Ketchup Clouds | Annabel Pitcher | Review

Ketchup Clouds | Annabel Pitcher | Review

• Wednesday, 11 December 2013

Ketchup Clouds tells the story of Zoe, a young girl with a big secret; she killed her boyfriend. Bursting with guilt and not knowing who to turn to Zoe starts to tell her story through a series of letters written to Stuart Harris, an inmate on Death Row.

As Zoe’s story unfolds we not only learn what happened to her in the months leading up to the mysterious incident but also get to know her as a person and begin to sympathise with her feelings of guilt. Zoe finds comfort in writing to Stuart, with each letter she writes helping her to cope with the way she feels as she begins to forgive herself for her mistakes.

As some of you may know I’m not usually a big fan of books with a letter or diary format however in the case of Ketchup Clouds it didn’t really bother me. The mystery was so intriguing, and the reason behind Zoe choosing to write to Stuart made so much sense that I found myself enjoying the format – something I never expected to say!

Story aside, I must also quickly mention the design of the book. From the cover design to the printed page edges and the simple illustrations found within the letters this book has a distinctive and memorable style.

The story of Zoe’s secret, told in this format was something very original to me and I really enjoyed reading it.