLAND BOOKS web page can be found HERE or type this: https://www.littleisland.ie/
CHRISSY CURTIN'S web page web page can be found HERE or type this: https://www.chrissycurtin.com/
I hope you enjoyed that adventure Review.
OK, for those that have come for little young me, and as it's Sunday, let's get on with a selfie!
Here I can be seen completing clue 9 Down. 3,3 letters. Any ideas what the answer was?
Till Laters!
ERin
