Krista Reviews: Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

Zoe has an unconventional pen pal–Mr. Stuart Harris, a Texas Death Row inmate and convicted murderer. But then again, Zoe has an unconventional story to tell. A story about how she fell for two boys, betrayed one of them, and killed the other.

Hidden away in her backyard shed in the middle of the night with a jam sandwich in one hand and a pen in the other, Zoe gives a voice to her heart and her fears after months of silence. Mr. Harris may never respond to Zoe’s letters, but at least somebody will know her story–somebody who knows what it’s like to kill a person you love. Only through her unusual confession can Zoe hope to atone for her mistakes that have torn lives apart, and work to put her own life back together again.

Rising literary star Annabel Pitcher pens a captivating second novel, rich with her distinctive balance between humor and heart. Annabel explores the themes of first love, guilt, and grief, introducing a character with a witty voice and true emotional resonance.

Hardcover, 261 pages

Published November 12th 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Going into this story after reading the blurb, I was excited to jump into a mystery. The letter writing format of the storytelling was just like a diary format; Zoe chooses to share her thoughts about her daily life, and things that led up to the event.

Not only do we get to know Zoe, we also get to know her family, friends and love interests. She has had terrible event happen in her life, but she was also going through some turmoil at home. She takes advantage of her home situation to break rules and be more adventurous in her own life, especially romantically.

This story is completely contemporary, dealing with love and family at its core. Zoe is carrying a lot of guilt and sadness. The fact that she decides to pick a murderer she heard about in the paper to write her story to, is interesting, and she sometimes tries to find connections to the murderer’s situation and her own guilty conscience.

There is something very compelling about this story, yet I didn’t completely feel that it was the story I wanted given the synopsis and introduction. I did like the way the romance and family situations were handled. Both were very real situations especially the confusion and frustrations that can come along with falling in love.

I thought the book was well written, yet not as dark as I was hoping it would be. I do recommend this book, those who enjoy contemporary stories with family issues and love triangles.