#skylarks

The wrath of dead martyrs still echoes, years later.

Review: Skylarks by Karen Gregory  Rating: 4/5 

"When you finally get up the courage to shout the truth, people listen."

Joni Cooper is used to things being a little unfair but when the daughter of the town's resident millionaire is handed a job at the local library, Joni starts to feel the unfairness grinding on her nerves. But Annabel Huntington isn't like her money-grubbing father. At least, Joni doesn't think she is. As they get to know each other, sparks begin to fly but they are two girls from two worlds and Joni isn't sure they can overcome their differences when their inequalities begin to amp up.

I don't think I've ever read a YA novel that so thoroughly investigates the class divide like this - at least not in terms of how things are in the UK. I didn't realise going into this book how much focus there would be on class inequality and how that affects teenagers but I loved it. Gregory did such a good job of explaining both Joni and Annabel's perspectives and it was fascinating watching their relationship play out.

I also loved seeing a grassroots protest being developed. I'd never read about that in a book before and it was absolutely intriguing. Gregory doesn't shy away from the rough parts of engaging in social justice - especially on the social internet - which made for an engaging read.

And the romance, of course, the romance was so well-written. It's a very quiet romance between Joni and Annabel - reminiscent of Ask the Passengers, in some ways - but it was interesting to see how reluctant they both were to pursue things and how they kept trying to push aside their differences. I do feel we could've done with a bit more closure on the class inequality discussion going on between them - just something to properly establish Annabel's understanding of the forces of privilege at play over the course of the book.