Review of The Sky Above

[Danielle Briggs]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Sky Above" by Kim Idol.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Bridget lives her life smoking and drinking heavily, with no plan for her future. Her siblings are not much better, with one of her brothers becoming more and more involved in street crime. Through this brother, Bridget meets and becomes friends with Andy. Bridget and Andy, along with a girl named Sarah, plan a heist to rob Bridget’s family’s restaurant and split the money. With money in hand, it looks as if the group pulled it off, until Sarah stabs Bridget in front of Andy and takes Bridget’s share of the money for herself. As she is left bleeding in the parking lot, readers are taken into the past to learn about Bridget’s family history, her upbringing, and how she became the person she is now. The mystery of why Bridget was stabbed is also being investigated by Andy in the present time.

The Sky Above by Kim Idol has elements of mystery, adventure, suspense, and drama, all wrapped up in a captivating story about outcasts and misfits. I enjoyed the inclusion of Bridget’s family history and how the family became what it is today. For example, her father is portrayed as a mean drunk, but we see with this history how he was shaped into this person. Idol’s descriptive and detailed writing style allowed me to have a clear picture in my head of the story as it was happening. All of the characters are well-developed, and Idol makes a point of showing readers the nature of each character’s childhood and how it shaped the people they are now, which was nice to see.

Although the action and scenes are vividly described in the book, I wish the author would describe the physical features of the characters more. This did not take away from my enjoyment, but at times I wished I had a clearer picture of what the characters looked like. It was also hard for me to follow the timeline of the story since it jumped from past to present between chapters with no given context as to the characters’ ages or at what point in their lives we were at. Even though I liked the author’s descriptive writing style, at times, I felt that the sentences became unnaturally long and had too much detail at once, making them not read as smoothly as I would have liked.

I give this book a 3 out of 4. I loved the characters, and the story kept me captivated until the very end, but the slightly confusing timeline and overly descriptive sentences lessened my enjoyment of the story.

I would recommend this book to readers who like novels that focus on flawed and rebellious characters. Since most of the story revolves around character development and relationships, readers who like action-packed novels may find this book a little slow.

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The Sky Above
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[Amy Luman]

I am very captivated by vivid descriptions. I wonder how Bridget's family figures into this. I'll read and find out.

[Shelby Ayres]

A very unique plot and a fascinating twist on a rebellious lifestyle. I thoroughly enjoy descriptions so I think this one will be added to my to-be-read pile.

[Mr Excellence]

The suspense in this book is very intense. Why will Sarah will stab Bridget? I'll read to know the reason.

[NetMassimo]

I'm not into family dramas but this novel seems to be about more than that with the ramifications of Bridget's upbringing that also lead to the heist and its consequences. Thank you for your great review!