Skylarks by Karen Gregory
Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408883617Highly recommended. As a high school student in 2018, for the majority of my life, I've seen the call for justice within queer representation and have witnessed the better part of a community's growth. "Skylarks" by Karen Gregory is a heartfelt, insightful novel which proves that human resilience will never die, it may waver throughout hardships but will only grow stronger and bolder. When Joni, the novel's protagonist, was little she dreamt that she could fly. During Joni's adolescence, times have taken their toll on her and her feet have never felt more glued to the ground, this is until the poised and privileged Annabel makes an appearance, Joni's dream of flying may come sooner than she thought. Throughout reading "Skylarks", the quote 'love has no boundaries' was reinstated with every page. Over the years, love has been stigmatised and almost as if people have been given a set of rules restrictions they must follow when it comes to love. There's been discouragement and prejudice that has scared people from being who they truly are. The wonderful thing about Skylarks is that the relationship these two young women form cannot be identified, it isn't simply emotional or sexual; however the bond between Joni and Annabel is human. It's real. It's heart-warming; it's heartbreaking and beautiful but has its own element of sadness which is a relationship that two human beings have formed. The storyline wasn't rushed; situations didn't happen to fill up space on a page and it represents the struggle young adults face in the eyes of political and social activism. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to other people. I can't think of a specific target audience I would recommend this book to as love doesn't respond to age, gender, ethnicity or faith and neither do books. 10/10
Rylee Bogisch (Student)