Another YA fiction book for me! Because that’s what I could handle at the time, and it was still taking a bit longer than I’d like to read. It had an interesting concept, and it was for a younger audience so I figured it was about at the range where I could check it out.
The book follows Michael, a kid who has just moved into a new house that needs a lot of work, and where the whole family is very stressed about his baby sister who is suffering from several health problems. Michael discovers a strange being in the shed that likes Chinese food and doesn’t seem quite human, but does appear to also be dying.
There’s a very passive and dream-like quality to the book, where things just happen more than Michael taking any actions to drive it onward. There’s a girl named Mina who takes a more active role in the story and actually takes more action in the book while Michael seems to just sit back and stress and wonder and observe the events around him as they happen. He does some mild things, like figuring out and ordering the right food or adding a few vitamins to Skellig’s recovery, but it doesn’t ever really feel like anything would have changed if he didn’t do anything.
Although some of this might be more about the fact that I didn’t really know how old I was supposed to interpret the characters as. I have since found out that he was intended to be 10, which does make a lot more sense, but I just wasn’t sure while I was reading. Which made the book feel more okay than really good. Also, it might be because it was really intended for much younger readers than me who probably wouldn’t have been as bothered by that.
But overall, it was an interesting read. Not something I’d pick up a second time, but definitely something that was enjoyable at the time and worth at least checking out.