The Girl Who Came Out Of The Woods by Emily Barr

This was such a captivating book that I found completely sucked me in to it's world.  With a varied, to say the very least, cast of characters and settings it genuinely takes you on both a literal and figurative journey.  I did find it a little heavy handed in places and that some of the themes were laboured upon a little too much for my taste but it was, overall, a cracking good read.

There are two parallel stories being told here.  One is in flashback to an unnamed person trapped in a basement and trying desperately to escape both the physical constraints of their location and the mental images that are encroaching on them.  The second is an in real time telling of young Artemis emerging from her secluded live in an Indian Forest clearing.  The strands are linked together by a white, fluffy teddy bear holding an I Love You Loads x heart.

By far the most interesting sections are those dealing with Artemis.  From the idyllic existence of her early years in the Matriarchal Society established by her mother in an isolated clearing to her emergence in to the hustle, bustle and daunting world of Mumbai.  Touching on themes of innocence, betrayal and friendship it is at times touching but also quite brutal.  For a large chunk of the book you have no idea who you can and cannot trust, just like Artemis.  When the betrayals come, as you know they must, it is all too easy to empathise with our heroine and when things do work out for her, even if only temporarily, you do want to cheer along with her.

No matter the setting the author has done a sterling job of thrusting you right in there.  I have never been to Mumbai but the dusty, traffic and people clogged streets are brought to wonderful life.  You can almost smell the heat and feel the dust coating your skin and throat.  The descriptions of Clevedon are less successful, but perhaps this is because the setting is more familiar to me so there is less temptation to subsume yourself in the location.  Somehow the author even manages to make cricket seem interesting - it really, really isn't.

Very cleverly written and there is much more going on here than the surface story.  It does give you lots to mull over as you read and I can whole heartedly recommend this book to not only the YA readership this has been aimed at by the publisher but by decidedly non-young A's.

THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK PROVIDED BY THE PIGEONHOLE.