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Revision as of 16:34, 25 August 2020
, 16:34, 25 August 2020no edit summary
Ooh! ''Splintered Light'' is super! I really enjoyed [[Carnaby by Cate Sampson|Carnaby]], Cate Sampson's first crime thriller for the YA market and I did wonder if she could produce a second story, along the same lines, that was as good but avoided being a repetition. And I'm sorry that I doubted. ''Splintered Light'' has a great many similarities with ''Carnaby'' but it's really not like reading the same book all over again. Not at all. There is the same, page-turning, intricate plot. There is the same big-hearted concentration on characters struggling with the odds that are stacked against them. There's still a crime to be solved. But this is a fresh story, where the unseen connections are the pivots for the plot, while in ''Carnaby'' we thought about an unreliable narrator.
We can guess whodunnit fairly early on. But to understand the hows and whys takes longer. As Sampson gradually reveals the connections and relationships between her characters and the events, we build up the big picture. It's sad and seedy and violent but it isn't entirely hopeless. Chunks of (splintered) light shine through the bleakness - the blossoming of adolescent love, the kindness of a kickboxing instructor, the chance of a job and some self -respect.
I loved all three of the main characters. Leah is spiky and bolshy and determined and - hooray! - make-up and fashion-free. Linden will break your heart as he tries to break free from a life of petty crime despite all the obstacles. And poor Charlie too, as he struggles with dyslexia and a father who couldn't care less about him, while failing to recognise the love and offers of help he actually does have in his life.
Honestly. It's great stuff, ''Splintered Light''. It doesn't just work as a crime thriller; it works in its wider themes too - family loyalty, grief, growing up, moving on. This story comes highly recommended by me. Hurry up and write another, Cate Sampson!
If you haven't read [[Carnaby by Cate Sampson|Carnaby]] yet, then you should. I think you might also enjoy [[Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks]]. You might like to try [[Empty Coffin: Envy by Gregg Olsen]], but '' Splintered Light'' is decidedly the better book.
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