Ghostlines

Katya Balen does more than write stories: she orchestrates them. Her words have rhythm; they ebb and flow like the waters around the island on which this spectacular story is set.  Ghostlines begins gently with an introduction to life on the remote, small island of Ayrie. A haven for puffins, the island bustles with tourists during the bird watching season. But, once the fledglings have hatched and migrated, peace is restored and the island is still once more.

The feeling of harmony is palpable and a strong sense of place is created through beautifully crafted descriptions, seen through the eyes of the central character, Tilda. Tilda adores her home. Her passion for Ayrie is strong and the reader is captivated by her love for her surroundings. The novel's title is a reference to the invisible paths carved into the sea by countless boat journeys: 'the trails left by a thousand boats over a thousand years, somehow still carved into the water'.

Whilst these tracks prove to be crucial to Tilda and Albie's safety, the concept of the invisible strings that bind us is a theme that is woven throughout the story as Tilda's heart aches for her absent brother. As always, Katya Balen deals with the emotional turmoils of young people with empathy and sensitivity. When newcomer Albie arrives and sees nothing but negatives in this far flung rock in the sea, Tilda is enraged and hurt by his negativity. She is also forced to relive the pain of losing someone close to her who also craved a life of excitement and adventure.

Just as the reader is settling into the tranquil rhythm, the story accelerates and the words quicken in their tempo like the gathering storm. Like the conductor of a symphony, Balen controls the tempo and a crescendo of action and emotion bursts from the page as Tilda and Albie find themselves in peril. Having dared to row over to a forbidden island, the duo find themselves caught in the centre of a terrifying storm. The quickening pace reflects the tension of the moment and the reader will be truly absorbed, turning page after page to find out what happens next.

Tilda and Albie learn much through their experience and their personalities rise from the page. Balen allows their fears, hopes, and heartaches to be heard through the musicality of her words. As the story reaches its conclusion, the writing returns to a more gentle, measured pace and the reader will smile with satisfaction. Tilda and Albie find their own peace and the story resumes its quieter, slower beat once more

Ghostlines is a beautiful masterpiece - it is typical of Balen's close eye for detail. It sings with the joy of nature and the delights in the environment whilst offering a captivating storyline.

288 pages / Reviewed by Jo Clarke, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+

Ghostlines, the latest lyrically beautiful story from Katya Balen, celebrates the wonder of the natural world, the difficulty of accepting change and the importance of human connections.

Tilda has lived all her life on the island of Ayrie and she adores everything about it: the fierce loveliness, the wild isolation and the closeness of the community where everyone knows everyone else and always has done. When Albie and his mother arrive one autumn, it's the first time in Tilda's memory that anyone has come to live there permanently. She is desperate to share her love of Ayrie with Albie where, as she says, 'You can do anything you want. You can go anywhere you like'.

Despite the freedom, though, he hates everything about it.  How can she win him over?  In a final attempt to convince him, she mentions a secret island they could reach in her new kayak.  But visiting it means leaving Ayrie and taking a huge risk… the secret island is so dangerous that it is strictly out of bounds to children and it's haunted too...

Like all Katya Balen's books, the story is told in language full of poetry with stunning choices of word and imagery that make the landscape itself a central character in the drama. Tilda is a compelling and sympathetic heroine; superficially, she is as fierce and wild as her surroundings but underneath she is vulnerable, struggling to process feelings of loss, guilt and failure. Meanwhile Albie is wrestling with unspoken anxieties and grudges of his own. Written with nuanced understanding of the way that change can provoke complicated and conflicting feelings, Katya Balen’s books are always great for building empathy. This is no exception - do read it!

288 pages / Reviewed by Louisa Farrow, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+