How does kits wilderness end

It's about storytelling. It's about ghosts and magical realism. It's about life, and it's about death. It's compelling. It's beautifully written. And now I love it just as much as Skellig, which I'll have to reread very soon to give a worthy review to it.

View all 5 comments. Sep 06, Maciek rated it really liked it Shelves: read-in , the-ya-shelf , reviewed. It is, at times, a rather dark book - as I was reading it I was reminded of Robert Cormier's work, though his novels are definitely much darker and ultimately depressing, whereas Kit's Wilderness is ultimately hopeful and beautiful.

The novel begins with 13 year "Everybody's got the seam of goodness in them, Kit," said Grandpa. The novel begins with 13 year old Christopher - "Kit" - Watson moving with his parents back to their hometown of Stoneygate, a small, former mining town in the northeast of England to care for his recently widowed grandfather. At school he is approached by a boy named John Askew, who recognizes him as being a part of "the old families" - families of coal miners who worked in mines which once operated beneath the city.

Although the mines have been closed for a long time, they prove to be a source of fascination for the local children - Watson introduces Kit to a game called "death", where one of the participants is chosen to "die" by spinning a knife, and has to spend time in a dark pit- recreating the accident of , where more than a hundred of Stoneygate's children died in mining tunnels in a pit disaster, including Kit's own great-grandfather.

Although the game at first is just grim and dark entertainment, Kit soon starts seeing it as something more profound and even mystical: a way to bond with the long-lost children.

Kit's Wilderness is a truly delightful little novel which I enjoyed reading very much, thanks to David Almond's ability to create a compelling, multilayered story.

Although the book is marketed towards younger readers, I think it can - and should! Almond writers very well - although Stoneygate does not exist in reality, it is modeled on the many northern mining towns that he has known since his childhood in the county of Tyne and Wear.

The eponymous wilderness does not relate only to the wild landscape surrounding the town. I like to see this wilderness - strange time between childhood and adulthood, where we're neither: we are not little children anymore, but we're clearly not adults yet.

We're in the wild, discovering new things, often without anyone to guide us, like the children of this novel: we devour stories and long to experience them, and make our own. I loved how David Almond presented the relationship between Kit and his ailing grandfather, slowly succumbing to dementia.

As he shares the stories of his own youth and the town's past, Kit's grandpa is slowly drifting away into darkness; he shares the past with his grandson as much as he himself is moving towards it, unavoidably. As his personality is slowly eroded by alzheimer's, his stories influence and help form Kit's own character and influence his life and decisions that he will make.

Kit's Wilderness is a surprisingly tender and touching book, with bits of real beauty in it; I can safely recommend it to pretty much anyone, and I will definitely be reading more of David Almond's work in the future. Mar 29, Kim rated it it was amazing Shelves: the-kids-are-all-right , favorite-authors. Truly a shame… This has been out for 15 years… 15 years that I could have carried Kit and his story with me.

It almost eluded me once again, when I noticed the author, David Almond, I knew that name. A sudden surge, like a warm fuzzie or a premenopausal hot flash overcame me. Now, I remember. David Almond has this incredible talent. His voice. Living in Stoneygate, built over an old mine that holds a power of the boys, the ghosts of children who perished down there, the fascination with death, the escape of grandfathers suffering from dementia or drunk abusive fathers… something draws them together, a story that they need to tell in order to heal.

Or something like that. What I know is that Mr. Almond was able to lure me into a story of two pubescent boys living in a bleak town in England and hold me there, tightly, until he decided he was done with me. Cast me off into the tunnels below Stoneygate. You have to be in the know View all 4 comments. It was magical, yes. I like the way Mr. Almond narrates smoothly, as if the characters are flowing through the story, as if they were meant to be who they are, to do as they do.

You never get tired, or bored reading this novel. I still have Skellig by the same author as my favorite, but there are other novels by him yet to read. Will keep you posted. Apr 11, Cheryl rated it it was amazing. Yes, five stars It's certainly not just for fans of Horror, or of Historical Fiction, though aspects of it resemble works in those genres. It's a great read about families of different shapes and flavors, families going through hard times.

