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    Skellig
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    Skellig
    Unavailable
    Skellig
    Ebook186 pages1 hour

    Skellig

    By David Almond

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    David Almond’s Printz Honor–winning novel celebrates its 10th anniversary!

    Ten-year-old Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage. . . . What is this thing beneath the spiders' webs and dead flies? A human being, or a strange kind of beast never before seen? The only person Michael can confide in is his new friend, Mina. Together, they carry the creature out into the light, and Michael's world changes forever. . . .
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House Publishing Group
    Release dateNov 13, 2001
    ISBN9780385729888
    Unavailable
    Skellig
    Author

    David Almond

    David Almond is an experienced author who specializes in paranormal fiction. The recipient of a Hans Christian Andersen Award, a Carnegie Medal, and a Michael L. Printz Award, he currently resides in England.

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    Reviews for Skellig

    4/5

    806 ratings90 reviews

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    • 4/5
      First encountered this as an audio cassette with the author reading - so when I read the book I had his Newcastle accent firmly in place and adding rythm and rhyme to every page. Not that it needs any addition - the first person voice works really well and the book captures a lovely synthesis between a magical world (Skellig), an everyday world (school and moving house) and a world in crisis (sick baby sister).
    • 4/5
      I really loved this book. Well written and not very predictable... a quick read too.
    • 5/5
      Phenomenal storytelling! I haven't read a book of this caliber in a loooonnnnng time.
    • 5/5
      5Q 5PA young boy named Michael finds an unlikely friend in the falling down garage of his new house. This friend, as well as an odd young neighbor, help Michael through a very difficult time as his family adjusts to a new house and worries about his baby sister who is in and out of the hospital. This was a wonderful, endearing book that is well written and perfectly balances magic and reality . The story unfolds with poetry and sadness and the reader's heart will break along with Michael as he struggles to adjust to all of the changes in his life. Almond brings his characters to life and takes the reader right along with them through the up and downs. The story is simple and honest and brings a unique to the ideas of creation and faith.
    • 3/5
      3Q, 3PI had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand I thought it was very scary and suspenseful, almost above the reading level. It had the atmosphere and feeling of an adult horror novel for a lot of it (I kept thinking back to the way I felt when I read Clive Barker's The Hellbound Heart - this feeling of oppression, like there was something lurking rightthere). On the other hand, the plot (or lack thereof) was overly simplistic and had very little movement. The conflict was there in that Michael's baby sister was sick, but it never felt like a problem that Michael needed to be doing anything about, until suddenly it was, and suddenly this random magical creature had the ability to do something about it. For as short of a book as it was, it started very slowly and then rushed towards the end. I think I would like to reread this though, given how much critical acclaim it has received. I read it very quickly in one sitting, and maybe it deserves a better chance to get to me.
    • 3/5
      I didn't initially know what to think of this book, but I ended up really liking it. I especially liked the sassy, confident character of Mina and look forward to reading the prequel to this book titled "I am Mina."I liked the bird/flying theme throughout the book and kept thinking of the 90s movie "Michael" though of course Skellig is quite different. I appreciated seeing how the raw pain of the family struggle, especially the mother's fear and sorrow, wasn't watered down, nor was it the center of the plot. I think it was a realistic display of one family's attempt to deal with the hard things in life and seeing how Michael had both Mina and Skellig at this time and showed quite a bit of compassion and vulnerability himself is something that I think kids and teens will be able to relate to and read more into than what first meets the eye.
    • 3/5
