Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall

Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall
Buy Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: General Fiction
Reviewer: Luke Marlowe
Summary: An excellent debut exploring two girls in an isolated community – filled with excellent characterisation and a lingering sense of foreboding…
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 288	Date: July 2017
Publisher: Legend Press
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1785079238
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Kate and Harriet are best friends growing up together on an isolated Australian cape. As the daughters of the lighthouse keepers, the two girls share everything, until a fisherman, McPhail, arrives in their small community. When Kate witnesses the desire that flares between him and Harriet, she is torn by her feelings of envy and longing. An innocent moment in McPhail's hut then occurs that threatens to tear their peaceful community apart.

Kate Mildenhall is an Australian author, based in the outskirts of Melbourne with her young family. She's previously taught across schools in Australia, volunteered with Teachers Across Borders in Cambodia – and this is her first novel.

For a debut it's remarkably assured – transporting the reader to the rugged, wild Australian coastline in the 1880s. Whilst dramatic tensions are gradually heightened throughout the novel, it's mostly a gentle, enjoyable read – bringing the reader into a small community and gradually introducing them to the people around them. Quiet and considered, the growth of the two girls takes centre stage in the story, with the joys of childhood slowly changing into the pangs of adolescence, mixed with a sense of foreboding that reaches a rather shocking climax.

Characterisation is strong throughout, and the unfixable passage of time across earlier chapters allows an almost dreamlike feel to descend upon the initial events. The gentle progression of this plot does mean that it may struggle to grab the reader at first – but the minutiae of detail that Mildenhall goes into allow the reader to be submerged into the lives of these people, and whilst the story does take a dark turn, it's a place in which the reader will want to stay and watch the goings on. This makes what could be an ordinary read surprisingly haunting – I've found myself thinking of the characters and the places in the days since I finished reading, which is, for me at least, the sign of a good read.

It did take me a while to get into this book – and some interactions between the characters felt slightly forced - not quite ringing true to either the circumstance of the characters or the period that they were in. However, this is an extremely strong debut overall – with interesting characters, a well-paced plot and a beautiful setting. Many thanks to the publishers for the copy.

For further reading I'd recommend The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman – whilst Skylarking isn't quite as devastatingly romantic, both reads conjure up the remote Australian coast to dazzling effect.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall at Amazon.com.

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