Julia Green (1)

Everything is changing, and Tilly is worried. Mom is having a baby and it's not going well, she sleeps all the time and seems to be getting worse. Dad is worried about Mom and busy with his book. They've just moved to a new house, leaving Tilly's best friends behind. Lonely and unhappy, Tilly discovers that their new garden and the wilderness behind it hold special secrets; foxes and a magical girl named Helen. Slowly, things change and improve and by the time Helen leaves Tilly has found a show more new friend and all is well in her family again.

This is a slow-paced, magical story. Is Helen a ghost, a dream, or just Tilly's imagination? The story never says, gently hinting that Helen was the friend Tilly needed to help her through her worries. With the arrival of brisk, cheerful Grammy and her new friend Susila she doesn't need Helen any more. The story is full of lyrical descriptions of the garden, winter, Christmas, and the foxes. The black and white art that delicately brings out the magic of the story is perfect, capturing the delicate imagination of Tilly and the beauty of the garden.

It's a very British story, with words like "lorry" and "metre" as well as the gentle unfolding of magic and mystery, reminiscent of Pearce's Tom's Midnight Garden. This won't deter reader who love gently mysterious stories and will appreciate the art and beauty of the story and illustrations.

Verdict: A perfect length, 220 pgs, for intermediate readers. Hand this one to kids who enjoy beautiful language and description and will sympathize with Tilly's shyness at school and her private worries.

ISBN: 9781402277306; Published October 2012 by Sourcebooks; ARC provided by the publisher, purchased for the library (ARC added to summer reading prizes) show less

Read this book. Read it now and then tell everyone.

Look at the pretty cover. It's striking and elegant all at once. But it doesn't suit the story for me. In fact, it put me off reading this for a while. The cover could be so so much more, could be so beautiful just like the island. I understand that it's meant to "go" with the covers of other books, but it's a little disappointing once you've read the AMAZING story.

This story is haunting and beautiful and I loved it. I will definitely show more re-read this book. I was reminded of [b:Lucas|294817|Lucas|Kevin Brooks|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328867454s/294817.jpg|2395659] by Kevin Brooks, Kate's narrative voice reminded me of Cait, and the island setting, although VERY different, seemed to reinforce this. That's not a bad thing, Lucas is one of my favourite books. But This Northern Sky is NOTHING like Lucas, aside from being haunting, a book that will stay with you.

I love the beginning. I love how it holds back, but is still chock-full of description. I love the feeling of isolation and loneliness which is compounded by the vivid, dark descriptions. I've highlighted so many passages.

The characters are fluid and natural and develop wonderfully. I love them all, with their flaws and imperfections.

Kate is a great character. Julia Green has done a fantastic job with her - she's so believable, so real. She grows and changes, and it's all completely right. It's exactly how it should be. She matures. She grows up. She lets go. Even her appearance changes, but of course it would.

And the island... Oh my gosh, the island. Please can I go to this beautiful place? It's my idea of paradise, and was from the beginning, although Kate feels differently. A fifteen year old dragged away from suburbia to a remote island with nothing to do? Heaven for me, but it's what made Kate real from the very start. I love how the island isn't simple. It's hard. Life depends on the weather and so far out to sea you can't predict it.

My favourite part of the book was definitely that special moment in the middle of the night on the beach. I don't want to spoil that magical moment, so you'll have to read and experience it for yourself. The scene is all the more powerful because of what's already happened.

I love the ending. I love how everything comes so beautifully together, but isn't rushed. My heart felt like it was going to burst with all of the emotion this book filled me with. So much hope and love and a crushing hint of sorrow. It brings you back, subtly, to the start and you want to read it and experience everything all over again.

Read this book. Read it now and then tell everyone.

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury and Net Galley for a copy of this. I am so glad to have read this! show less

A quiet book. I kept waiting for something to happen, but then I'd look up from the couch to discover I'd been lost in the story for the past two hours. Its imagery of first loves and camping by the seaside is mesmerizing. It took me back to my own teen years, the emotions of which Green captures so accurately. And even though it seemed as if nothing happened, when I finished BREATHING UNDERWATER I realized everything had changed for the characters; a satisfying resolution on a magical, show more candlelit seaside night. show less

I read Julia Green’s Drawing With Light a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, so I was really looking forward to reading Breathing Underwater. I have a real liking for books set on islands, I blame Enid Blyton, so I had pretty high hopes for this book.

The book tells the story of Freya, she’s grieving for her brother Joe who died last year and whilst she’s trying her hardest to come to terms with his loss she has a nagging feeling that all is not as it seemed with his death. She show more tries to pursue these thoughts at the same time that she finds a way to carry on without Joe. She makes friends with a group of teenagers who are all staying at the camp site on the island, which allows for some lovely scenes that made me wish I was there with them.

The story is split between the current day and flashbacks to the previous year when Joe was still alive. I really liked this as it meant we got to know Joe through Freya’s eyes at least, and we could understand why she’s so driven to find out what happened to him. I’m not always a fan of stories told this way, but I think in this book it worked really well and added a lot to the story.

I liked Freya a lot, I found that I was really drawn to her and cared about her. I liked the way that whilst she was focussed on trying to find out what had happened to Joe she kept her concerns for everyone else at the forefront.

Both this book and Drawing With Light are beautifully written books, they’re quiet and contained but deal with pretty significant issues. I love the way that Green manages to show that adults are flawed humans too, quite often it as teenagers that we realise this about our parents.

This was such a lovely read, I see that Julia Green has a new book Bringing The Summer out later this year, I’ve got it on my wishlist already. show less