Secrets, romance, murder and lies: Zoe shares a terrible secret in a letter to a stranger on death row in this second novel from the author of the bestselling debut, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece.
Fifteen-year-old Zoe has a secret—a dark and terrible secret that she can't confess to anyone she knows. But then one day she hears of a criminal, Stuart Harris, locked up on death row in Texas. Like Zoe, Stuart is no stranger to secrets. Or lies. Or murder.
Full of heartache yet humour, Zoe tells her story in the only way she can—in letters to the man in prison in America. Armed with a pen, Zoe takes a deep breath, eats a jam sandwich, and begins her tale of love and betrayal
My thoughts
Ketchup clouds is the second novel from Annabel Pitcher. It's an interesting read, told in a very unique way and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Zoe is a teenager with a secret, a guilty conscience and no one to talk to about either. She therefore starts writing about her story via letters to a man she has never met who is currently on death row in Texas accused of killing his wife. This gives her an outlet and as the book goes on Zoe's story unfolds and I found it fascinating to follow her story and find out everything about her secret.
I won't tell you too much about the story but I will say that I loved Zoe as a character and I loved following her story. I enjoyed seeing the pickle she got herself in over the two brothers she ends up in relationships with Max and Aaron. I also really loved Zoe's little sister Dot completely. Dot is deaf and seeing the relationship between her and her sisters was wonderful to see and I loved her spirit. The story surrounding her and the girl's mother's guilt about Dot's condition was so brilliantly and sensitively done.
All in all a wonderful offering from a British author who writing is a pleasure to read and whose books I will also be excited to read.
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