And the Ocean Was Our Sky

by Patrick Ness

[Joséphine]

Initial thoughts: I debated for weeks and for months about whether or not I would read And the Ocean Was Our Sky because I had seen so many mixed reviews and was afraid I wouldn’t much like Patrick Ness’ newest book either. I’m glad that for me, those worries were unfounded. No doubt, whales as main characters are unusual but in Ness’ sure way of telling fantastical stories, I came to care for their story.

Again, this one’s (understandably) a little weird for some readers, but I found the amount of weirdness and eccentricity just right. The idea of removing humans from the centre of a tale, to (literally) flip the world upside down, and to make me grapple with morality? I loved it precisely for these factors, and for the amazing illustrations from Rovina Cai.

Ness’ latest release embodies what I’ve come to adore about his writing — that he’s true to himself and that I can always rely on him to weave postmodern threads into his works.