Book Review: Out Of The Blue by Sophie Cameron

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The angel's started falling from the skies 10 days after Jaya's mother died. Determined to catch one alive, Jaya's father uproots their shattered family to Edinburgh - but Jaya's still struggling with her grief. With her family reaching crisis point, the unthinkable happens - a Being lands at Jaya's feet, and the extraordinary begins to take shape.

This is more than a story about angels, it's a story about grief, coping with loss and learning to move on. The author deals with these issues in a sensitive and compelling way, as the story weaves through Jaya's struggle with understanding her loss by building up this incredibly touching relationship between her and the Being she finds (named Teacake). It's almost as though she's learning to heal by putting all her energy and love into caring for Teacake. It actually reminded me a little of E.T. - we have Jaya hiding an other wordly being and learning to overcome a language barrier and gain their trust. However, that said this relationship is not the central aspect of the plot at all - which I found a little misleading given the blurb. It's almost as though the fantasy aspect is a sideline to a more contemporary book, involving Jaya and her friends and family, which I wasn't a massive fan of.

The descriptions of the angels (or Beings) and Edinburgh are also really beautiful. I love books set with Great Britain, and Edinburgh is such a fun, vibrant city (especially during Fringe) that it was great to see this brought to life on the page. I also loved that the Beings are a little different from the normal angel stereotype - full of colour with gold blood, and the secondary set of characters are full of diversity - although lacking any real complexity or emotional depth compared to Jaya. I think this is because the book itself is a little on the short side, and although this means the pace was good, the character's suffered as a result.

I also wasn't keen on the ending. I found it a little rushed, and also a little far fetched. However, that said the book overall was good and managed to convey some very complex emotions well. A decent read, but I think the fantasy aspect should be downplayed slightly to reach a better audience.

 - 3 stars