      3Q, 3PThis book felt like the horror story that never was. The narrator's pacing in the audiobook was extremely rushed, and it got my heart rate up for...no reason. I think if I had read the book instead, I would have reacted differently. Aside from enjoying the narrator's accent, however, I felt moderately disappointed at the end.The story itself was about a simple, strange event that was complicated by Michael's constant mental dialogue. I'm not sure what the point of Mina was, other than someone Michael could sometimes confide in; she felt rather out-of-place. I would be interested in reading Almond's "My Name is Mina," which is based off of her story, just to see her side of things.
    • 4/5
      5Q, 4P. This beautifully written story begins when Michael discovers "something" living in the garage of his family's new home, and takes readers through the mysterious unravelling of just who (or what) that "something" is. While this book is most certainly fantasy, the themes it addresses are firmly planted in realism: family, friendship, empathy, compassion, vulnerability, courage, faith, and love.Michael's baby sister is extremely ill, his parents are (understandably) distressed and distracted, he finds himself living in a new neighborhood in a home that is unfamiliar and unsettling, his best friends don't or can't understand what he's going through, and he begins to negotiate a friendship with Mina, a girl who is unlike anyone else he knows. This book is an engaging and lyrical story that balances magic, mystery, and the complex emotions that come from loving our families and our friends.
    • 4/5
      5Q, 4P. I thought this book was very well written. I think that it would be popular, but it is for younger teens so the audience is more limited. I really liked this book. I liked how Michael had very real-world problems that the magic in the book didn't take attention away from. The characters were well-developed and interesting and I really cared about what happened to them. I would definitely recommend this one.
    • 5/5
      Verry Verry GOOOOOD :)!
    • 4/5
      This was a lovely book. Michael discovers a strange man/creature in the rotting garage of his new home. He shares the secret with only his new friend Mina and together they help Skelling. A touching and unusual story. It made me want to listen better. Uplifting without being overly sentimental.
    • 3/5
      Ugh. Predictable rubbish. Not an original thought in this book. The only thing tolerable about it was the realistic dialogue.
    • 4/5
      Gorgeous, gorgeous book. So much packed into one story. Skellig questions, in a gentle way, where we've come from, who we are, and who we might become, and left me with a renewed sense of wonder at the natural world around me.
    • 2/5
      Deeply disappointed. I don't enjoy fantasy novels or homeschool advocates so that might be one reason it received a low grading! But also confusing in parts and repetitive.
    • 3/5
      Weird, and not pleasant. Skellig is very strange, and what he triggers in Mina and Michael is nice but weird. But Skellig is a distraction from the baby and the baby is a distraction from Skellig...I don't know, it didn't really work for me. The very short chapters didn't help, either.
    • 4/5
      A lovely short novel, variously considered children's and young adult, about a boy who meets a magical creature in a time of crisis in his family.10-year old Michael's family has just moved across town to a derelict house his father is renovating. He can still attend his old school, but it's harder to get together with old friends. Michael's baby sister is very ill and, he suspects, she may die. One day he disobeys his parents' instructions and goes looking around the falling-down garage at the new house and discovers a strange humanoid, himself almost dead. Michael and a creatively-minded home-schooled girl in his new neighborhood begin visiting and bringing food and medicine to the creature, Skellig, who turns out to be not at all who, or what, they thought. As Michael's sister gets sicker and sicker, Skellig begins to change, and Michael learns to really listen to the sounds around him.
    • 4/5
      Michael moves with his family to a house that needs a lot of work. His mother gives birth to a premature baby - a little girl whose survival is in question.Micheal finds an unlikely friend in the somewhat precocious Mina, a little girl neighbor who is home-schooled, and a much more unlikely friend in Skellig... a mysterious winged man who he finds dying in the crumbling car garage behind his new home.What is Skellig? And can he help Michael's baby sister, struggling to stay alive?(In spite of her occasional cockiness, Mina was my favorite character in this book.)

