My enormous thanks to Orion imprint Trapeze and blog tour organiser Tracy Fenton  for inviting me to be part of the tour for We Own the Sky by Luke Allnutt.

We Own the Sky is available for purchase thorough the links here.

We Own the Sky

Anna and Rob were the perfect couple with their whole lives in front of them. When beautiful baby boy Jack came along, their world seemed complete.

But when tragedy strikes they are faced with an impossible choice. They have one chance to save their child, but at what cost?

My Review of We Own the Sky

Anna and Rob’s world is about to be turned upside down.

No, no, no, no, no! I simply can’t put into words what a brilliant read We Own the Sky is. I absolutely adored every word of it even though Luke Allnutt reduced me to a howling, sobbing wreck as I read. I had no idea that a balloon or a bouncy castle could be so emotional. Luke Allnutt has the ability to grasp a reader’s heart and wring it mercilessly so that reading We Own the Sky becomes a truly affecting and visceral experience.

The quality of the writing is such that We Own the Sky is beautifully crafted. The mostly unpunctuated asides to Jack in between some of the chapters, for example, are immensely effective because they reflect the child like innocence that Jack exemplifies. It’s as if Rob is so overwhelmed too by his feelings that he cannot bear to separate himself from those memories of Jack by using full stops and capital letters. The emails and online forums are completely convincing and realistic so that the reader cannot help but be ensnared by the action. But it is the overall craftsmanship that is so alluring. The change from past to present tense, for example, at just the right moment in the action allows hope amongst the despair, and happiness as well as all consuming grief. I have no idea if it was intentional, but thought it was a stroke of genius too that Anna’s name is a palindrome given her need for structure and order.

There is an incredible intimacy in We Own the Sky, partly because there are really only three characters – Jack, Anna and Rob with some supporting roles from a very few others like Nev. Rob’s voice is clear and human so that although he behaves reprehensibly at times I couldn’t help but love him. He illustrates perfectly how desperation can impact on the individual. I’m not a great lover of children in fiction as I usually find their depiction stereotypical or forced but in We Own the Sky Jack seemed entirely right until I was almost as affected by the life he is leading as are Anna and Rob.

The themes of We Own the Sky are sweeping, empathetic and genuine so that I think there truly is something for every reader. Relationships, the effect of illness, parenting, love, grief, hope – even business, invention and social media – all add to the rich tapestry of this book.

I have found it impossible to do justice to Luke Allnutt’s We Own the Sky. It broke my heart. It held me spellbound. I feel privileged to have read it. Sheer perfection.

About Luke Allnutt

Luke Allnutt grew up in Surrey and has lived and worked in Prague as a journalist since 1998, writing mostly about technology and Eastern European politics. In 2013, he wrote about his father’s death from a brain tumour in Unspoken, a Kindle Single for Amazon. A keen runner, he is married and has two young boys.

You can follow Luke on Twitter @lukeallnutt and visit his website. There’s more with these other bloggers too: