Just Under the Clouds
There were lots of good feel moments in this book, times that I just had to close the book as I just wanted to savor the moment that I had just read. This book was about survival and hope as Cora’s family tried to pick up the pieces after her father’s death.
All Cora wanted was a permanent home, a place that was safe, a place that she could be proud of, a place where she could make friends. Cora and her sister Adare were escorted home by their mother as their apartment was not safe to enter alone. Bullied at school, I had to wonder when Cora ever had a moment to just relax and breathe. Cora and Adare spend a lot of time together, creating a remarkable bond. It was difficult at times having a sister who was special but Cora understood Adare and her view of the world.
When the family is forced to move out, they move into an old friend of their mothers. This new environment was great for the children yet there seemed to be some tension in the air. Cora gets a new friend, Sabina and the two of them have a lot in common. I loved this new friendship. I couldn’t get enough of Sabina and Cora as finally, Cora had someone.
I loved the reference to the Tree Book and I could visualize Cora carrying the well-loved, reference book around as she walked the streets. Adding to her father’s inscriptions inside the book, I felt how much she missed her father and how much this book meant to her.
Cora struggles throughout this novel yet there are times in the novel where the light does shine. I was beaming in her remedial math class when she found the answer to A, when finally, a letter in math became a number for her. I laughed when she climbed the humongous tree because that tree was where she really needed to be. I smiled reading all the cat’s scenes because who doesn’t like engaging cat scenes. Then there were the crows, now those crows won my heart. What an image!
This was a fantastic novel, better than I had hoped for. A novel about friendship, homelessness, family and about belonging.
