Review - The Sky is Mine by Amy Beashel

Title: The Sky is Mine

Author: Amy Beashel

Pages: 304

Publisher: Rock the Boat

Release Date: 6th February 2020

Blurb from Goodreads:

 No one has ever asked Izzy what she wants. She's about to change all that...

In a house adept at sweeping problems under the carpet, seventeen-year-old Izzy feels silenced. As her safety grows uncertain, Izzy know three things for sure. She knows not to tell her mother that Jacob Mansfield has been threatening to spread those kinds of photos around college. She knows to quiet the grief that she's been abandoned by her best friend Grace. And, seeing her mother conceal the truth of her stepdad's control, Izzy also knows not to mention how her heart splinters and her stomach churns whenever he enters a room.

When the flimsy fabric of their life starts to unravel, Izzy and her mum must find their way out of the silence and use the power in their voices to rediscover their worth.

For fans of Sara Barnard, Louise O’Neill and E. Lockhart, The Sky is Mine is a powerful exploration of rape culture and domestic abuse, and a moving story of women learning to love themselves enough to demand to be heard.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Rock the Boat*

- Content warnings can be found here -

Seventeen-year-old Izzy lives with her controlling stepfather and her mum. Izzy and her mum don't talk about how Izzy's stepfather tells them what they can and cannot do, and punishes them when they don't follow his rules.

Izzy knows that she can't tell anyone - not even her best friend Grace, who doesn't have time for Izzy now that she has a girlfriend - about the photos that Jacob took of her when she was drunk, or that he's threatening to show them to people at college.

Can Izzy and her mum take back control of their lives?

There are some quite dark and intense themes in The Sky is Mine, and I wasn't expecting to be thrown straight into them, which we are. However, while I did find certain scenes hard to read because of the subject matter, I thought that they were written and handled well.

I liked Izzy as a protagonist. It was so sad when she felt like she couldn't talk to anyone about what was happening. 

Izzy's mum was an interesting character and I felt so sorry for her.

Part of the book is set in Shropshire, which I loved as I am a Shropshire lass myself.

The plot was interesting and held my attention, but I wasn't gripped and nothing that happened was particularly surprising. However, I liked the theme of taking back control of your life and found this to be a heart-warming and emotional read.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.