Review: Ketchup Clouds - Annabel Pitcher

Fifteen-year-old Zoe has a secret - a dark and terrible secret that she can't confess to anyone she knows. But then one day she hears of a criminal, Stuart Harris, locked up on death row in Texas. Like Zoe, Stuart is no stranger to secrets. Or lies. Or murder.

Full of heartache yet humour, Zoe tells her story in the only way she can - in letters to the man in prison in America. Armed with a pen, Zoe takes a deep breath, eats a jam sandwich, and begins her tale of love and betrayal.

Visit Annabel Pitcher's website for more information

Review:
I absolutely loved Annabel Pitcher's debut novel My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece when I read it last year so I was incredibly excited to get my hands on an early copy of her second novel Ketchup Clouds. This book jumped straight to the top of my to read pile as soon as it arrived but I'll admit that I was slightly nervous it wouldn't live up to my expectations. Thankfully my worries were proved unfounded and I loved every minute of it!

Our narrator for Ketchup Clouds is fifteen year old Zoe, a teenager who has a horrible secret that has been weighing on her conscience for nearly a year. She is too scared to talk to anyone she knows about the things that she has done but when she finds out about criminals on death row who are looking for pen pals she feels like she has found someone to confide in. Stuart Harris is on death row after committing a murder and Zoe believes that he will be able to understand the guilt she feels. The story is told through a series of letters that Zoe writes to Stuart over a period of several months, her honest account of her life and the terrible events that ended with the death of a young man is touching, humorous and heartbreaking all at the same time.

Annabel Pitcher manages to create such realistic voices for her teenage characters, I felt the same about My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece but I think I found it even easier to identify with Zoe than I did with Jamie. Zoe is a normal teenager, she likes hanging out with her friends, loves her family and she dreams having of her first kiss and her first boyfriend. Her letters are a completely honest and give insight into her family life along with the trials and tribulations that come with being a teenager and falling in love for the first time. I dare anyone who reads the book not to fall head over heels for her adorable little sister Dot, she has to be one of the cutest fictional five year olds that I've ever come across!

I don't want to say any more about the plot or give away Zoe's secret but I felt that the story unfolded at a perfect pace. You are given just enough information to keep you hooked but still kept on tenterhooks until the very end of the book as you wait to see exactly what happened on that fateful day the previous year. I didn't pick up this book intending to finish it in one sitting but that is exactly what I did - I just couldn't tear myself away from Zoe's story and her heartfelt letters. Ketchup Clouds made me smile, it made me laugh out loud, it touched me emotionally and even made me shed a tear, it is a beautifully written story and one I'm sure I'll be recommending for a long time to come. Annabel Pitcher is an author who is going to go far and I can't wait to read her next book.

Source: Received from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardcover / Kindle:

Fabulous Book Trailers for some of the new Orion / Indigo Releases

Back in July I was lucky enough to attend the Orion blogger preview for their new Indigo imprint (you can read my event write up here).  We got to find out about some of the very exciting new titles they are releasing and I'm really looking forward to reading them all.  I noticed that some of the book trailers have now been uploaded on YouTube so thought I'd share them here for you.

First we have the trailer for The Double Shadow by Sally Gardner, this one is very eerie and has made me very excited about the book. The Double Shadow was released today so you can get your hands on a copy now.



Next we have the trailer for Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick, this is a beautifully done trailer that I love, and the book itself is fantastic.  I can't believe that this is the first Marcus Sedgwick book I've read but it definitely won't be the last.  I'll be posting my review for Midwinterblood tomorrow so come back then if you'd like to read it.



Here is the trailer for Soul Beach by Kate Harrison, I've been looking forward to this one ever since the event so keep an eye out for my review.



This is for Shelter by Harlan Coben, I don't read many thrillers but I may just have to give this one a try as I've heard a lot of good things about it



Last but by no means least we have the trailer for My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher.  I read this one a few months ago and absolutely loved it, such an emotional story and an impressive debut (you can read my full review here)



So what do you think of the trailers?  I'd love to know which of these books you're most excited about, if you've read any of them please let me know what you thought of them in the comments.

Review: My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece - Annabel Pitcher

Ten-year-old Jamie hasn't cried since it happened.  He knows he should have - Jasmine cried, Mum cried, Dad still cries.  Roger didn't, but then he is just a cat and didn't know Rose that well, really.

Everyone kept saying it would get better with time, but that's just one of those lies that grown-ups tell in awkward situations.  Five years on, it's worse than ever: Dad drinks, Mum's gone and Jamie's left with questions that he must answer for himself.

This is his story, an unflinchingly real yet heart-warming account of a young boy's struggle to make sense of the loss that tore his family apart.

Visit Annabel Pitcher's website or watch the trailer below for more information



Review:
5 years ago a terrorist attack that killed Jamie's sister Rose tore his family apart and they are still struggling to pick up the pieces.  His Mum was unable to cope with the constant reminders of her lost daughter and walked out of the family home while his father drinks to bury his pain.  Jamie barely remembers Rose, he was only 5 when she died, but the after effects of her death leave him struggling to cope.  His Dad has promised a new start when they move to the lake district but can they really find a way to reconnect as a family?

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is a heartbreakingly real story of a family struggling to cope with the grief of losing a child.  The story is told by 10 year old Jamie who is a character it is impossible not to fall in love with.  He may barely remember Rose but his whole life has been profoundly effected by her loss and we get to follow him as he tries to make sense of what happened to his family.  Annabel Pitcher has perfectly captured the voice of a 10 year old and the things that Jamie comes out with often reminded me of my younger brother when he was that age.  Although the story is a sad one that made me cry several times it also managed to make me laugh out loud and left me feeling hopeful at the end.

At times I wanted to reach into the book and shake Jamie's parents, the way they ignored Jamie and his older sister Jasmine was infuriating!  I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it must be to loose a child though and although I was frustrated with his parents I also found myself feeling a great deal of sympathy for them.  I was far more concerned about the welfare of the children though and all I wanted to do was give them both a hug and tell them that somehow things would be OK.

Their Dad has promised Jamie & Jasmine that the move to the Lake District will be a new start for them all and that things will be different there.  They soon realise that this is not the case though, after all you can try to run from your problems but they'll always catch up with you in the end.  Jamie not only struggles with his home life but he now has to try and fit in at a new school and try to make new friends.  At first Jamie is horrified when he is made to sit next to Sunya in class - as his Dad regularly reminds him Muslims killed his sister - but watching their friendship develop as the story continues was one of the highlights for me.  Jamie quickly comes to realise that it wasn't Sunya or her family who caused the explosion that killed Rose but he knows that his father would never approve of their friendship and struggles with his guilt at keeping his new friend a secret.

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is a beautifully written story that I would recommend to everyone.  The story deals with difficult issues such as terrorism, racism and bullying but it also shows how life goes on despite the terrible things that can happen.  Grief can tear a family apart but it can also bring you closer together if you let it.  As a debut novel this is an amazing achievement and Annabel Pitcher is definitely an author to watch out for in the future.

Source: I won this book in a Twitter giveaway by Nina from Orion

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.