Genre: Magical realism, fantasy, mystery, children’s fiction
Key Stage: Year 6+
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Skelling by David Almond (1998)
Skelling is a novel that explores love, trust, and friendship through the story of a boy named Michael and his family. The family moves to an old house, and Michael feels a sense of displacement. The novel explores other themes and challenges such as his baby sister dealing with a serious condition which results in regular hospital visits and the constant presence of a doctor referred to as ‘Doctor Death’. Despite these challenging themes, the novel contains a mysterious character named Skelling, who Michael discovers in his garage amongst all the debris, rubbish, and blue bottle flies. He soon forms a close bond with Skelling along with a home-schooled girl named Mina.
While the novel has its strengths, I found some downsides that I did not enjoy which included some bad language. Furthermore, I found that there wasn’t enough excitement or tension to keep me on the edge of my seat. However, I did like Mina’s sarcasm which I found it to be a highlight of the novel; her character added humour and light to the story.
Reviewer: Sahra, Year 7