I loved this novel and all of it's characters. Likened to DH Lawrence in style by Helen Dunmore, Anna Ralph's debut novel is difficult to put down. Set in the Loweswater, Matt Logan is wheelchair bound having had an accident which resulted in the death of his younger brother Tom. Matt and Tom had wanted to plant a flag on the floating island that appears near Cat Bells when summers have been hot and the water levels have gone down.

The Lake District is a lovely location for this novel, offering a beautiful backdrop for descriptive narrative. Matt is a teenager living with his mother who works full time but also manages two holiday cottages on their property. Matt needs a carer and in walks Sarah, only a few years older than him. The novel explores their developing relationship and Sarah's developing relationships with other characters. Whilst the novel centres around Matt there is another plot involving Sarah and it is good to see how the two were handled differently. Anna Ralph really had an understanding of how to give different 'voices' to the characters. Whilst narrated by Matt, Sarah's voice is still dominant and I enjoyed reading and learning about her just as much as I did Matt.

Overall it is well written and no word is wasted. It's continually good right up until the very last word and I finished the novel completely satisifed and could've happily continued reading about the next instalment in their lives. It is rich with emotion and vocabulary, a novel that I found difficult to put down. ralph handles the obsessiveness and emotion well, and gives a depth of feeling to her characters - you will be able to imagine them vividly. A great novel, one I'd highly recommend. ( )