THE WINDS OF HEAVEN BY JUDITH CLARKE

The Winds of Heaven is a story of two cousins, Clementine and Fan. They live a long way away from each other but they share a deep bond that stretches for many many years. Fan is beautiful, but her family is dysfunctional. Clementine can't decide if she envies or pities Fan, but over time as they grow older she realises that Fan's life is a lot more complicated than she first thought. And Fan realises that Clementine is one of the only people that ever understood her.

Both Clementine and Fan are very believable characters. Judith Clarke is a very talented writer, and both girls are distinct enough to not get them confused, but similar enough for the reader to understand why they are friends. As the book spans many years it could have failed in maintaining the personalities of the girls over the years, by making them change too much over time, but it didn't. The girls changed, but only as much as real people do.

I found the book to be a tragically beautiful read. It wasn't too full-on, but it really made me love the characters, especially Clementine and Fan. It's also historical, which I personally love. It was a bit slow at the beginning but I would recommend sticking with it because it turns out to be a really memorable and beautiful story.

Butterflies: 8 out of 10
Recommended for: people over 14
Warnings: a bit of language, references to sex (including teenage sex), domestic violence and a fairly disturbing ending.