disclaimer: this review may contain spoilers, and may also be a bit biased (or not).
From the moment I finished the first chapter of Walk On. I knew I wouldn't be able to put it down. The book is structured in a very imaginative way and it keeps you reading.
Walk On contains some scenes of harsh brutality, most of it coming from her husband, and miserable disgrace of a character, Peter. Maggie's way of escape is into the four walls inside her head, where she can lock herself away from the terrors of reality. There is also a very spiritual element to the novel, in the form of an Angel, named Ariana, who is of course Maggie's guardian angel. Ariana shows Maggie some visions of the past, a tragic tale of two lovers and misunderstandings. Throughout the novel there is a running theme of a bridge. For instance Maggie's favourite painting is Claude Monet's Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, and the cover of the novel shows a bridge as well. Once you finish the novel, it is clear why the author chose to use such a beautiful image for the cover of the novel, and also the beautiful metaphor of the bridge throughout.
This is Amy McLean's first outing as a novelist. Currently sitting her third year in her English Degree, Amy has coped well balancing a novel on top of all of her workload. It amazes me how well thought out and how well written the novel is, considering she hasn't finished her degree yet. I will definitely read more of Amy's work, as she has a true talent that not many people still in university can say they have.
Before reading the book, I found out that Amy had been heavily influenced by her favourite book, The Boy Who Could See Demons, written by her favourite author, Carolyn Jess-Cooke, and whilst reading, I felt this definitely shone through because you can clearly see the effort that she has put into this, after her writer's block was cured by Jess-Cooke's wonderful novel.
Overall Walk On is definitely worth the read, and if you haven't already, you should definitely buy the book and read it for yourself. It is hard to say a bad word about it and I think it will captivate you and leave you with a very open mind.
From the bridge in Maggie's favourite painting, to the bridge of the novel, Walk On leaves the reader wondering how it will end, if it will end well, or if it will all end in tears... How exactly does it end? You'll just need to read it to find out! ;)
This review can also be found on my goodreads page here :)
