This book is set in an island in the Philippines and in London. It is haunted by a legend told to the main character Rosa by the superstitious Yaya who has looked after her since her mother’s death. The legend tells of a girl who is found floating in the sea unable to speak and with terrible disfiguring scars around her neck.
Rosa suffers from a condition called The Calm. She can only make grunting noises and has rope-like scars around her neck. Her father, a doctor, specialises in treating people with this condition that is prevalent on the Island of Mirasol where they live. People who have the condition are shunned by the islanders and if discovered are in danger of being attacked. We understand that this must be a genetic disease because Rosa’s mother who was killed in an accident also had it.
Rosa doesn’t go to school and her fear of other peoples’ reactions leads her to living an isolated life. The story seems to be rooted in a time long ago but it is made modern by the fact that Rosa lives a virtual life on the internet. She meets a boy who calls himself Ansel95 but wonders if she would dare to meet him even if that were geographically possible.
Rosa’s story is told alongside that of her mother Kara’s and her mother’s twin. At first I found the changeover confusing until I realised that Kara’s story is told in the first and second person and it then became easy to recognise the shift.
The book highlights the awful damage that can be done through ignorance, prejudice and obsession. You will find it terribly sad in some parts and inspiring in others and I am sure that, like me, once you start reading it you won’t be able to put it down and that it will haunt your dreams long after you finish reading it.
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