Natasha Carthew

On the coast of Cornwall lives, Ia Pendilly. She is eking out an existence in a caravan in a Britain that is under military rule after being ravaged by floods and cut off from Europe. She is cohabiting with a bloke called Bran, who is some sort of cousin. He is involved in some fairly dodgy stuff as well as his regular job and treats her like dirt when he appears back at irregular intervals.

Whilst walking the beaches finds a child washed up who is just clinging onto life. Nursing this girl back to health opens once again that deep longing that she has had for a family, but she has never been able to carry any of the children she has had with Bran past a few weeks. A chance encounter with someone else shows that people can care for her and as the girl regains her strength it opens a memory and a longing for a past that she remembers. It will take courage though, and a journey downriver, with the hope of a better life.

This dystopian future set in Cornwall in the UK that that has been devastated by climate change and a collapse in society is quite a shocking read. As Ia and Jenna head south across this landscape, Carthew has captured this broken countryside well it is full of passionate and lyrical prose, which is understandable given her background as a poet who spends as much of her time outdoors as she can. It reminded me of The Devil's Highway by Gregory Nominton where his third and final story in that book is of a landscape that has been irreversibly changed from what we have today. Definitely, an author to read more of.… (meer)

DNF at 45%

I'm sorry. I just can't. I tried so hard to like this book. There were so many positive reviews, the blurb & cover were attractive, and it generally looked like such an appealing book. I felt like I found my perfect read. However, I couldn't have been more wrong.

Most of the people said they flew through this book. I, however, felt like I was swimming through mud. This book ruined my reading pace by being so sluggish and slow. I'd keep checking how many pages were left every 20 minutes. And let me tell you, that definitely was no fun. What was even more baffling was the amount of 3-5 star reviews this book received. The praise was rolling in like waves in a thunderstorm and I have no idea why.

First of all, the writing style of this book is either going to make it or break it for you. I consider myself part of the latter group. I was so put off by the writing style; it was just too disconcerting. Were the run-on sentences supposed to be lyrical? Poetic? Frankly, I'd rather read my English textbook. This book is inundated with overtly descriptive paragraphs that'll bore you to death, and (see above) nonsensical run-on sentences that are more confusing than informative. I'll admit though, sometimes these sentences take a turn into the 'beautiful and lyrical' territory, but more often than not, that isn't the case. They just left me scratching my head in puzzlement. Here's an example from the prologue:

"Mum was flat out on the floor. She'd spilt something and was caught in a half-thought going under the bed [...] the sticky was growing and it branched out like creeping fingers under the rug and the boy shouted for her but it was too late, the bed had her."

It was supposed to resemble some kind of poetic imagery, but all it did was make me think "What the hell did I just read?"

Also, I'm not sure if this was because of the writing style or something else, but I felt absolutely nothing for the characters. I kept waiting for something to happen but... Nope, nothing. Nada, zero, zilch. I never connected with any of the characters and I just felt like I was watching them from afar. I thought that they'd maybe gain more depth as the book progresses, but unfortunately that didn't happen. The main character made me uncomfortable. He was weird. Not quirky. Just plain old weird - synonymous to creepy. There was nothing that made me relate to any of the characters or even like them; they really grated on my nerves.

Maybe I could've forgiven the above points if the book even had a purpose or anything remotely resembling a plot, but that aspect also disappointed. This is the kind of book that'd have you thinking Oh maybe it'll get better in a few pages. And Maybe the next chapter? And Something's going to happen now, I feel it. But you're already at the end and you feel nothing. For all you know, you could've just read through a bibliography without knowing the difference.

One of the things that my English teacher continuously emphasized was that a plot always had to have rising action that led to a climax and, in turn, a resolution. That wasn't present in this book. When we discover who killed the MC's parents, I was just like "You don't say?!" There was no buildup and it was so clearly obvious from the start that I wasn't sure if he was being seriously surprised or not. It was so boring and nothing like what the blurb promised. Where was the revenge-quest? All we got was some type of “Lord of the Flies” fanfiction.

Another thing that bothered me was the world-building & setting. We have a group of teenagers in a remote camp somewhere in England. They have no outside contact. However, there are hints about the outside. I think it was some kind of dystopian society or weird future in which the army has control of everything. To be honest, this information didn’t really play an essential role in the plot. Furthermore, it was riddled with more holes than a rotting piece of wood. Maybe it was part of the ‘charm’ of this whole book, but the fact that we know practically nothing about the world was just irritating and leaves the reader feeling very displaced.

Overall, I think this book was a very confusing jumble of inarticulate writing, one-dimensional characters, and hole-riddled plot with no sense of purpose or direction. Some people may think that it’s a masterpiece of lyrical writing and perfect plot, but I’d be inclined to disagree. Unfortunately, this just isn’t for me.

Thank you to the publisher, Bloomsbury, for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)