Meet The Sky – McCall Hoyle – Blink – Published 4 September 2018
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Synopsis
It all started with the accident. The one that caused Sophie’s dad to walk out of her life. The one that left Sophie’s older sister, Meredith, barely able to walk at all.
With nothing but pain in her past, all Sophie wants is to plan for the future—keep the family business running, get accepted to veterinary school, and protect her mom and sister from another disaster. But when a hurricane forms off the coast of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and heads right toward their island, Sophie realizes nature is one thing she can’t control.
After she gets separated from her family during the evacuation, Sophie finds herself trapped on the island with the last person she’d have chosen—the reckless and wild Finn Sanders, who broke her heart freshman year. As they struggle to find safety, Sophie learns that Finn has suffered his own heartbreak; but instead of playing it safe, Finn’s become the kind of guy who goes surfing in the eye of the hurricane. He may be the perfect person to remind Sophie how to embrace life again, but only if their newfound friendship can survive the storm.
My thoughts
Meet The Sky is one part adventure survival story, one part romance and one part story of self-discovery. It’s about learning to survive and, in the face of life’s storms, learning to live.
Sophie likes things under control. It’s the only way she can continue to function now that her dad has abandoned their family, her mother relies on her to help keep their horse riding business afloat and her sister sustained brain damage in the car crash that tore their family apart. The last person Sophie needs messing up her ordered control is Finn, the guy who stood her up and then disappeared. But when a hurricane heads for Sophie’s home on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Sophie finds herself stranded alone with none other than Finn Sanders.
I instantly connected with Sophie and totally got her desire for control, desperation to keep her family functioning and her need to stick to the rules. Order, organisation and control are my three operating functions, so I felt like Sophie and I were kindred spirits. Which is why, much like Sophie, Finn totally annoyed me. Surfing in the face of an approaching hurricane? Arghh. Goofing around, disregarding safety warnings and endangering not only his own but others’ lives? Triple arghh!!! I felt sorry for Sophie when she and Finn get trapped, alone on their island home with Hurricane Harry bearing down on them. However, Sophie (and I) slowly learn that there is more to Finn than his reckless ways, and there is a story hidden behind that carefree facade.
Meet The Sky is in the same town as Hoyle’s first novel, The Thing With Feathers, and while there was a brief appearance of crossover characters, each book can be read as complete standalone titles. Meet The Sky combines the same mix of family, romance and self-discovery, as Sophie learns to look past the events that have recently shaped her fear-approach to life. Meet The Sky also touches on themes of family breakdown, death and grief, as well as incorporating action and life-threatening tension as Sophie and Finn face the approaching hurricane. Sophie’s love of animals was a wonderful addition to this novel and is sure to appeal to readers who love horses.
Meet The Sky is an enjoyable contemporary novel, and is perfect for young and older teen readers alike who enjoy messy romance, life-threatening adventure and touching themes of survival, resilience and family.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
More information
Category: Young adult fiction.
Genre: Contemporary.
Themes: Grief, hurricanes, natural disasters, car accidents, father-daughter relationships, survival, romance, death, illness.
Reading age guide: Ages 11/12 and up.
Advisory: Descriptions of an injured horse and human injuries.
Published: 4 September 2018 by Blink.
Format: Hardcover, ebook. 256 pages.
ISBN: 9780310765707
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