I owe this entirely to Nick Hornby. Skellig was always a book that jumped out at me when I was working at the bookshop, but despite it being very short, I somehow never read it. Until Nick Hornby, self-confessed YA fiction-phobic author extraordinaire wrote his fabulous review in one of his Believer columns (Shakespeare Wrote for Money).

Skellig is the tale of love, loss and hope. It is the story of Michael, a young boy whose prematurely born sister is fighting for life in a hospital incubator while he and his family move home to try and make a new start. Michael loves his sister, feels an strange and strong connection with her, but he also feels lonely and detached from the events taking place. His parents attentions elsewhere, Michael spends his time exploring the new house and garden, and becoming friends with Mina, the home-educated girl next door. But it is the crumbling run-down garage that Michael discovers Skellig, a strange ailing creature huddled in the dark, living off scraps. Is he a man, an owl? Or something very very different?

Skellig could not have been more beautiful if David Almond had tried. It was perfect. A perfect, special tale that brought a tear to my eye and a lump in my throat. I could do nothing after putting the book down but sit and smile to myself, bathing in all Skellig's tender glory. Certainly one of the most beautiful books I have ever read, I bought a copy for a friend right away and heartily recommend it to everyone. Thankfully, this is part of the school curriculum for Year Five and Six (9-10 yrs old) in the UK, so most children will get a chance to enjoy Almond's wonderful writing. As for myself, I shall thank Nick Hornby for this one and will be reading more of the great David Almond's work in future.

The main character, a young boy named Michael, finds an almost decomposing creature in the garage of his family's new house. The creature can barely speak, demands aspirin and Chinese takeout, and seems to be made of crumbling porcelain. As Michael's family struggles to keep his prematurely born infant sister alive, Michael struggles with whether or not his discovery of the creature is reality or a symptom of insanity. The author cleverly quotes William Blake, a brilliant man who claimed to see angels in his back yard and had his own struggles with reality. Mina, Michael's new neighbor, is home-schooled and lives by the Blake line "How can a bird that is born for joy/Sit in a cage and sing?" The rest of the novel sees Michael learning to answer this question, and his growth is both intriguing and touching. ( )

Reviewed by Patricia A. Dollisch in School Library Journal (Feb99, Vol. 45 Issue 2, p104, 1/4p)
Found review through HW Wilson collection
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Beautifully written in a way that makes you empathise with the main characters. It's real brilliance is in it's subtlety reporting Skellig's miracles one stage removed. ( )

I picked this one up on the recommendation of others, but I wasn't really expecting anything from it. It didn't "look" very good, and usually I get a pretty good sense from a book when I'm holding it whether I'll like it or not (I jokingly call it my 'book sixth sense'... okay, now you all think I'm crazy), and this one didn't really seem like my kind of thing...

Was I ever wrong. I don't want to get into plot details because I really think this is a book you need to experience for yourself, but let me say this: when you turn the last page of the book, after the last word has been read, make sure you give yourself a few moments. Allow the sense of the book, the words and the sentiments evoked to wash over you. Absorb the truth behind the fantastic. I finished this book in a coffee shop and had brought along an action-oriented chick lit book to read afterward, but I simply couldn't do it - I didn't want to tarnish what I'd just read.

Needless to say, I'm very, very glad I gave this one a try. ( )