Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

Ketchup Clouds

by Annabel Pitcher

Winner of the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize 2013, KETCHUP CLOUDS tells the story of one teenage girl with a very big secret.

Fifteen-year-old Zoe has a secret - a dark and terrible secret that she can't confess to anyone she knows. But then one day she hears of a criminal, Stuart Harris, locked up on death row in Texas. Like Zoe, Stuart is no stranger to secrets. Or lies. Or murder.

Full of both heartache and humour, Zoe tells her story in the only way she can - in letters to the man in prison in America. Armed with a pen, Zoe takes a deep breath, eats a jam sandwich, and begins her tale of love and betrayal.

Reviewed by Angie on

3 of 5 stars

Share

Ketchup Clouds is a book that I was super excited for when it first came out, then promptly forgot about it. Then recently rediscovered it and got super excited again! Nearly a decade after its release, I've finally read it and know Zoe's secret! I flew through it because I just had to know what happened between her, Max, and Aaron which resulted in one of the brothers dying.

Zoe (not her real name) slowly reveals what went on with her and the boys over the course of the year she knew them in letters to a Death Row inmate. She feels guilty, but not guilty enough to turn herself in, but she needs to get the truth off her chest. Who better to understand than a man who murdered his wife? Well, about two-thirds in, I started having doubts about Ketchup Clouds. Zoe was taking way too long to get to the point and kept dancing around the issue. It made me suspicious that this was not heading in the direction I thought it was. There's no huge twist. No big ending. It's quite subtle. I enjoyed the suspense of it all, but the ending was a bit disappointing. But Zoe does repeatedly say that life doesn't have a grand build up...

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • 18 December, 2021: Started reading
  • 19 December, 2021: on page 0 0%
  • 19 December, 2021: Finished reading
  • 25 March, 2022: Reviewed