Skellig - David Almond

The winner of numerous awards for children's literature, Skellig was one of the novels recommended by Nick Hornby in his travels through YA fiction. Skellig is the story of young Michael, who has moved into a new home following the birth of his very sickly sister. While his parents are preoccupied with his sister's health care, Michael is left to explore on his own. In his garage, he comes across a strange creature - perhaps human, but perhaps more. He shares the secret with Mina, his precocious home-schooled neighbor. Though I tend to read children's literature here and there and do not by any means have a grasp on what comes out in a given year, I was surprised that this book has won so many awards. It seemed all over the place to me. There is no satisfactory explanation of where the garage creature came from, or how he deteriorated to his present state. As Michael drops in and out of school, he is consumed by worry over his little sister - he feels his heartbeat inside his own, yet this connection is never fully explored. Then there is Mina's obsession with William Blake and her superior attitude. While it is clear that Michael has much to learn from the world that cannot come from his structured classroom, Almond's exact point on this issue is unclear. Michael's parents pay sporadic attention to him and tell them they love him, yet don't seem to do much to support him through the difficult transition. In the end, I just felt like the story didn't hold together. I didn't really care that much about Michael, and I found Mina to be an irritating distraction. While there were interesting ideas here and there throughout the book, ultimately, I didn't feel it amounted to very much.