Infinite Sky by C.J. Flood

Infinite Sky by C.J. Flood

Release Date: February 14, 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Rated: YA 13+
Format: ARC
Source: Author
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

Iris Dancy’s free-spirited mum has left for Tunisia, her dad’s rarely sober and her brother’s determined to fight anyone with a pair of fists.

When a family of travellers move into the overgrown paddock overnight, her dad looks set to finally lose it. Gypsies are parasites he says, but Iris is intrigued. As her dad plans to evict the travelling family, Iris makes friends with their teenage son. Trick Deran is a bare knuckle boxer who says he’s done with fighting, but is he telling the truth?

When tools go missing from the shed, the travellers are the first suspects. Iris’s brother, Sam, warns her to stay away from Trick; he’s dangerous, but Iris can no longer blindly follow her brother’s advice. He’s got secrets of his own, and she’s not sure he can be trusted himself.

Infinite Sky is a family story about betrayal and loyalty, and love.

There's a different feel when you read a book set in the UK by a British author. Now days I find myself reading young adult and middle grade by American authors, and so when it comes to reading a book set elsewhere, the feel while reading it is pretty foreign... which is strange, as I've never lived in the US, and have always lived around Asia and been influenced by many cultures. Yet once again, as it does with the case of Jacqueline Wilson and Cathy Cassidy novels, the whole British-feel of the story comes flooding back to me.
I loved Infinite Sky. I was drawn into the beautiful descriptions of Silverweed Farm and the countryside, as well as the intriguing mystery and suspense lurking throughout this story. The imagery in this novel is absolutely gorgeous, and I was swept away with it from start to finish.

I really adored Iris' character– she's sweet, makes mistakes and is open-minded. I loved looking in on this story through her point of view. She's impartial, and even though she does have faults which really doesn't help during the climax of this novel, she's a great character overall. I really found myself agreeing with her over the fake-ness of her best friend, and the changes her brother goes through.
Trick had me with the accent! I fell for him like Iris does from the start. His good nature, his messy accent, his sense of adventure. Of course, overtime there are doubts but in the end, I was still strong by him, despite the final outcome.

A lot of the diction in this book was a easy to get, but occasionally there would be a word here and there which took me a while to understand. I mean, it's all English, but one that's very different! Like crisps for chips, it took a slight adjusting, but in the end, it really helped build up the world around Iris.

I loved this novel, it's a quick, fast-paced read, but with so much emotional depth.An enthralling story, Infinite Sky is a fetching debut by C.J. Flood, which will allow all readers to be sucked into this enchanting world of trueheartedness, finding yourself and that growing up may not be all what you want it to be.

▪ ▪ ▪ Thank you so much to Chelsey (CJ) Flood for sending a copy of Infinite Sky for review and BTG2013! ▪ ▪ ▪

If you like this, try...

• Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy ● Goodreads
• Flyaway by Lucy Christopher ● Goodreads