Lucy in the Sky

by Paige Toon

Settling down for a 24-hour flight to Australia, Lucy finds a text message on her phone - from a woman claiming to have slept with her boyfriend James. Trapped on the plane, Lucy questions everything about her relationship, but when she finally calls James he reassures her: it was only his mates playing a silly joke.

So why, at the wedding in Sydney of her best friend Molly, does Lucy have niggling doubts, and find herself attracted to Molly's brother-in-law Nathan? Nathan is a happy-go-lucky surfer boy, with no prospects, no place to live, an almost-girlfriend in tow.

Soon Lucy is caught between two distant continents - and two very different men ...

• ISBN10: 1847390439
• ISBN13: 9781847390431
• Publish Date: 16 April 2007
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 11 June 2013
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Pocket Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Emma (SCR)]

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I first read this book many many years ago on holiday in Corfu. I haven't read it since but Lucy and Nathan always stayed with me and when I saw that 2 other bloggers I know were re-reading all of Paige's books before the new one comes out in a few months time I thought I would try to join in. (I am failing badly)

The beginning of this book still gets me. To get a text like that as you get on a long haul flight would be awful! As the beginning of a book goes it is pretty gripping! I still hate James. Oh, what a manipulating two-timing Ahole!

Lucy is such a good character. She wants to believe the best in people and is always looking for the fun in life. Lucy is also insecure. She has some real tough decisions to make and struggles with them throughout the book. Lucy doesn't know whether to listen to her head or her heart and the constant war between the two causes some difficult moments for her.

Nathan is still one of my favourite characters. After James, he is just such a breath of fresh air. He is fun and silly. I love the jokes that they share.

There was quite a lot of this book that I had forgotten so it was lovely to re-read this and I am looking forward to trying to re-read the rest of Paige's books.

[Leah]

Lucy In The Sky is Paige Toon’s debut novel. It’s the story of Lucy who goes back to her native Australia for her best friends’, Molly and Sam, wedding. Just before her flight takes off, she gets a text message from her boyfriend James and her whole world comes crashing down…

Lucy In The Sky is one of my favourite books, along with Paige’s other novel Johnny Be Good (and others), and is a very impressive debut novel. The writing style is told in first-person so we hear all of Lucy’s thoughts about the text message, going back to Aussie and her dilemma between her boyfriends of four years, and Sam’s younger brother Nathan who she falls for while in Oz.

Lucy is a brilliant character, sure she has flaws, and did string along both Nathan and James in a way but she did it for reason. I think the fact that James was such a good liar made it easy for Lucy to believe she did love both him and Nathan. You’re with her every step of the way from the flight to Oz where she receives the text to the holiday and back to London and you just want to keep reading and reading and see what exactly happens next.

Nathan was an equally good character and I loved how he was pretty much there during the whole novel whether it be telling stupid jokes to Lucy or it just being Lucy thinking of him.

I loved Molly and Sam and while they were in Aussie for half the novel to Lucy’s being in London they were also present and I like that they didn’t fade away at all after the wedding.

James irritated me through-out. which I’m sure is what he was meant to do! – and I kept hoping Lucy would just dump him! I have to say though, Paige wrote James well so it was easy to believe that Lucy would believe everything he was saying.

I enjoyed all of the minor characters, Lucy’s work colleagues, her old friends from Uni and her old friends from Australia. Paige introduced us to some brilliant characters who all clicked together.

I also enjoyed how the novel was set in both Australia and London and how both were described really really well.

Oh and before I read Johnny Be Good I didn’t realise that Meg was in Lucy In The Sky until my re-read so it was nice to see her pop up before her novel was out!

Overall it was indeed an impressive debut. Paige just has an easy writing style to her that, one minute you could be on page 1 and the next you’re on 150 and halfway through the novel. An absolutely brilliant novel and one I highly recommend.

Rating: 5/5