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A review by mat_tobin
A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond
3.0
I wish I had never read or been a part of the whole debate around whether this book was a children's book or not on social media as I feel it tainted my opinion of the text. I have always been a huge fan of Almond, right from Skellig onwards. I feel quite close to his exploration and celebration of the North as well as his strong tie to his role within the Catholic faith as a young boy. But for me, this book just wasn't quite as good as I wanted it to be.
A retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, a fated love story in which two lovers are torn apart through a tragic accident and, in his desire to be with his one true love again, Orpheus descends into the underworld to find Eurydice and bring her back. Sadly, just as the gates of hell, against the rules stated by Hades, he turns around to check that his love has followed him and, in his mistake, loses her once again.
Almond's retelling is set within Newcastle and focuses on a group of young hipsters who have very open and explorative relationships with each other. Told in first person from the perspective of Claire, a girl deeply besotted with her best friend Ella, Almond explores the pain and hunger that comes with first love and the exhilarating sense of exploration that comes with young adulthood. Of course, the language is beautiful and lyrical but sometimes I felt like it went on a bit too long and the power of the words would lose their effect.
I also felt that although the nights with Claire and her friends gathered upon the beach around the campfire, drinking and smoking, laughing and singing were strong images of teenage life and desire for freedom, he didn't (for me) capture the overwhelming and wholly engulfing nature of first love which he was looking for. Since we are in the mind of Claire, it seemed confusing that we never got to see how strongly she was in love with Ella.
If I were a teacher in KS3/4 I would absolutely want to be reading this to or with the class. It touches on issues of love, regret, the bitter loneliness of loving someone who does not love you back the same way that you love them and, regardless of whether I think Almond has captured the moment well enough himself, the themes and motifs he explores will undoubtedly strike a powerfully strong cord with the young adult readership.
A retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, a fated love story in which two lovers are torn apart through a tragic accident and, in his desire to be with his one true love again, Orpheus descends into the underworld to find Eurydice and bring her back. Sadly, just as the gates of hell, against the rules stated by Hades, he turns around to check that his love has followed him and, in his mistake, loses her once again.
Almond's retelling is set within Newcastle and focuses on a group of young hipsters who have very open and explorative relationships with each other. Told in first person from the perspective of Claire, a girl deeply besotted with her best friend Ella, Almond explores the pain and hunger that comes with first love and the exhilarating sense of exploration that comes with young adulthood. Of course, the language is beautiful and lyrical but sometimes I felt like it went on a bit too long and the power of the words would lose their effect.
I also felt that although the nights with Claire and her friends gathered upon the beach around the campfire, drinking and smoking, laughing and singing were strong images of teenage life and desire for freedom, he didn't (for me) capture the overwhelming and wholly engulfing nature of first love which he was looking for. Since we are in the mind of Claire, it seemed confusing that we never got to see how strongly she was in love with Ella.
If I were a teacher in KS3/4 I would absolutely want to be reading this to or with the class. It touches on issues of love, regret, the bitter loneliness of loving someone who does not love you back the same way that you love them and, regardless of whether I think Almond has captured the moment well enough himself, the themes and motifs he explores will undoubtedly strike a powerfully strong cord with the young adult readership.