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Feb 08, 2009

Greg rated it:

I read this because in one of Nick Hornby's Believer columns he mentioned this was supposed to be the best YA book of all time. I don't know where he got this information, maybe from the ALA or some other three letter group. He gave it a glowing review so I thought I'd read it.

My first thought after reading it was that if it had been an adult novel I would have loved it. As a novel it felt more like a very nice sketch of an interesting and magical story than what I would like fr More...

14 comments like (13 people liked it)

Jan 13, 2012

Kim rated it:

It's hard to be a cynic, much less a hatah when you have something pure like this. This may not be my favorite book, but I can't say that I didn't enjoy giving up a few hours on a Wednesday night to visit Michael's world.

When I was little and told to say my prayers (by hypocritical lapsed catholics, by the way) I would start by asking that my family be safe (yeah, that didn't work out so well now, did it?) and then hit the trivial things like asking that Jimmy Watts would notice me More...

4 comments like (9 people liked it)

Oct 25, 2009

jess rated it:

I audiobook'd this because it was so short I could finish it in less than a week and because I have been on this YAF kick for the last three decades or so. The audio book is read by the author, who has a delightful accent, which greatly enriched my audio book experience. The plot is far from terribly original. Boy's life is in upheaval (new house, new neighborhood, new neighbors, new baby sister). Boy makes new friend. Boy finds something magical, shares with new friend, has enlightening, magica More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 25, 2011

Sarah rated it:

This is a truly magical book, dealing with big issues such as illness and friendship. Michael has moved to a new home and is also having to cope with the fact that his baby sister is very ill. He discovers a strange man, Skellig, living in his garage and, along with his new friend Mina, tries to help him. Skellig is more than he seems though and might just be able to help Michael too. The imagery that David Almond uses throughout the book really bring it to life and it's no surprise that it More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 12, 2009

karen rated it:

im no teen, so i cant adequately judge this. it seems more interesting than some of the teen fiction books out back when i was wee, but more like a fable or a fairy tale than a full length novel. not a waste of an hour and a half....

1 comment like (15 people liked it)

Mar 05, 2008

Clare rated it:

I wept. Buckets. And was happier for it.
My son had this book for a school project so I read it to help him out. He had to prise it from my fingers after an hour and a half, and I wanted to go back and read it again. It embodies all that I think is good in Young Adult fiction, an unspoiled, simple but honest and direct approach - the themes are complex, but the storytelling is pure. I think adult fiction is just too pretentious sometimes, and this shows how a story can be emotive, myst More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

May 12, 2010

Paula added it

I read ‘Skellig’ because it is being screened this Easter Sunday on Sky One and I always like to read books before I see the film. I also did not read any of the reviews either, my husband brought it home and I started reading it.

What can I say about ‘Skellig’? despite it being a children’s book, it will appeal to adults as well.

The story is narrated by Michael, a young boy who is dealing with changes in his life, moving house and the illness of his new born baby sister More...

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Mar 31, 2009

Liz rated it:

After looking at the length of this book, and reading the synopsis, I thought it was just another run-of-the-mill fantasy story. However, I was amazed at how much story and feeling David Almond was able to discuss in the short duration of the novel. He effortlessly contrasted light and dark, all the time making his characters human and believable. I was especially surprised at his ability to intertwine the poetry of William Blake, as well as some Greek mythology and archaeology, into the real More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 12, 2009

Trin rated it:

English young adult book that earned raves from Nick Hornby in Shakespeare Wrote For Money and appeared near the top of a UK survey of the best YA books ever. I thought it was good, but not that great. Michael, who has just moved to a new house and whose baby sister is deathly ill, discovers a weakened winged man in his garage. (Yes, it’s kind of like The Vintner’s Luck without the complex theology or the sexy bits.) He and the girl next door try to nurse this strange creature back to health, us More...

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Jan 06, 2009

Eileen rated it:

My interpretation of Skellig is that he is a more highly evolved version of humans. As Mina says “There’s no end to evolution. We have to be ready to move forward. Maybe this is not how we are meant to be forever.” Skellig still retains a human form, but has characteristics of birds and the healing power of angels. He starts out in a decrepit garage with his wings bound and hidden. He is alone and in great pain. He is removed from these surroundings, shown some love and has his wings unbo More...

