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A review by fearsparks
Words Composed of Sea and Sky by Erica George
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
** Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an arc of the book in exchange of an honest review **
This is partly contemporary fiction, partly historical fiction. The book follows two teenage girls, Mack (Michaela) from present day and Leta from 1862. Both girls write poetry and both girls have a fascination with whale hunter Captain Benjamin Churchill. This book gave me goosebumps, it made me feel, feel strong feelings. It was a piece of art, beautiful, touching and inspiring. To spend a summer writing poetry and unfolding the past, the past of a town, of a legacy, of a person.
Mack wants desperately to attend Winslow College, and one way in is a 5 day long workshop. But it costs money, and her stepdad doesn’t want that. And her mother doesn’t really stand up for her daughter. One way to go is winning a poetry competition that the college is holding. The winner gets to go to the workshop, and get their poem published on a statue of Captain Churchill.
Leta wants to be a published poet. But she is a young woman in 1860s, and she is afraid that is going to stop her from being published. Instead, she chooses to use Captain Churchill’s name when contacting a publisher. Everyone thinks Churchill has died at sea, and she feels safe using her old childhood friends name. But then he comes back, alive.
This book is beautifully written and filled with different poems. The two girls, despite living more than 100 years apart, live similar lives. Apart from both writing poems, the two also have two boys that want them. Where one of Mack’s “boys” is descendent to one of Leta’s “boys”. The story also weave the two narratives well. Some questions Mack asks herself, Leta knows the answer to. In other cases, Mack is misinformed due to Leta’s use of Churchill’s name.
This is partly contemporary fiction, partly historical fiction. The book follows two teenage girls, Mack (Michaela) from present day and Leta from 1862. Both girls write poetry and both girls have a fascination with whale hunter Captain Benjamin Churchill. This book gave me goosebumps, it made me feel, feel strong feelings. It was a piece of art, beautiful, touching and inspiring. To spend a summer writing poetry and unfolding the past, the past of a town, of a legacy, of a person.
Mack wants desperately to attend Winslow College, and one way in is a 5 day long workshop. But it costs money, and her stepdad doesn’t want that. And her mother doesn’t really stand up for her daughter. One way to go is winning a poetry competition that the college is holding. The winner gets to go to the workshop, and get their poem published on a statue of Captain Churchill.
Leta wants to be a published poet. But she is a young woman in 1860s, and she is afraid that is going to stop her from being published. Instead, she chooses to use Captain Churchill’s name when contacting a publisher. Everyone thinks Churchill has died at sea, and she feels safe using her old childhood friends name. But then he comes back, alive.
This book is beautifully written and filled with different poems. The two girls, despite living more than 100 years apart, live similar lives. Apart from both writing poems, the two also have two boys that want them. Where one of Mack’s “boys” is descendent to one of Leta’s “boys”. The story also weave the two narratives well. Some questions Mack asks herself, Leta knows the answer to. In other cases, Mack is misinformed due to Leta’s use of Churchill’s name.