The Edge of the Cloud by K M Peyton
| The Edge of the Cloud by K M Peyton | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: The sequel to Flambards sees Will and Christina weather the years just before WWI. A great story and an interesting exploration of the development of flight. Highly recommended. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 192 | Date: April 2014 |
| Publisher: OUP | |
| ISBN: 978-0192736352 | |
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Winner: Carnegie Medal 1969
First things first: this is a brilliant book and you could read it on its own but it's an extra-brilliant book if you've read the first book in the Flambards series. It's inevitable that there are going to be spoilers in this review so if you want to get the best out of this series, click away right now. I really won't be offended.
Will and Christina have run away together, not least to get away from the very tense situation at Flambards. But this is 1912 so Christina is taken chastely to her aunt's house and before long Will leaves to look for a job. They know that it's going to be years before they can marry as Christina's Uncle Russell - who's also Will's father has said that he won't give consent to the marriage whilst there's breath in his body. Christina is left to help her aunt in her dressmaking business, but it's not long before she has a job close to where Will is working.
You'd never say that Will doesn't love Christina, but you'll always know that his first priority is going to be the planes, or flying - or earning money through doing stunts, which he can spend on the planes. Christina takes to spending her evenings at the airfield and even begins to enjoy herself but the world is changing and what's happening in Europe casts a shadow over their lives.
It's a superb book. The fact that it's a sequel and still managed to win the Carnegie medal should tell you all that you need to know on that score. The characters are all wonderfully drawn: Christina is independent, a young woman working to earn her living, but she's capable of being naive on occasions. She loves Will and he certainly cuts a dashing figure, but he's reckless and not all that caring about Christina or anyone else for that matter. They're real people rather than hero and heroine of a story.
The stunning part for me was the background to the story - the development of flight and 'flying machines'. There's a real feeling of being in there, of holding your breath as stunts are tried and of horror when the inevitable happens. There are no punches pulled - this was very, very dangerous. The cover might make this book look like a romance, but for most of the time it's anything but. I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the third book in the series. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
You would be best reading Flambards before this book. It's a richer read if you know the background.
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