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Jan 20, 2012

Big Book Little Book rated it:

Skellig is a really great book stuffed with adventure, mystery and suspense. Michael moves house and while exploring, discovers something very strange in the shed. Michael then meets the mysterious Mina who loves birds and even acts like them in strange ways. They become friends and together, help the mysterious creature in the garage while constantly worrying for Michael’s prematurely born baby sister who may die. My favourite part was when Michael and Mina finally were able to take Skellig More...

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Jan 07, 2012

Megz rated it:

I read this for school, and I'm unsure about my feelings. I was going to give it five stars... Skellig was an enjoyable read and everything, but not actually very good literature; I think the writing style is really simple and not amazing or anything. There were also a lot of loose threads at the end: Who is Skellig? WHAT is he? Why was he in the garden shed?

I slightly understand that David Almond was trying to make it a little mysterious, but instead of just mysterious it felt like More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 27, 2011

guiltlessreader rated it:

I really love this book. Any initial disgust one has about Skellig's outer ugliness is erased as his true character slowly reveals itself. It reminds me of the movie City of Angels because it seemed to me that Skellig was an angel ... but definitely not fitting into the image of stereotypical cherubs, but with a darker (though not necessarily sinister, maybe realistic?) side to it. But then the book never claims that Skellig, the creature languishing in Michael's garage, is an angel.

Th More...

0 comments like

Dec 03, 2011

Natalia rated it:

I was just amazed at David Almond's 'Skellig'. It is one of those rare books that is most definitely a children’s book but adults will also marvel at the deft touches of tenderness and personality each character is given.
Having read it at school myself I roughly recall the story however, re-reading it again with year 5 recently, it reminded me of how magical childhood is.

It is about a boy called Michael with a poorly baby sister who is nearly always in hospital. His family has m More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 30, 2011

Христо rated it:

За крилата, видими и невидими – “Скелиг” на Дейвид Алънд
http://www.knigolandia.info/2011/05/blog...

Продължавам да изпитвам страхотно удоволствие от всяка следваща авторска корица на “Студио Арт Лайн”, която видя. “Скелиг” на Дейвид Алмънд е абсолютно великолепна, дело на Таня Минчева, която просто е уловила деликатния дух на тази книга. А перцето, залепено отпред – ТАКА се прави!

“Скелиг” е книга за деца, но от по-особения вид, подобна по внушение на “Бяла като мл More...

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Oct 24, 2011

Haleigh rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Sep 16, 2011

Khalida rated it:

Skellig is about a young boy called Michael whose parents decide to move into a old run down house despite his protests. Michael isn’t very keen as it would mean leaving his old house, life and friends. The house has a rundown garage which Michael is told he is not to go inside. Like most people the forbidden becomes more so attractive and Michael inevitably journeys into finding out what lies inside the garage. – and with his parents distracted with preparing for the arrival of a new baby Micha More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 02, 2011

John rated it:

I picked this one up at my daughter's school Book Fair. I don't usually read YA novels, but this one was a quick, enjoyable read. The author builds tension with the sick baby and the effect she has on the family as her condition worsens. Michael, the main character, finds a strange creature in the abandoned garage at the back of the house his family just moved to. The plot is basically about Michael trying to find out who or what this creature -- "Skellig", he calls himself -- is while More...

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Jan 04, 2011

KidsFiction rated it:

J ALMOND

Brandi-4 stars

In Almond's first novel for young readers, he tells a tale of a family newly moved into a wreck of a house and their struggles with their ill infant. Michael (main character) is fearful for his sister's life, and isn't watched too closely by his distracted parents. He discovers an "extraordinary" creature - at first glance appearing to be an arthritic man - in the condemned shed near their house. Drawn to the very strange being, Michae More...

0 comments like

Dec 30, 2010

Karissa rated it:

This book was recommended to me because I like "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman. This book was very much in a similar writing style Gaiman's work. The story telling in this book is superb. The book itself is a short but sweet story.

Michael and his family have just moved into a new home. Unfortunately Michael's baby sister was born way too early and she is very sick. Micheal is struggling with his parents' lack of attention as they try to deal with saving his little sister' More...

