A charming read

  • Book: A Map of the Sky
  • Location: North Yorkshire
  • Author: Claire Wong

Review Author: [email protected]

Location

Content

Compared to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, another story about a boy trying to understand what’s happening around him, A Map of the Sky turned out to be a gentler, less complex read, but nonetheless, an enjoyable one. Perhaps it should be seen as a cautionary tale about not trusting the young, who often see things more clearly and with less self interest than adults.
Eleven year old Kit made a disarming protagonist whose efforts to help those around him may have been misguided, but he was hardly to blame when his parents kept the truth from him. My only criticism of the character, and I admit I don’t know any eleven year old boys very well, was that maybe he was a little too grown up for his age.
I found the various supporting characters interesting and well conveyed and the writing style very easy and pleasant to read.
Catherine the mother, was rather a tiger mum, (with the best of intentions, of course), but there was an indication that she had learnt from experience towards the end of the book. I liked the hopeful ending.
Although much was made of the setting in the publicity, I didn’t feel a very strong sense of place, although I can’t put my finger on exactly why it seemed to be lacking. Overall, I was glad I read the book and would probably read more by the author.

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