The Sky So Heavy

The Sky So Heavy is a moving story of heartache and despair. A teenager named Fin is left with his brother, Max after his father walked after Fin's stepmother: Kara. Their mother left them years ago searching and finding a career in the city of Sydney as a government advisor. They are left alone for one night, when disaster strikes. He wakes up to find the ground covered with snow (he presumes to be radioactive) and food stores to be running low. All of this, a result of nuclear missiles being detonated on the other side of the world. With his brother: Max, friend: Arnold Wong and his crush: Lucy Tenningworth, Fin must find a way to survive. He travels to Sydney in search of his mother only to find out that she is the one making the decisions to try and save the country, and the soldiers at the place where her decisions are being made will not let him in. How is he going to survive?

This book grabbed me from the moment I began reading it. As a school student living in Australia myself, the story seemed extremely relatable but on the other hand scary because I began to get worried about how the Australian government would actually react in such a situation and if they would actually take such precautions.

Fin and all the characters are unique and intriguing. Although I feel Zorn could have given a deeper description of each of the characters, I still found them relatable and interesting in their own way. I felt like my imagination was on fire while reading this book. It was as if all the characters were incredibly talented actors and actresses performing on the very pages of the book. The love that Fin and Lucy shared only began to seem real to me towards the end of the book. This may have been purposeful but I would have preferred it if we could have seen a fuller and deeper love between them earlier on. Max is probably the best described character in the book. His actions and shown personality show a sweet innocent boy, who seems oblivious to the changing world around him, yet as we find out he is ready for anything and his bravery left me stunned. If all the characters in the book were as described I believe that the book as a whole could have been much more interesting and intriguing.

Zorn's writing was extremely captivating. It drew me in like I was a fish stuck on a hook. The sheer power of her words that seemed to be perfectly chosen and placed left me stunned for hours after I finished reading the book.

The story kept moving along throughout the book, but as in most books for me, it lost me at times. In most books of this sort, the authors feel the need to, towards the middle of the book, take a rest from all the action. Personally, I feel this break is unnecessary. In some books the break from the action is so large and so boring that I often struggle to continue reading because I'm so bored. In The Sky So Heavy there are quite a few. One being in the carpark when all they can do is wait. I feel like more could of happened during this time. The soldiers could of found them and arrested them or one of the people could of been a traitor and set a bomb off in the carpark. The list is endless. Despite this, they weren't too long and unbearable, so I'll let Zorn through on this one!

Overall, I really love this book. The power of Zorn's words left me gob smacked for days and I really hope she writes a sequel; I'm looking forward to it!

This is such a fantastic book! Claire should be proud, I couldn't put the book down all night! I'm hoping there's a sequel...
I never thought I'd see one of my friends have their own book published but she definitely deserves it. Such a great book.