After reading Annabel Pitcher debut book My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece in my Carnegie Shadowing Club in 2012, I was first in line to read Ketchup Clouds. It is the second book by Waterstone's Children's Book Prize winning author Annabel Pitcher, and although I think My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is slightly better in the way it is presented, Ketchup Clouds is still an amazing read.

I like to like characters, but Zoe, our protagonist (and that isn't even her real name – we find that out much later in the book) is pretty unlikeable, I'd say, in the way that if you're a teenager, you're not much a fan of fellow teenagers. She's selfish and self-centred and tactless, yet that doesn't seem to stop the reader from wanting the story to end in her favour. But I'll start at the beginning. Zoe is fifteen and a murderer – she tells us this so it must be true. She is overwhelmed with the guilt that comes with causing the death of somebody close to you and she cannot possibly tell anyone the truth aside from Mr. S. Harris. Stuart Harris is an inmate on death row in Texas, who Zoe begins sending letters to because she needs someone to relate to, someone who has already been what she has been through. But what has she been through? Ketchup Clouds does not tell us this vital piece of information straight away, for Zoe is an unreliable narrator, and instead we must, piece by piece, work out what Zoe has really done. All we know is that it involves death, two brothers, and a whole bunch of secrets and lies. When Annabel Pitcher's debut novel My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece was published in March last year she really raised the bar for authors of young adult novels and set herself a very very high standard to keep. The novel was shortlisted for numerous awards and was praised by other authors, by the press and by book bloggers. So, I have to admit, I’m extremely underwhelmed by this book. I’ve never read My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece but I’ve heard it’s great. It never really appealed to me though, I’m not sure why.Ketchup Clouds is a coming-of- age novel by the author Annabel Pitcher which tells the story of a fifteen-year-old girl, Zoe, who is dealing with a huge secret. She has written a series of letters to a murderer on death row and is trying to find the courage to confess her secret to her family and friends. Along the way, she learns about the importance of family, friendship, and making peace with the past. As she tells her story, Zoe discovers the power of words to heal and the strength of human connection. The novel is thought-provoking, heart-breaking, and ultimately uplifting. Ketchup Clouds Ending I gave this book four stars so I am going to tell you why in hopefully four points. Keeping it concise like the book itself. Ketchup Clouds is a young adult novel by Annabel Pitcher. It follows the story of fifteen year old Zoe, who writes letters to a prisoner on death row, unbeknownst to her family and friends. Through the letters she reveals her deepest secrets and feelings, including her involvement in the death of her best friend. As the story progresses, Zoe finds the strength to face her inner demons and come to terms with the choices she has made. Ketchup Clouds is a story of guilt, redemption, and ultimately hope.

This was such a disappointment. There was far too much going on, so many issues and drama smushed into a story that everything seemed to be watered down. When I’m reading a book, I’d much rather a few issues were dealt with thoroughly and completely so I can be completely invested in them as opposed to thousands, cluttering up my brain. To me anyway, it often felt that just as I was feeling one storyline, I was whipped away to try and deal with another thing. Since hearing about Ketchup Clouds, I was eager to get my hands on a copy of it! I absolutely loved the sound of the blurb and Annabel Pitcher is one of those authors that I think will always appeal to me - she has the most interesting ideas and a very unique voice. I guess you know what they say: you shouldn’t judge a book by a gorgeous cover, a wonderful title and… well, you get the gist. It’s hard to imagine that Annabel could follow her debut, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, with a new novel that is even more… captivating, moving, memorable, deft, insightful, compassionate, true to life, brilliantly observed, accomplished and exceptional (and those are just a few of the things that people are already saying), but she has. Ketchup Clouds is an extraordinary piece of writing about life: families, love, infatuation and just getting through days and nights carrying the burden of a terrible, terrible secret. Zoe reveals all in a series of letters that she writes to a prisoner on death row. You cannot hep but read her story with your pulse racing and your heart in your mouth.Sadly, this fierce but delicately orchestrated novel ends on a bum note: a letter from the surviving brother to Zoe that is both patronising and mawkish. Its final words ("Spread those strong wings of yours. Fly") brought the wrong kind of lump to my throat. That cavil aside, Ketchup Clouds is risky, confident, compelling and ends, as all prize-winning teen novels seemingly must, with hope for redemption and self-forgiveness. Pitcher should clear her diary for next year's award ceremonies. And speaking of angst and drama about boys and kissing. Urgh…this next bit is going to be a spoiler so… just watch out. Dear Mr Harris....Ignore the blob of red in the top left corner. It's jam not blood, though I don't think I need to tell you the difference". And so begins the story of 15 year old Zoe, a troubled teen, in letters she writes to Stuart Harris, a convicted murderer on death row in Texas, charged with murdering his wife.

Firstly, the positives. The protagonist's youngest sister, Dot, is D/deaf. This novel protrays a D/deaf character in a way which is a positive example of disability in fiction. If you know a teen with a disability or disabled family member, they might love this book for those reasons (as I loved Dot and her story arc). I loved how normalised Dot was, as a part of the story, and as one of the three sisters. The way Zoe's parents treat Dot's disability in terms of a problem which can be fixed, or a way of life to be explored is fabulous and realistically complicated. Her mother obsesses over coclear implants, and her father struggles with sign language, while the sisters Zoe and Soph take it in stride and care about Dot's happiness in concrete ways.I was very excited to receive a pre-publication copy of her second novel Ketchup Clouds which will be published by Indigo (an imprint of Orion) at the end of the year. I enjoyed the epistolary structure of the novel. Through her letters Zoe recounts the troubled events of the past year of her life. The intimacy of the letters and the freedom Zoe feels to tell this stranger everything allows her to be completely honest and ultimately relieves her of the guilt and burden she has carried. Without giving the story away, you soon begin to understand why she has chosen this ONE person to tell her story to, and the ultimate similarities she clearly feels she has with him. She had every chance to break it off with Max but didn't b/c he's cute? I would understand that if there was no other boy in the picture-especially his brother. Why didn't she just break it off with him? She never complained about being lonely or sad. She never said he made her feel good about herself. There was no reason to stay with him, except to keep the story moving. Vrah, jehož jméno už si nepamatuji. Jedna ze dvou původně nadějných postav. Jenže ... tam vlastně vůůůbec nebyl, protože veškerý prostor vyplňovala Zoe - jako obrovská tlustá okurka ve skleničce. Agggrwww! For those familiar with fandom terms, Zoe is a giant Mary Sue. It becomes infuriating to listen to her life as she keeps making mistakes and being rewarded by being loved and adored by all who know her, and being melodramatic about her own guilt (while, seemingly, to not have learnt much to apply to her current/future behaviour). She doesn't have a strong or interesting relationship with her parents (who are interesting and troubled characters), her 'best friend' seems to exist solely because for her to not exist would be odd, but doesn't have any characterisation I can point at, and both her sisters profess their love for Zoe over their other sibling, without ever really seeing interactions between Dot and Soph. Her relationship triangle drama would have been easily resolved with about three minutes of communication with either of the boys (and her treatment of both is cruel, and self destructive, and oh so unnecessary).