everythingalyce.blogspot.com

Wull's father is the Riverkeep, but on his sixteenth birthday he has to take the oars and become the Riverkeep himself. Having researched the bohdan he knows that part of the mormorach can cure those who have been afflicted, so he puts his father in the bata - the Riverkeep's trusty boat - and sails down the Danek river towards Canna Bay, where the mormorach is rampaging. I absolutely adored it when Wull was trying to save Till from certain death, and he said "He's a pain an' he's rude, but he's my friend". Mix only becomes relevant two sentences before she disappears for good, so I feel as though it's their adventure was written with an open ending to allow for a sequel, to which I say PLEASE GOD, NO. I hadn't heard of 'Riverkeep' until it was featured on the YA Book Prize shortlist, and I knew after the first couple of pages that it wasn't the kind of book I'd normally read.

The novel starts with a prologue narrated by Ruth, who's looking back at 1958-1963: before her father died, before her mother went AWOL, before Ruth and her sister Lily were sent to live with their strict Catholic grandmother. Alyce wants to be a dancer, but she's going to miss the auditions for college because she's spending the summer helping her father and uncle on their fishing boat. I've never read a book set in Alaska before, and I adored the attention to detail as Bonnie-Sue built the landscape and the scenery from the ground up. It's an #ownvoices novel, as Bonnie-Sue herself is from Alaska and grew up around the time that the book is set: in the questions and answers section at the end of my edition she shared that she'd borrowed some of the stories from people she knew growing up, and it's obvious because it's utterly realistic.

The riff is spellbinding, while Dan's soft and breathy vocal doesn't appear on any other song on the album. Smoothly transitioning into 'The Right Thing' (featuring a guest appearance from Ben Sydes of B-Sydes, whose rougher voice nicely complements Dan's) it wouldn't sound out of place on any mainstream rock release. This song lends the album its title - Dan pondering the things he wished he'd said to an old friend after returning to his hometown - but it works nicely with the more hopeful atmosphere. Paper & Bones' is furiously paced, featuring a riff reminiscent of The Killers and a catchy as heck chorus as Dan sings "I can't pretend I hate to say I told you so", which directly contrasts with 'Saintlike', the most stripped back song on the album.

Surrounded by jungle views and beautiful shimmering water, Cairns is the only place in the world where two UNESCO World Heritage sites are found side by side and - while I sadly missed out on a chance to stand between Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef - I did get to visit the latter. My experience with Cairns, having lived near there previously, is that the locals rarely visit the reef unless it's literally their job, and this seemed to be backed up with not a single Australian on-board. As we were approaching Hastings Reef, our dive spot of the day, I was pulled aside with Paul and another man, and we were given a crash course on diving. Hastings Reef is one of the most pristine parts of the Great Barrier Reef system, and it shows.