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This is the kind of children's book that is wasted on most children: certainly on the child that left a mangled copy in a back alley near our house. It should never be given to a child at school, but rather left on a high shelf labelled "unsuitable" so that the deserving few can stumble across it. It took me less than two hours to read, and it touched me. MB 30-viii-2021
    • 2/5
      children's fiction (4th-6th grades). This starts off pretty well--boy finds strange man in the (soon-to-be-demolished) garage; the man appears deathly ill, eats bugs, craves Chinese takeout food, and inspires the boy to help him. Also, he has funny lumps on his back where an angel's curled up wings would be--but he's not an angel--or is he? Chapters are short and quick, but the middle and ending plots are more drama than gritty mystery (baby sister really sick and needing surgery, boy's friends don't get along with his homeschooled neighbor Mina) have less boy-appeal. (The story would probably would hold kids' attention ok if read aloud in a classroom, but I was personally kind of disappointed.) The homeschooled neighbor-girl Mina is alright as a character, though the frequent William Blake quotes get kind of preachy/annoying.
    • 2/5
      Another book that I just did not like. This book was selected as required reading for my International Children's Literature class that I am enrolled in this Summer. I felt the story was too grim. The main character is tormented with the fact that his baby sister is ill and dying. He has to move with his family to a run down house, he misses school because he is stressed over the baby's illness and frequent trips to the hospital and on top of that he discovers a creature living in his backyard. But the creature is dying and is half human and half something else. This story was just to confusing and out there for me. It brought no joy to me and I did not enjoy the characters or what they were going through. The creature is never really defined or understood either. I was glad when it was over and glad that it was a short book. I gave it two stars because I liked the supporting character Mia. She was strong, independent, smart and adventurous.
    • 2/5
      Found this one to be a bit shallow and one-dimensional. I didn't have sympathy for any of the characters and would probably have put the book down if it had not been short. I know it's a juvenile-oriented book, but that doesn't mean that it has to lack substance.
    • 3/5
      I admit that I had a hard time getting into this book. I actually had to restart it once. Having listened to the whole thing it was an interesting book. It was beautifully written and there are so many unanswered questions about Skellig and his origins. I was glad to see how it all turned out. The extra content was extremely interesting. I liked hearing about the author's inspiration and Mina's journal entry. The music I did not enjoy as much but I think it just wasn't what I was expecting.
    • 4/5
      This book is eerie and unsettling, in a good way. It broaches topics that are often presented in a much more on the nose sort of way in children and YA novels. But in this book, they are danced with and approached with a certain amount of caution and reverence. The fact that the titular character is at once magical and all-too-real, frightening and comforting, of and above earthly things is deeply interesting and appropriate. It is a book that stands at the middle of spectrums of life and death; natural and supernatural; fear and awe; Chinese food & beer and the sweetest nectar; and asks you what the difference between the two is if there even is one. There are some aspects of this book that are less than it's interesting questions though. I found the truncation of sentences, chapters, and the surrounding plot to leave it feeling more skeletal and incomplete. Some of the repetitions of descriptions left me confused and unsure if threre was something I was missing. Overall though, very worth the read for all ages.
    • 4/5
      A strange and atmospheric novel, full of questions and no answers.
    • 4/5
      3.5 starsMichael and his family have just moved. His baby sister is not doing well, health-wise. When Michael is exploring he finds someone – a little... different – in the garage.It was good. It's children's lit, so it moved quite quickly: sentences and chapters were short. I mostly enjoyed the story, but I am unsure whether or not I liked Michael's new friend, Mina. It was a short book, so it was a quick read.
    • 4/5
      Loved this book almost as much as My Name is Mina! I enjoyed Almond's beautiful writing and wonderful story of compassion. I think young readers would enjoy debating what Skellig is and hopefully, learn from Michael and Mina's willingness to help this broken creature.
    • 4/5
      Michael's new baby sister has fallen ill, and his world is quickly falling apart. Then he finds someone, or something, in his family's dilapidated garage who will change is life forever.
    • 5/5
      Although we meet the character Mina, from My Name is Mina, Skellig is actually about a young boy Michael's experience with the unknown. Michael's baby sister is very sick and death seems to be looming all around. However, a mysterious stranger appears just as Michael seems to need something or someone to put his faith in. A reader's personal life will certainly bring out various meanings of the novel. I personally loved the beautiful allusions and religious messages submerged in this text.
    • 4/5
      David Almond skillfully weaves a tale of friendship and fantasy in Skellig. Mina and Michael become fast friends by befriending Skellig, a creature that appears to be equal parts missing and mystical healer. Redemptive themes abound as love heals both Skellig, Michael, Mina and Michael's baby sister.Junior high and middle school students seem to be the intended audience, but older youth and young at heart will glory in the rich tapestry of imagery and allusion woven throughout the textual tapestry of this book
    • 5/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed Skellig. I love that I was able to learn more about Mina and Michael's beautiful friendship. I would absolutely use this in my classroom. I love that it is up to the reader to determine what Skellig actually is. I still am not sure if I have decided yet.