Skellig

Out of all the books I’ve read in the past year, ‘Skellig’ has been one of the best. It was truly a unique experience, and I can only say that about a few books, like Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead. Skellig was something I really could not put down and I would definitely recommend it to someone else.

Skellig takes place probably in the suburbs near or around London. Michael is a ten-year-old boy who has moved to a new house with an overgrown yard and a crumbling garage. He has an ill baby sister who is constantly at the hospital and every so often a dismal man Michael calls Dr. Death comes in to check on her.
One day, Michael goes into the garage out of pure curiosity, despite his parent’s warnings. There he finds a creepy-looking man covered in cobwebs and bluebottles. To Michael he says, “What do you want?” over and over and Michael is frightened. He then hears his father calling, and quickly steps out.
Michael is still having a hard time adjusting to the creepy man, who keeps asking for an aspirin and 27 and 53, two Chinese food restaurant menu items.
Later, Michael meets a girl named Mina, who has a graphic imagination and seems to have somewhat of a connection to nature. She does not go to school, and scoffs at the idea of being shut inside a classroom all day.
In school, Michael has science class with Mr. Rasputin, and they are studying evolution. Michael asks what shoulder blades are for, and Rasputin says he doesn’t know. When he arrives home, he asks his mum what they are for, and she says, “They say that shoulder blades are where your wings were when you were an angel. They say they’re where your wings will grow again one day.”
Succeeding this, Mina takes Michael to an old, abandoned house (her grandfather’s) and Mina shows him an array of nesting birds.
Eventually, Michael learns that the creepy man’s name is Skellig, and he and Mina take him to her grandfather’s house. There, they learn that Skellig has wings.
One day, the two find Skellig missing. Then Michael finds out the doctors are going to be operating on his sister’s heart. Thankfully, she lived. Apparently, Michael’s mom had had a dream in which Skellig healed the baby.
In the end, Michael’s family ended up calling the baby Joy, for what she brought to the world.

Skellig was more than a book- it was a living adventure full of poetry, nature, and love.

Reader reviewed by Lauren

I thought that this book was good because this boy finds this thing in his old garage of the house he just moved into. The boy, Michael has a lot to deal with, a new house and a sick sister, and on top of that a strange thing that he finds in the garage. This books keeps you wondering what this thing that Michael has found, could possibly be, and once you read this book, you'll see that it is so good!

Reader reviewed by Jan

While exploring around his familys new house, Michael finds a man living in his garage who is near death. As Michael takes care of him, with the help of a neighbor girl, they soon realize that the man is far more extraordinary than they could have ever imagined, an will have an enormous effect on their lives.

I was disgusted with several parts of the book where Skellig ate insects and rodents, making me rush through those sections and miss parts of the story.I thought the pacing worked well through the story, and the constant tension with Michaels little sister and wondering about Skellig move the story along nicely. The short chapters also make it easy to read small portions at a time.

Reader reviewed by Jen

well there's a boy who moves into this house and it has this garage with alot of old stuff in it. He goes into it one day and finds a man. He meets a girl and they become friends and he shows her the man and they take him food and drinks. Soon after they find out the garage is gettin torn down. So they find an abandoned building and help him get there. And then the boys baby sister gets really sick from all the dust in the house and almost dies. but towards the end the man goes missin with the window opened and feathers on the floor and the two kids thought he flew away and the boys mother said she seen a man standing beside the baby's cradle and the next day she was better.

Reader reviewed by Nicki

Michael's family has just moved into a house that is not in very good condition. The garage, or shed, out back is even worse. In the worn down garage, Michael hears movement, and digging through the dirt and junk, he finds a creature that seems to be part man and part bird or angel. He and his new friend Mina, who loves anything with wings, visit Skellig and bring him food, and medicine. Michael's baby sister is ill and may be dying, but an operation might help her. As the children get to know and help Skellig, they have some magical moments together. And somehow Skellig is able to help the baby, too.

Reader reviewed by xbitemynailsx

This is a book about 2 kids. They are cleaning out their garage and discover a "man". He has wings though, and they think he was there for a few years, because he is covered in cobwebs and bugs. Eventually they become friends and help him. Definately a good read for younger teens/preteens.