Monday 15 May 2017

Seas of Snow - Kerensa Jennings

1950s England. Five-year-old Gracie Scott lives with her Mam and next door to her best friend Billy. An only child, she has never known her Da. When her Uncle Joe moves in, his physical abuse of Gracie’s mother starts almost immediately. But when his attentions wander to Gracie, an even more sinister pattern of behaviour begins.

As Gracie grows older, she finds solace and liberation in books, poetry and her enduring friendship with Billy. Together they escape into the poetic fairy-tale worlds of their imaginations.

But will fairy tales be enough to save Gracie from Uncle Joe’s psychopathic behaviour – and how far will it go?

What I thought:

Gracie Scott and her Ma are haunted by a beast,  a beautiful beast.  Beautiful on the outside that is, but inside he is pure evil - always has been and always will be.

Gracie doesn't have any friends at school. For some reason, other girls seem to get pleasure from taunting and bullying her, but it doesn't really matter because she spends all her spare time with her best friend, Billy. Billy Harper lives next door to Gracie and her Ma, and they are always playing together, playing at princesses and dragons or any other make-believe game that Billy has invented for them to play. Then one day Gracie's Uncle Joe comes to stay and her life will never be the same again.

Joe is vile. It's as though he doesn't have a choice of right and wrong, his thoughts are just pure evil. His actions are rarely on impulse, but meticulously planned over long periods of time and they are shocking, in fact truly horrific.

Gracie innocently wonders what she has done wrong for her life to be so tormented, but then she discovers poetry and that helps her escape the demons that haunt her daily life.

This story had me gripped. It is gut-wrenchingly uncomfortable to read at times but laced with beautiful poetry and utterly compelling. I was so frustrated with Gracie's mum, but Billy was just so lovely. He's the kind of boy you would want for your daughter, kind, loyal and always there for her. As they grow older and Billy starts work, he saves hard, planning to take Gracie and move far away. Will the real - life Prince Charming be able to rescue his princess from the terrible fate that Joe had planned for her for so long?

When family secrets are revealed  and Billy makes a shocking discovery, I couldn't stop turning the pages. It was just so good. It was dark, brutal and intense, but what a read! Highly recommended.

No comments:

Post a Comment