Thursday 2 April 2015

REVIEW: An Island of Our Own by Sally Nicholls

Bookish Details:
Pages: 216 Paperback
Publishers: Scholastic
Release Date: April 2nd 2015
Buy it From: Amazon - Amazon UK

Synopsis:
From one of the brightest talents in children's fiction and the winner of the Waterstones Children's Book prize comes a new novel about family and friendship. Siblings Jonathan, Holly and Davy have been struggling to survive since the death of their mother, and are determined to avoid being taken into care. When the family's wealthy but eccentric Great-Aunt Irene has a stroke, they go to visit her. Unable to speak or write, she gives Holly some photographs that might lead them to an inheritance that could solve all their problems. But they're not the only ones after the treasure...

My Review:
Picking up this book was such a breath of fresh air for me. Amongst reading so many dystopian worlds and complicated fantasy lands, this book brought me back down to earth with a huge smile on my face.

This story follows siblings, Holly, Davy, and Jonathan, as they try to track down jewellery left for them by their aunt. It’s a treasure hunt which desperately makes you wish you had something to chase up and down the country.

Holly is a delightful character. She’s full of optimism and sass. It made me wish I could’ve been more like her when I was twelve-years-old! Her determination to go hunting for the jewels and make life better for her and her brothers is what makes this such a heart-warming story. It reminds you what it’s like to be that young and feel like you can conquer any quest. I loved the bond she had with her brothers. Even when she was angry at Jonathan, she’d understand that he was just trying to do what was best for them all.

I fell a little bit in love with Jonathan and all his geeky references. There is a scene in which he’s making up a story for Holly and Davy, and he combines nearly all of the nerdy things I adore into it. After that, it was impossible not to love him. He showed personal strength throughout this book. He somehow managed to always keep his cool even though he’d had to sacrifice so much. Fictional he may be, but there are many young adults like him who step up to look after their younger siblings when no one else is there to.  

There are so many brilliantly quirky characters that pop-up in the story to help the siblings with their mission, and I could picture each of them perfectly in my head. I love adventures in which the main characters get to meet a wide variety of different people on their journey. It makes it impossible for the story to become dull.

This is a story that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages, and it has something to offer to everyone. Humour, adventure, realism, and a little bit of mystery, whatever you like reading, you can find it within these pages.

This book had me smiling from ear-to-ear by the time I put it down. The final paragraph is a quote I can imagine people will want to turn into those cute, inspirational text images you often find on Pinterest. It’s a fitting and wonderful ending to a really wonderful story. 

Royal Rating:



3 comments:

  1. Hey Katie! Had a browse through your blog and your reviews are great! This book sounds really cool and makes me really want to read it x

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    1. Hi Kelly! Thank for checking out my blog! I've just taken a look at yours and it's awesome, but it won't let me follow you for some reason?? x

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