The Call
Peadar Ó Guilín
It’s bad luck for Nessa that she has twisted legs from Polio. It’s even worse when she finds out on her birthday that she is going to be faced with The Call at some point – dragged into the dark world of the Faery Folk that were banished from Ireland years ago. There, she must survive a day without the Folk finding and torturing her. The odds aren’t good, 1 in 10 returns. And with people in the ‘real world’ also trying to kill her, Nessa has even less chance of surviving.
Who doesn’t love an underdog? Nessa is going to fight for what she has, and pretend she doesn’t care about everything else. Her legs aren’t going to stop her, when her mind is sharp. Her mind ends up being the thing that can save her. Other reviewers have picked on her being a character trope, but I didn’t have an issue with that. I appreciated that Nessa couldn’t see her own faults until it was to late – she couldn’t be too self-sacrificing after all.
The gruesome testimonies alluded to in the novel are backed up by the changing perspectives on the novel. Normally it would irritate me, but the majority of the time, the character then died so they didn’t have to bother me again! And the only person I might have wanted to hear from more than once? Well, he gets a second chance to an extent.
I can’t wait for the second novel of this to happen. I want to know what on earth will go on next! Or perhaps, under earth! The ending leaves it nice and open, and yet satisfying at the same time. I’m not sure I love it enough to reread it, but it was really good and I would advise going out to buy yourself a copy ASAP.
In fact, I am lucky enough to own TWO copies of this novel – one just came in the mail today from Scholastic (the final cover) and an early copy from David Fickling Books. I’m not really sure who to thank, but it was super good! I can’t wait to share it with other people. 4 stars from me.
Scholastic | 1 September 2016 | AU $19.99 | Paperback
