“What are you?" I whispered. "Something," he said. "Something like you, something like a beast, something like a bird, something like an angel." He laughed. "Something like that.”
Skellig by David Almond is a magical story about Michael, a boy who's life is turning upside down, and Skellig, a strange ragged man who he discovers in his garage. The book was published by Hodder Children's Books. The novel is fairly short, at 189 pages, yet it tells a gripping story of hope and myth. The genre of the book is magic realism.
Summary
Michael's family has just moved into a new house. Michael's mother has just had a baby. However, she is becoming very ill. Michael's family are normally close, but they are living in a tense atmosphere of
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Michael tries to help Skellig, but Skellig begs him not to tell anybody he is there. Michael brings Skellig food and medicine.
One night Michael tries to move Skellig into a more comfortable position. Skellig is suffering from "Arthur Itis" and it is painful for him to move. Michael discovers that Skellig has wings on his back. Is Skellig a man? Or a bird? Or an angel? Although Skellig begs Michael not to tell anybody about him, Michael knows he cannot help Skellig on his own. He trusts Mina, the child of his neighbours, with his secret. Mina is quite strange, as she does not go to school, and is instead educated by her mother. Skellig becomes stronger, and eventually repays Michael for helping him, before leaving.
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I also thought it was enjoyable but strange, as Skellig was a magical creature in an otherwise realistic setting. I thought that Skellig was a powerful and moving book because of everything Michael was going through. I liked how descriptive the writing in the book was. It made the story much more engaging. However, I felt that many of the characters in the book were dull and lacked personality.
Skellig was set in a realistic setting. There was nothing unbelievable about the characters, but Skellig himself didn't quite fit in with the rest of the story. However, I think that Skellig's ambiguity and magical nature is what makes the book special. I think, to enjoy the book, I had to accept Skellig as a magical creature that isn't explained fully.
"Dead bluebottles were scattered on his hair and shoulders."
The descriptive language used in the book made it more believable and engaging. As Skellig was such an extraordinary character, I think the descriptions made him easier to imagine.
Although I enjoyed reading this book, the dialogue spoken by characters was quite repetitive, for example, Mina says "extraordinary" far too many times. "He's an extraordinary being" she said". (page 76). ""We are extraordinary" she whispered" (page
Once I get past all of the rambling I did in the past paragraphs, I honestly really enjoyed the book. Though it wasn't like most of the other books I’ve read (meaning I didn't cry during the process of reading it), the characters were just as provokingly interesting as the characters in other stories, it was a little edgy and made me want to yell at it, shouting at Sam when she wouldn’t let Tyler play video games with Danny, or Danny when he called to have Sam and Tyler taken to a separate facility. Overall, this book opened me up to something that just isn't a romance novel. This story really shows that there are people with a lot of difficulties in their lives, and that’s what I liked the most about it.
The thing about this book that have fascinated me is the character Smitty. From the very moment Ginny meets Smitty in class, you can tell that he is going to be an interesting person himself. Ginny even describes Smitty in a fascinating way, taking note of every one of his features. It even turns out that Smitty has a very complex history to him which leads to why he acts like he does to one another. Throughout the book, you learn about all the things that Smitty has gone through as Ginny and Caulder dig deeper into his past. One of the things that peaked my interest was the relationship between Smitty and his brother. You would think Smitty wouldn't fear about telling someone about what his brother did to him because he was so far away, but it shows just how terrified Smitty is of his brother and his actions.
