In 2073, on the remote and secretive island of Blessed, where it is rumoured that no one ages and no children are born, a ritual sacrifice takes place.
For a moment it echoes ten centuries before, when, in the dark of the moon, a king was slain and tragically taken from his queen. Forevermore their souls search to be reunited, and as mother and son, artist and child, forbidden lovers, victims of a vampire, they come close to finding what they've lost. Although love can take many forms, can it last forever?
Marcus Sedgwick is a dark and beautiful writer, which he proves in this 2011 lone novel. Standing apart from his previous YA series, 'The Raven Mysteries', this novel is a nod to his adult fiction in it's style and darkness.
A short book, this novel very cleverly takes us back through time. Divided into different sections this story carries us back to an unknown time before the 10th century, carefully crafting out the bitterly painful story of two lovers.
Although gripping and nearly impossible to put down, Sedgwick hides the truth of what's happening, throwing the reader from one possibility to another with each story. The result is a tantalising novel that, although dark and in places, hard to read, we can't stop thinking about it after closing.
This curious style of writing however is quiet a leap from the classic YA novel, and it's easy to become confused. It is not clear whether Sedgwick intended to throw the readers time frame out of balance, or if this is just the result of the twisting storyline.
However, this novel does manage to accomplish something so few YA novels do, it is completly unisex, both an enjoyable adventure and a passionate love story. This book ticks almost all the boxes.
We Give Midwinterblood Three Stars
ISBN 978-1-78062-020-6 £6.99 Cover price. Avalible as an eBook Published by Indigo.
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