Guest Review: In Darkness by Nick Lake

Title: In Darkness

Series: Not Confirmed

Author: Nick Lake

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Publication Date: 5 Jan 2012

Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis from Goodreads

In darkness I count my blessings like Manman taught me. One: I am alive. Two: there is no two. In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake a boy is trapped beneath the rubble of a ruined hospital: thirsty, terrified and alone. 'Shorty' is a child of the slums, a teenage boy who has seen enough violence to last a lifetime, and who has been inexorably drawn into the world of the gangsters who rule Site Soleil: men who dole out money with one hand and death with the other. But Shorty has a secret: a flame of revenge that blazes inside him and a burning wish to find the twin sister he lost five years ago. And he is marked. Marked in a way that links him with Toussaint L'Ouverture, the Haitian rebel who two-hundred years ago led the slave revolt and faced down Napoleon to force the French out of Haiti. As he grows weaker, Shorty relives the journey that took him to the hospital, a bullet wound in his arm. In his visions and memories he hopes to find the strength to survive, and perhaps then Toussaint can find a way to be free ..

GUEST REVIEW BY MADISON YEAR 9

A small time gangster, Shorty, lives in a place called Site. He is left trapped in a hospital when an earthquake occurs. He tries to fit the pieces of his life back together in the darkness that now surrounds him. However, while he is telling his story his thoughts keep getting interrupted by a 200 year old ghost.

One of my favorite parts of this book was when the ghost of Toussaint swims out to a boat in order to gain information by eaves dropping on the conversation taking place aboard. I found this part very clever and sneaky. It highlighted the point that Toussaint never intended to hurt anyone he only wanted to make them view his situation differently. Toussaint was by far my favorite character. He was fair in all his actions, although he was trying to free Haiti he did it in a way that was kind and just. He did not kill or punish people who would not follow his orders. 

I really disliked the fact that Shorty's Mamman lied to him as I htink he would have benefited from knowing the truth. Apart from this point there is nothing I would change about the story at all.

I will be recommending this book to other people as it was original and interesting. I will be looking out for more books by this author.