Review - Heaven Eyes by David Almond (4.5 / 5 stars)

This is the second book by Almond that I have read; the first was Skellig.  I liked this book a lot but didn't think it was as good as Skellig.

Erin Law, January Carr and Mouse Gullane live in an orphanage and one night they decide to flee the orphanage on a raft.  They end up stuck in the muddy slime of the Black Middens and are found by a odd and scrawny girl named Heaven Eyes.   Heaven Eyes introduces them to a bleak and grimy world; an abandoned island full of empty warehouses and boxes of chocolates.  Heaven's only companion is Grampa, and old man who is either a saint or a devil.

This was a very interesting book.  As with Skellig, Almond makes this dankest of atmospheres seem somehow magical.  He has a penchant for finding magic in the bleakest of places.  The characters are engaging and believable and the surroundings described in such a way that you can picture every horrible smell and creeping shadow.

I enjoyed how Erin and her friends found a place that was apart from humanity in such nearness to their home.  It was actually somewhat inspiring how they found a sort of magic in the ugliest of places.  It makes you think about every abandoned building you pass and wonder what could be happening inside of it.

The questions around whether or not Grampa was Heaven Eye's savior or the murderer of her family really drove the plot forward and made the book incredibly hard to put done.  This was a book that was dark in its nature, but surprisingly filled with hope and magic.  It was a very complete story but a big ambiguous at times. 

I thought Skellig was set in a more realistic setting and, as such, I enjoyed that book a bit more.  The time in history this story is set in is fairly ambiguous and, as such, gives the whole story a somewhat fairy tale feel.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Almond's descriptive writing style and the way he finds beauty in the grimiest of settings.   I would recommend this book for all ages.  It is beautifully written and at points really makes you think about humanity and how we treat the undesirables in our lives.  I will definitely be checking out more of Almond's works in the future.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The Young Adult Reading Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge

 

The Savage by David Almond and Dave McKean (4/5 stars)

I have previously read "The Skellig" by David Almond and really liked it. So, I was eager to read another book by Almond. When I saw that Dave McKean (illustrator for many of Gaimen's kid's books and graphic novels) had illustrated this I had to read it. The story was interesting but not what I expected.

The story is written in two alternating parts. It starts as a normal printed book with a kid, Blue, talking about how he wrote a story as a younger kid about a Savage in a notebook. He started the story about the Savage right after his dad suddenly died from a heart attack. Then there is a section from the notebook, the story is hand-written with bad spelling (as a little kid would write it) and drawings of the Savage's adventures. These sections alternate back and forth as Blue describes his life as it was then and then shows another story about the Savage. The twist to the whole story is this, it seems that the Savage is not just a story and he may really exist.

When I started the book I wasn't sure I would like it. The Savage is pretty violent and there is some starred out swearing. I started reading it to my young son, and then opted to stop because it was a bit too violent for him. Lots of cutting things apart and thinking about cutting mean people to pieces. Okay for a young adult or pre-teen but not for a young child. Also the mis-spelling in the hand-written portions of the story bugged me...but I understand that we were supposed to be reading the writing of a young child.

As the story continued I really started to like it. Especially towards the end. By the time I finished the book I was thinking, wow, this is a really cool book. It is very creative and has a very deep story and I really liked it!

This book is a quick read; took me maybe 40 minutes to read it or so. I really ended up enjoying it but I would recommend as a read for the pre-teen or older crowd. I got the book from the library and they did have it in the young adult section. I didn't like this book as much as "The Skellig" but it was still a good read. I will definitely be checking out more of David Almond's works in the future.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge
- 100+ Book Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

The Skellig by David Almond (5/5 stars)

This book was recommended to me because I like "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman. This book was very much in a similar writing style Gaiman's work. The story telling in this book is superb. The book itself is a short but sweet story.

Michael and his family have just moved into a new home. Unfortunately Michael's baby sister was born way too early and she is very sick. Micheal is struggling with his parents' lack of attention as they try to deal with saving his little sister's life; when he stumbles into the shed in their backyard to find a parched, old crusty man alive in the back corner. The old man calls himself a Skellig; exactly what is a Skellig?

I thought this book was excellent. The story telling was top notch. The characterization was wonderful; I thought Michael's character was well done and even the parents were well characterized. This is a very short book but is a great littlenovella . The plot moved quickly and was full of mystery and suspense. It was interesting that the story ties in with deeper aspects of life; like dreams and spirituality. Some parts were a bit of tear jerker as Micheal's baby sister fights for her life, but the Skellig was a truly intriguing character.

Almond's writing is detailed and brings both the characters and surroundings alive; he manages to add a sort of thought-provokingvagueness to aspects of the story while brushing against some things that humanity struggles with as a whole. I was surprised at how deep and well told this little story was. It's a book that I am keeping on my shelf and it made me want to read many more of David Almond's books. He seems to be a very creative and adept storyteller.