Review: Dark Storm - Sarah Singleton

Dark Storm by Sarah Singleton, published by Simon and Schuster on 29th March 2012

Goodreads synopsis:
Ellie is staying with her maternal grandparents for the summer, while her recently bereaved dad takes off on holiday with his new girlfriend. Upset by his apparent callousness, missing her mother, and jealous for her dad's attention, she begins to spiral into depression. Her grandparents suggest she joins a local theatre group, to meet people her own age and get away from the dark thoughts that threaten to engulf her. But then she gets roped into a seance at the theatre, and is the only one who actually sees a real ghost. Now a spirit is contacting her from beyond the grave - and as the dead boy's story unfolds, Ellie finds herself falling in love with him. But if she solves his mystery and helps release his soul, will he be lost to her forever?

Review:
'Dark Storm' is a ghostly love story about a lonely teenage girl called Ellie who while visiting her grandparents for the summer discovers a secret from the past.  She falls in love with a handsome vision who appears to her after she finds a theatre model in an old bookshop.  The model connects her with Harry - a ghost from the past who she sets out to discover more about.

I initially found the story a little slow to start but as it progressed I was sucked into Ellie's quest to find out more about the mysterious Harry and who he really was.  I actually really enjoyed reading about the historical research that she embarks upon and the way in which she gradually begins to connect all the dots together to find out the truth about him.  It's like a puzzle which she has all the pieces for but it won't make sense until they're all put in the right place.   

British author Sarah Singleton has an engaging writing style. Her characters are realistically and truthfully portrayed like typical teenagers and they're easy to empathise with.  I liked Ellie, the central protagonist, in particular  She feels displaced and alone after the death of her mother and resentful of her father's new girlfriend.  She's drawn to Harry's presence and there's a definite connection between the two but I didn't necessarily feel the sense of love which develops.  I far preferred the solid and dependable Alex, a local boy who Ellie becomes friends with and who's always there when she needs him.

There's also local girl Daisy who Ellie befriends when she joins the local theatre group.  Daisy is quirky and cool and their personalities seem to compliment each other.  While Ellie is often sad and confused, Daisy is a happy person to be around and she seems like a great friend to have.

I liked the symmetry which developed between Ellie's mother's romantic past and Ellie's present relationships.  The second half of the book in which many of these secrets come to light was extremely good.  Overally this was an enjoyable read and probably my favourite of Sarah Singleton's books so far. 

Review: The Stranger - Sarah Singleton

The Stranger by Sarah Singleton, published by Simon and Schuster on 31st March 2011

Goodreads synopsis:
Charlotte is heading to a tiger sanctuary to do some voluntary work as part of her travels. But a fellow traveller working at the sanctuary starts to make her feel uncomfortable and she decides to ask Otto to visit her, pretending to be her boyfriend. When things start going wrong at the sanctuary, Charlotte fears a vendetta against her could be to blame. As tigers come under attack from poachers, the local authorities threaten to replace the sanctuary's management. Mark the journalist reappears, ostensibly covering the poaching crisis, but also delving into the background of the traveller who is making Charlotte's life a misery. But by now Otto and Charlotte's 'fake' relationship seems to be developing into something a little more serious...and how will Mark, and Otto's ex, Jen, feel about that?

Review:
The Stranger’ is the sequel to Sarah Singleton’s fantastic novel ‘The Island’, featuring teenagers Otto, Charlotte and Jen.  I read the latter last year and really enjoyed it.  Not only was it a fast-paced and exciting read but it also introduced me to a brand new award-winning British author who I’ve been looking forward to reading more of.  Therefore, when I saw this book in my local library I grabbed it straight away.

 

The story begins with Otto, Charlotte and Jen still in India, but having gone their separate ways at the end of the first book, they’re now scattered across the country.  When Charlotte is involved in a train crash on her way back to her work placement at a Tiger sanctuary, a series of events are set in motion that draw the three friends back together.  Charlotte is shadowed by the mysterious Jack, who was also involved in the crash and now seems to think that they share a special bond.  Otto is dealing with his new feelings about his best friend and Jen is still trying to find her place in the world, whilst immersing herself in her spiritual bond with India.  

 

One of the things I particularly like about Singleton’s writing style is how fresh and modern it is and how realistic the plot lines of her stories are, drawing on events that really happen.  ‘The Stranger’ incorporates issues such as animal poaching and animal protection, stalking and obsession, as well as wider themes such as environmentalism and preservation of the planet.  There are some wonderfully vivid descriptions of India and this helped me to imagine more clearly the characters' surroundings and lives.

 

The viewpoints of the three main characters are told in alternating chapters, although the main focus is on Charlotte.  She was actually my favourite character from the first book too so I liked getting to hear more about her and seeing events through her eyes and from her standpoint.  She has lots of appealing qualities and she’s the most grounded of the three friends, in terms of the fact that she knows what she wants to do and she’s steadfast, loyal and courageous.  I struggled slightly with the chapters about Jen as she’s much more complex and very involved in the spiritual side of life.  I did find that I was skipping through these quite quickly to try and get back to Charlotte and Otto.  Also, although she does end up having a significant role to play in resolving the plot, at times I found her quite superfluous to the action.  I was pleased that the relationship between Otto and Charlotte was developed further (I was waiting for some romance between the two of them!) and this added an additional angle to the story.

 

Whilst I was reading ‘The Stranger’ I was continually trying to guess what was going to happen next and I was on tenterhooks, wondering what was really going on with the sinister Jack.  He was pretty creepy and quite scary at times and he worked well as a continual menacing presence in the background throughout.  If you like your books full of mystery and intrigue with an exciting storyline but also serious things to say about the world then this is the book for you.  I'm looking forward to reading more by Sarah Singleton in the future.