The protagonist in A Sky Painted Gold, Lou Trevelyan, has grown up in a small town and her whole family lives a simple life. Lou is an aspiring romance writer, and finds a passion for writing. Not long after the book starts, Lou’s sister is married and Lou begins to wonder what her own future as a young woman will look like. Will she get married to someone local and settle down and have a family? Or will her life take a different path? Lou isn’t really sure what she wants. To escape her quiet life and looming questions about her future, she begins to visit an old abandoned summer home on a small nearby island to write and read books in its extensive library.
One day she is nearly caught trespassing on the island and eventually learns that the owners of the house, the Cardews, have returned for the summer. Through a series of events, Lou meets the brother and sister who will be spending their summer at the summer house and is invited to one of their parties (think The Great Gatsby). Lou is sure that she will not fit in, but decides to abandon her worries for the summer and see what happens, what could go wrong? Lou quickly finds herself becoming friends with Caitlin Cardew and spending more and more time with her. But what will happen when the summer ends? And will Lou’s family understand her need for adventure and romance, or will they feel estranged by Lou?
This book is really fun and though a few subjects like open relationships and a few hints at mental illness are made, neither are discussed deeply, keeping this a fairly light read about a girl learning about life and love. I think one of the greatest things about books is their ability to transport readers to a different world for a while, to offer an escape from whatever we are going through in life at the time that we read them. This book is a wonderful way to take a break from this year, and though it’s geared for teens, I loved it just as much today as I would have reading it years ago and I’d encourage adults and teens alike to seek out this book.
Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Random House Children’s Books
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 4 religious exclamations.
Violence/Gore: A mention is made of killing off a character in a book; a man is reported to have come home from the war sad and angry and to later kill himself; a woman is mentioned to have been hospitalized for erratic behavior.
Sex/Nudity: A young woman is mentioned to read romance novels and mention is made of romantic situation; minors are mentioned to kiss; a mention is made of a boy trying to get a “feel” from a girl; a couple is seen kissing by a teen girl; young adult sisters talk about first night of marriage and what it was like for one of them to sleep with her new husband; a young woman is described to observe her body and her lack of a chest; a young man kisses a young woman on the cheek in several brief mentions; a young woman is observed acting flirtatiously with a young man and nuzzling his neck; a couple is mentioned to embrace and hold each other in one brief scene; a young woman observes a kiss exchanged by peers at a party; two young women have a conversation about open relationships; a young woman takes her dress off and goes swimming in her slip; a young woman daydreams about kissing a man; a couple is mentioned to kiss passionately.
Mature Subject Matter:
Trespassing; theft; coming of age; mental illness.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
A minor drinks ginger wine in the presence of her parents; smoking cigarettes is mentioned multiple times throughout the book; a minor drinks champagne at a party; a minor is described to experience a hangover; whisky is served to minors and adults at a party; drunk partygoers are mentioned; a nightclub scene with drinking and smoking is described.
