Guest Review: Drawing with Light by Julia Green

Title: Drawing with Light

Author: Julia Green

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Publication Date: 1 Mar 2010

Synopsis from Goodreads

Kat and Emily have grown up without their mother for almost as long as they can remember. And now Dad is with Cassy and they all muddle along together well enough - even though they are living in a cramped caravan while their new house is being renovated. Then Cassy and Dad tell them that Cassy is pregnant, and everything seems to shift. Emily feels a new urge to find her own mother. How could she have left them the way she did? Never writing to them? Not communicating with them? And as Emily begins her search, not knowing what she will find, she is at the same time embarking on a new relationship of her own, that of her romance with Seb. This is an evocative and finely drawn novel about family relationships, in particular that of mother and daughter, and the shifting emotions of a teenager trying to make sense of her family and her world.

GUEST REVIEW BY SHELLY OF MY FAVOURITE READS

“Freya has come back to the remote island where her Grandparents live, and where last summer her brother Joe died in a boating accident. But what really happened that night? Freya is not convinced that it was an accident and feels as if Joe’s presence is still haunting her.”

This is my second Julia Green book and I really enjoy her descriptive way of writing. She really brings you into the story within a short space of time and you quickly grow to like the characters. Freya, the main character, is a young girl trying to get over the death of her brother and being back on the island where it all happened she wants to get to the bottom of the accident and understand what Joe was thinking at the time. I found myself really warming to her and to try and understand her grief and the impact it had had on her family. I think the poignant way that the author captures her grief is beautifully written and sometimes makes you think that Freya is older that her fourteen years.

Nothing much happens in the book but throughout it you get to understand how Freya copes with the loss and how much it takes her to be able to move on with her life. The rest of the characters are written exceptionally well and you really do get the feeling that you are sharing Freya’s summer experiences with her. Julia Green’s descriptive writing really comes alive when she is talking about the Island and some of the words and phrases she uses really captures summer evenings, picnics and being a teenager falling in love for the first time.

It says on the front of the book that Julia Green is a writer to watch and I for one will be looking forward to reading more of her work.

Guest Review: Drawing with Light by Julia Green

Title: Drawing With Light
Author: Julia Green
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: 1 Mar 2010

Synopsis from Amazon

Kat and Emily have grown up without their mother for almost as long as they can remember. And now Dad is with Cassy and they all muddle along together well enough - even though they are living in a cramped caravan while their new house is being renovated. Then Cassy and Dad tell them that Cassy is pregnant, and everything seems to shift. Emily feels a new urge to find her own mother. How could she have left them the way she did? Never writing to them? Not communicating with them? And as Emily begins her search, not knowing what she will find, she is at the same time embarking on a new relationship of her own, that of her romance with Seb. This is an evocative and finely drawn novel about family relationships, in particular that of mother and daughter, and the shifting emotions of a teenager trying to make sense of her family and her world.

GUEST REVIEW BY SHELLY OF MY FAVOURITE READS

This is my first book by Julia Green and I have to say how much I enjoyed it. She writes with such imagery that she makes the whole book feel alive.

The book is centred around Emily whose life is going through some changes. Her big sister Kat is going away to University, her Dad and step mum Cassy are doing up his dream house which means the three of them have to live in a caravan in the middle of winter and best of all she meets a boy. On top of all these she starts to get curious about her Mum who left her when she was just two years old.

Emily is a photographer who likes to take photos of trees and this is where Julia Green’s imagery really opens up. When she describes how the trees look it is like you are standing in front of them about to take the photo yourself. In fact the way she captures Emily’s eye for details is wonderful and you really see and feel what the characters are feeling.

The story between Emily and Seb, the boy, is also heart warming as this is her first boyfriend and you really get the feel of some of the awkwardness that can happen with first loves. It is down to him and an argument that Emily starts to have the desire to look into her Mum and find out why she left her.

I got totally involved with all the characters in the book and found myself wanting just a little bit more about them especially Cassy and her relationship with the girls. I did feel that although this was a book about Emily and her growing up and finding herself it would have been nice to find out abit more about them.

As for my first Julia Green book I loved it and can hardly wait to delve into her world again especially if she brings the imagery of this one into her other books.