Faye Fitzgerald is sent to boarding school on a bleak and treeless island. In fact, she is one of the
first pupils of Auk Island School, a desolate and battered place, wild and remote, seemingly at the world’s end. Abandoned with only six other pupils at the school –– Faye discovers that she and the other pupils have been sent there for doing something wicked. But what has she done?
She remembers so little of the night everything changed – the night that robbed her of being able to speak. She might be bold enough to tackle the sinister mysteries of the island, but has she the courage to face the secrets deep within herself?
Blogtour review:
Full disclosure - Lucy Strange's books are some of my favourites of recent years - I love the dark, twisty, Gothic feel of them, and the nods towards other spooky mysteries of that era. This latest, set on a desolate Scottish Island in a boarding school for delinquent troubled children, didn't disappoint! Giving me Heathcliff -style feelings from the desolate landscape of the island, along with including all the elements of the best of spooky children's literature: scheming evil relatives trying to rid themselves of troublesome heirs; dastardly adults-in-charge; secret tunnels and spooky corridors; a brave yet misunderstood central heroine with her own family mysteries and secrets to unravel....this was truly a gripping page-turner of a read that kept me hanging on until the dramatic end.
The characters are brave, adventurous and duly disrespectful of the rules and regulations set to restrain them in their island prison. Ranging in variety from a Prince to landed gentry....all with their own foibles and very different reasons to be on Auk, I loved the way they were all able to then come together to rail against the evil headteacher, his family and his plans.
I loved the description of the desolate, barren island landscape - the environment and bleakness adding to the feeling of isolation and desertion that many of the characters felt having been banished there in the first place.
The action and drama is also gripping - from close shaves in the corridors, midnight escapes using secret passages and stolen keys, being shot at with a shotgun and nearly being drowned at sea - this really is an action-packed thriller, and truly had me on the edge of my seat at points!
Cleverly written as always, with plot twists and turns, descriptions and great characters, I would love this to be a movie or TV show - it has a really cinematic and dramatic feel to the story, and I could see it being a great tea-time/early Sunday evening family drama.
Don't hesitate to get this - if it's your first Lucy Strange book, then it's a great place to start....if you're already a fan, then this is not going to disappoint at all, and you'll love this latest great novel from this fab author.
About the author:
Lucy Strange worked as an actor, singer and storyteller for some years before becoming a teacher. She is the bestselling author of The Secret of Nightingale Wood, selected as one of Amazon.com’s Best Middle Grade Books of 2017, and the Waterstones Prize- shortlisted Our Castle by the Sea.
You can find Lucy on Twitter @thelucystrange, Instagram @thelucystrange and
The Island at the Edge of Night by Lucy Strange (£7.99, Chicken House) available now.
my thanks to Chicken House for a copy of the book to review, and to Kate for a spot on the blogtour.
review by Rich Simpson (@richreadalot) April 2024