One thing the author did well was put illustrations in the book. These illustrations were inferred that they were drawn by the protagonist (see page 14 for example)1. This fits well with the lore of the book and gives it a unique fourth wall break. Another thing the author did well was to incorporating fiction into historical nonfiction. According to the author's home page, he interviewed several people who grew up in Natzi germany that inspired the character of Karl, and he has studied Max Schmeling’s career in order to accurately depict his whereabouts to fit the story2. My only complaint about the book were the several seemingly pointless subplots that surface off the main plot. For example, Karl develops a love interest that consisted of less than half a chapter and smoldered into nothing; It accomplished nothing and added nothing to the story (48)1. Another thing I disliked about the Novel was its inept
Another reason I enjoyed this book was because the characters were flawed, making them more realistic. For instance, the reporter, Ishmael, had a few character flaws. He had fought in the war and had his arm amputated. He had also been in love with Hatsue before she married Kabuo. Therefore, when he found evidence that could exonerate Kabuo, he waited until the very last moment to show it to the judge because he was debating whether or not he should use it. Another flawed character was Kabuo himself. His experiences in the war had made him emotionally distant. When he was in the courtroom, he showed no emotion, even though he could have hanged. He thought that his death would be atonement for the people he killed in the war. The last flawed character is the coroner. He is portrayed as a nice, normal guy. However, after he finishes his autopsy on the victim, he tells the sheriff to look for a "right-handed Jap.
I think that overall the book was an amazing book. It drew me in the entire time and I could not put it down because of that. If any part started to get boring something insane would happen to make it interesting. For example in one part of the book it starts to get a little bit slow because it just talks about search methods a group of Bzrk members were using. Then suddenly a fake swat team busts into the house and kills everyone inside besides one child who ends killing almost all of the fake swat team. Another example was that a girl was sitting on the beach counting and kept counting for a while. Then suddenly she gets kidnapped and brought aboard a ship that is full of crazy people. Those are just some the things that happen throughout the book that keep interested on every page.
have chosen it for my report. Finally, I will give my reactions to the novel
I think my favorite thing about this novel was the realistic ending. Some books try to just give you a fairy tale but this book had an ending that mad you think in the end if I was in the same position would I do the same thing. I didn’t like the fact that the novel portrayed mental illness in a way to say that it needed to be hidden and protected. I thought this novel was very believable for the time period that it was set in. I think the ending to this novel was perfect it was an accurate ending to this
I found the book to be easy, exciting reading because the story line was very realistic and easily relatable. This book flowed for me to a point when, at times, it was difficult to put down. Several scenes pleasantly caught me off guard and some were extremely hilarious, namely, the visit to Martha Oldcrow. I found myself really fond of the char...
Fans of the novel found that the way the novel is written, you never want to put it down and the action keeps things moving and is quite entertaining. The novel pulls you in and makes you love each of the main characters in it. This is a great series for anyone to read, and it is audience friendly for whoever reads them. There is quite a bit of suspense that will make the novel exceed readers 's expectations, and the twists and turns keeps you guessing and lets nothing be predictable. Some like the way this group of people bands together when they really need to and keep things together so they can all stop the
There are several things that I like about this book. First off, I love historical fiction, and this is the genre of this book. Also, despite the author being too descriptive, the book went at a steady pace. For me, pace usually determines whether I will read the book or not, and I never really hesitated, or thought about changing books.
“You don’t know me.” My voice sounded as unsteady as his stance. He shrugged as he chuckled; the laughter turned my blood cold. He seemed to know something I did not.
The character of Skellig remains a mystery throughout the novel. The reader is taken on a journey of imagination about how Skellig got in the garage and where he goes at the end. David Almond mentions in an interview that he gets asked these questions weekly, he, as the author, doesn’t know the answers himself leaving it up to the imagination of the readers. Although, we do know that Skellig has lived in the garage long before Michael’s family moved in. David Almond doesn’t mention exactly what he is. “Something like you, something like a beast, something like a bird, something like an angel.” pg. 167. Many readers believe that Skellig was only imagined by Michael to get him through a tough time. When Michael first sees Skellig h...
The book and the movie were both very good. The book took time to explain things like setting, people’s emotions, people’s traits, and important background information. There was no time for these explanations the movie. The book, however, had parts in the beginning where some readers could become flustered.
could not withstand Michael’s living conditions, so she took him in because she wants to help