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Dec 09, 2010

Lisa rated it:

Themes: change, being broken/needing mending, illness, flight/freedom, redemption

This Printz honor book is one of the best I’ve read all semester. I really, really loved it. 13-year-old Michael’s family just moved to a city in northern England, but his family has larger things that settling in on their minds—his brand-new baby sister is near death. While his parents are occupied with moving in and taking care of the baby, Michael begins exploring the derelict old garage next to the ho More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 18, 2010

Sharon rated it:

A really odd, unclassifiable book. This falls into the same category as The Underneath by Kathi Appelt---I love it because it's so overly ambitious and pretentious, and it actually manages to live up to what it attempts.

To write about a young boy who discovers a dusty creature that may be an angel, a beast, or an evolved human in his dilapidated old garage requires the maintenance of a certain mood or atmosphere, and I'm amazed that Almond stayed true to that magical atmosphere the ent More...

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Oct 29, 2010

Zanthie * ♫ The Music Freak ♪ * rated it:

Micheal and his parents move to their new, run-down home, much to Micheal's dismay. But when his mother gives birth to his baby sister early, the trouble starts. The baby is in hospital, and has to have a heart operation, the mother is never at home as she is with the baby and the father is an emotional wreck that is struggling to finish work on the house before the mother and (hopefully) baby return home. This leaves Micheal all on his own, but when he finds a strange, crippled man in his garde More...

2 comments like

Aug 30, 2010

Bookworm rated it:

Michael is twelve years old, lives in his new house with his mom, dad and baby sister, who is very sick with a weak heart. One day while in the garage in his backyard, Michael finds an odd creature, a man, with a squeaky voice, bugs crawling all over him and tattered clothes.

Michael tells his best friend Mina about his discovery, he wants to make sure that what he is seeing is real and not just his imagination. Mina is homeschooled and has a passion for William Blake's poetry, which More...

0 comments like

May 19, 2010

Corinne rated it:

When Michael moves into his new house, he's immediately drawn to the run down garage (as any 10 year old boy would be). When he finally dares to go in and explore, what he finds (is it man or beast or some strange combination?) will change everything about the way he looks at the world. Weaving through this plot is Michael's new friendship with the William Blake-loving Mina and his tiny baby sister who is clinging precariously to life.

This book reads like poetry half the time. Mina's More...

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Mar 28, 2010

Gene rated it:

Skellig
David Almond
Bantam Doubleday Publishing Group, Inc. 1998 182 pages $15.95
Topic: Mystery, family, friendship, and hope
ISBN# 0-385-32653-X

Michael is a boy looking to find stability in a new place. His efforts to establish himself in a new house, new school, and make new friends is complicated by his premature baby sister’s illness coupled with his parents’ own anxiety. Further tension is added to Michael’s life when his exploration of the new ho More...

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Nov 24, 2009

Kayla rated it:

This novel explores various themes of death and darkness, along with that of dreams. I was immediately hooked once I began reading, mainly because I was so interested to find out what it was that was lurking in the family’s garage. Spooky at first, Skellig is far scary—he’s an angel.

After moving into their new home, Michael learns of this “creature” whom is near death. Michael, along with his friend Mina help Skellig come to life—something Michael will be forever be grateful for. Mi More...

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Nov 17, 2009

Amanda rated it:

I really enjoyed Skellig. I am not naturally drawn to the sci-fi/fantasy genre, so this was a very refreshing read!
The book begins when Michael and his family, including his mum (it is set in England) and dad, along with his very sick baby sister who still doesn't have a name, move to a new house. Michael finds a strange man, so sick and weak he can hardly move, in the dilapidated garage behind the house. Michael discoveres wings on the man's back! He also meets a neighbor about his own a More...

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Nov 16, 2009

Steven rated it:

Skellig is the story of a young boy named Michael who finds, what could best be described as, an angel in his garage. Skellig’s role in Michael’s life is somewhat ambiguous to start with and his mystery grows with the severity of his baby sister’s illness. The book is contrasted between the dusty, chaotic, disorderly nature of the present with the ethereal quality of the world that Skellig represents to Michael. These two worlds are held in tension as Michael’s confidence grows and the uncertain More...

1 comment like

May 17, 2009

Nancy rated it:

Hm. Did David Almond lose a family member in his childhood? He has a real feel for the way the adult world encroaches on childhood before children have the resources to deal with it. The protagonist, Michael, with his parents and seriously ill baby sister, have moved into a nasty fixer-upper of a house. The sister was born (prematurely) before Mom and Dad could do any significant work on the house, and it is dreary beyond words. Among its amenities is a dilapidated shed, rotting and crammed More...

2 comments like