(This review can also be found on my blog (The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl).

When I first heard of Infinite Sky by C.J. Flood, I knew it was a book that I was going to have to read as soon as possible. Firstly, because I have a thing for Irish travellers. I find them fascinating. Secondly, it sounded like a really good read. I must say that I fell in love with this story.

Infinite Sky is a coming of age story told by thirteen year old Iris. Iris' mother has left her, her brother, and her dad behind so she can go to traveling. Iris' brother, Sam, takes this extremely hard and starts to become a moody, violent person. To top it off, travellers, or gypsies as Iris's dad and brother call them, have moved into their field. Sam and Iris' dad are enraged about this, but Iris in intrigued especially when she catches a glimpse of fourteen year old Trick. Day by day, Trick and Iris spend time together and just talking about life. Irish begins to fall in love with Trick. However, Sam and Iris' dad aren't going to make it easy for the two love birds to spend time together. Due to prejudices, someone close to Iris ends up dead.

I love the title of this book. Infinite Sky sounds so innocent and makes me think of a world of possibilities. For a middle grade/young adult book, I don't think the title could've been any better.

I do like the cover of Infinite Sky. It has a sort of classic look about it. It looks like it'd be a happy book, but after reading the synopsis, we know it's not all full of sunshine and rainbows, or in this case, cornfields and birds. I really do hope the author sticks to this cover as I think adding or taking anything away from it would ruin it.

The world building/setting of Infinite Sky was done very well. The story mostly takes place in a cornfield and around it. C.J. Flood makes the world of Infinite Sky come alive with her writing. I was able to clearly picture every bit of the story in my mind quite easily.

Pacing wise, the story starts out just a bit slow but quickly, the pacing picks up, and the story is very easy to follow. It's not too fast and not too slow, but stays at a steady pace throughout. Sometimes I did feel as if the chapters ended rather abruptly though.

The dialogue/wording in this story is beautiful. C.J. Flood has a fine gift when it comes to her writing. I was really happy that Irish spoke like a thirteen year old girl as well as the other characters speaking like their age instead of sounding older. I loved how the dialogue between Trick and Iris didn't come across as being forced. It sounded just like two young teens having a conversation.

The characters felt very real to me. Iris speaks and acts like a thirteen year old girl. She has a somewhat innocent quality about her that is quite subtle in the book but still apparent. Trick is more street-wise and cares a lot about Iris. Sam is a chav (someone who dresses a certain way and is usually just a menace to society), but there is back story about why he became one that is quite heart wrenching.

The ending of the story is quite an emotional one, and C.J. Flood does a fantastic job in her writing to pull at the reader's heart strings. I felt like crying after reading how Iris is feeling.

Over all, Infinite Sky is a sweet coming of age story that is beautifully written and tugs at your heartstrings. This is one of those books that is destined and should be a classic.

I'd recommend this book to everyone aged 12 as it's a really little gem of a book.

Infinite Sky by C.J. Flood gets a 4.5 out of 5 from me. ( )

This book is a classic spin on a love tale. This is an amazing teen romance book and is definitely worth the read. 4Q5P The cover art is okay and I'd recommend this to middle school and high school students. I chose to read this book because the title caught my eye. RachelP

Sometime a reader just can't connect with a book. It's not the author's fault, and the reader may ponder for some time, but she might not ever figure out why the book wasn't 'her book'.

INFINITE SKY was like that for me. It's a perfectly sound book. CJ Flood's wordsmithing is good. The story sounded interesting to me. It's a story of life. A coming of age in some respects.

A mom goes off, deserting her family and in her wake things change. In this case gypsies move onto the family's farm land and Iris, the daughter, finds friendship with Trick and his dogs and gypsy friends.

The fact that it's not an entirely happy story appealed greatly to me, but after 80 pages I called it quits. I just didn't sink into the story. I don't know if it was the pacing, or if the small town life was just too different for me to relate to, but I didn't care about the characters.

So DNF.

--review copy

www.booksforcompany.com
In Short
- Infinite Sky is a unique read which tackles difficult 'subjects'.
- I loved both the main characters and felt they were developed well.
- I like how C.J. let the reader make their mind up about Trick and his character.
- The storyline kept my attention throughout the book.

In Long
I haven’t ever read a story like Infinite Sky before and I was excited to start reading it. I was intrigued by the storyline and wanted to get to know Trick’s character and see how C.J. had written him.

I really warmed to Iris right from the beginning; she’s a young girl who is growing up in a house with two males and no one to really rely on. I have never been through something like Iris but I still felt like I could relate to her, she had a lot going on alongside growing up and being a teenage girl. While reading Infinite Sky I loved being able to go on this journey with Iris, getting to know Iris and the people in her life, especially Trick because I got to know him at the same time as she got to know him.
I love how C.J. wrote Trick's character, she left his character open for the reader so they could make their mind up about him and didn't in any way try to make him a certain person.

I really liked the pace which C.J. set the book at, it gave me as the reader a chance to get to know both Iris and Trick and therefore I was able to understand their actions throughout the book. The storyline itself wasn’t one which gripped me until towards the end but it kept my attention right throughout the whole book and then got very gripping towards the end of the book!
Final Thoughts
Infinite Sky was a really good read which is a lovely story about coming of age. The characters had many different things to deal with throughout the book and I felt like I really went on a journey with them. ( )

Advance copy. ( )