BOOK REVIEW: Out Of The Blue by Sophie Cameron

I was sent a proof of this book from the kind people over at Macmillan – and fell in love with how pretty the book cover is! Rose golden feathers on a baby pink background, it was a perfect book to take photos of. So I did! Then I read it – of course.

BOOK SYNOPSIS: It seems like the world is ending when angels start falling from the skies, but not for Jaya. Her world ended when her mother died two weeks before the first angel fell. No angel has survived their fall, each ending up with destroyed wings and broken bones. Jaya’s father has become obsessed with them, and uproots the family to Edinburgh with the hopes of catching one alive; Jaya is more concerned with making sense of her mother’s sudden death and trying to battle the grief inside of her, and steers clear of his obsessive ramblings. Then one day, the extraordinary happens. An angel crash-lands right in front of Jaya, but this time it’s alive.

This book was quite a whirlwind, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book deals with grief, upheaval, huge responsibilities and the small addition of angels – or beings as the characters call them – crashing to earth. These beings, with their glittery skin and golden blood, become a victim of greed for the people in the book; Jaya often voices her displeasure at seeing the beings in the media stripped of their feathers and bleeding where people have bustled in to steal in the hopes of making quick and easy money. Jaya sees them as people with feelings too, and doesn’t understand why others can be so cruel.
Jaya is dealing with a lot in the novel. Her mother’s sudden death, the instant disappearance of her girlfriend, and now her father’s obsession with the beings is far too much for her to comprehend. Her mind is a jumble of confusion, sadness and self-hatred. She is carrying a lot of blame on her shoulders, and the novel deals with this so beautifully and subtly that it becomes clear that she is looking for support but doesn’t know where to turn. When a being crashes in front of her – alive – she instantly wants to become the support role and to squash all her other problems to the back of her mind. She is distracted with this being, and that is both good and bad. Through the novel, it gives Jaya purpose and something to look forward to. On the other hand, she pushes away thoughts of others because she is so focused.

This book isn’t out until March so I don’t want to delve too deeply into the book and spoil it for others, but it’s definitely a powerful novel. I really enjoyed it and loved the fact that it was set in Edinburgh!

Final Thought: A powerful, emotional journey filled with golden, hopeful angels. 4/5