Searching for Sky by Jillian Cantor

It's been awhile since I've read a book in a matter of days.  Searching for Sky was a book I couldn't put down.  It is YA, so will definitely be of interest to you.  And I downloaded it from Overdrive from the MHS school library, so I know you can access it easily.

Here's a short synopsis: Sky and River have grown up on a deserted island with Sky's mom, Petal, and River's dad, Helmut.  Petal and Helmut die from eating poisonous mushrooms, so Sky and River are left to survive by themselves on the island.  Only then, they are miraculously rescued by two men on a boat and taken back to California, a completely foreign land to Sky and River, who back on the mainland are known as Megan and Lucas.  You'd think they would be happy to be there, with their needs met so easily.  But when they learn a dark secret from their families' pasts, they greatly miss their simple life on the island and yearn to return.

The best thing about this was the author's writing style.  She told the story from Sky's perspective, a young girl who had been on the island since the age of one.  Sky never had any formal schooling, and, therefore, the writer's voice indicates this.  Here are two short excerpts from page 2 at the beginning of the book so you can get an idea of Sky's narration:

"'River'-I shake my head-'you promised you wouldn't.' Past Rocks, Ocean grows deeper, cooler, darker, and the water pulls you hard, so if you aren't careful, you could easily be swept out, swept away into the deep, great nothingness that lies beyond us.'"

"I can't stay mad at him, because I'm starving too.  When one of us doesn't spear a fish or catch a bird or a rabbit in my traps, we eat purple flowers, blue berries, and green leaves that we keep stocked inside Shelter for emergencies.  Every plant in our world is valuable in that it can be eaten, drunk, or used in Shelter in some way.  Except for mushrooms.  Now, we know better."

You may notice that many nouns don't have an article associated with them.  They are simply Rocks, Ocean, Shelter, etc. to Sky and River.  The best thing about this author is that she was able to subtly change Sky's voice as Sky changed as a character.  As Sky learned about life in California, she started to correct her voice and explain her understanding within her internal thoughts.

I loved this book!  It was a quick read, engaging, well-written, and had a unique plot with several unexpected twists.  Read on, friends!