There's a lot of depth a young reader will miss the first time through. The language and styling is effortlessly beautiful and original. I may just read it again someday, though I did read carefully and I don't think I missed anything View 2 comments. This book is amazing; the story is creative very dark and dappled with light throughout and moved towards a wonderful creative ending. The story is original and wonderfully crafted together, showing the brilliance of David Almond writing skills.

After reading Skellig I thought how could David Almond ever match this book, but he proved me wrong; he not only matched it he may have just surpassed it. As the story progresses Kit the main character in the book starts to write a story that links int This book is amazing; the story is creative very dark and dappled with light throughout and moved towards a wonderful creative ending. As the story progresses Kit the main character in the book starts to write a story that links into the main story's plot - overlapping in an amazing and clever way.

I can't praise this book enough - beautiful, different and Remarkable. Feb 24, Lisa Schensted added it. The story begins simply enough, with the coming home again to support a Grandfather during the loss of his Grandmother. We journey with Kit as he starts a new school, meets new people, and uncovers a plethora of family history within this small town that goes back hundreds of years. There is a genuine goodness in Kit, and a strong desire to know more that draws the reader to him.

The elements in the book range from dark to light, fantasy to reality, and everywhere in between. Emotions run high in both the stories that Kit writes and in his real life relationships with the town. The blending of reality and fantasy is incredible. The reader becomes blurred in what is really happening and what is not, and therefore puts us right in Kit's shoes.

The comic relief of Allie is welcome in this otherwise heavy novel, and is tastefully done. The reader's heart breaks for John Askew and his dark and troubled past. The plot moves swiftly, but takes time to truly develop emotions and situations in a respectful way. The reader is kept in the dark with Kit, and I found myself having "ah-ha" moments at the same time as intended - nothing was revealed a moment too soon.

It was gutsy to put a book of this intensity and darkness out there to a young adult audience, but it is done so respectfully and honestly and so genuine. The challenge of blending reality with fantasy is met in this novel, and takes it to a truly higher level of literature. I think I am more drawn to Almond's earlier work. These earlier tales are more visceral and have a stronger connection to his home than some of his later work. Perhaps this is because of the audience he writes for here rather than the diverse range he now caters for.

This, of course, should not take anything away from his recent accomplishments especially when we consider how good The Dam is. Kit Watson and his family return to their hometown of Stoneygate, a small, fictional mining community se I think I am more drawn to Almond's earlier work. Kit Watson and his family return to their hometown of Stoneygate, a small, fictional mining community set somewhere in Tyne and Wear.

There he meets with families who have never left and in caring for his grandfather he finds that his stories and those of others here go back generations.

But there is one family whose life has become tainted - the Askew's. John Askew's own family is broken and in need of mending and although gifted in art, John is bitter inside and is drawn to the ghost of previous generations. Can Kit save him or will he be drawn into the past, like John, never to return? These are complex narratives yet deeply rewarding because of it. There are stories here about the passing down of the labour of generations and there are also stories here of ghosts and need to move on.

For this reason alone, the book reminded me of Town Is by the Sea. Dec 31, Afton Nelson rated it really liked it Shelves: middle-grade. Somehow David Almond is able to craft stories that are both dark and meaningful, deep and beautiful. I can't imagine a kid falling in love with this story right away.

Rather, it seems like a story that lends itself to examination, lots of thought and discussion. May 09, Scott rated it it was amazing. The best phrase I can think of to describe this story is somewhat paradoxical: "darkly sublime.

My sister recommended that I read it after quoting a writing expert who said this book is a "master class" on how to create tone. I wholeheartedly agree. In his appended author's note, David Almond writes "I think that stories are living things--among the most important things in the world.

The narrative is a living thing, taking place over a few months of a thirteen year-old boy's life. It weaves in and out of his subconscious, of his dreams, of his memories and present lived experiences.

It breathes new life into literary descriptions of ghosts; it moves between his life and a narrative that he's creating himself, with some amount of slippage in between. It defies expectations consistently. The book deals with very heady themes: life, death, light, dark, good, evil, dreams, lineage, ghosts, old age, youth, enemies, friendship.

There is a dialectical tension at work throughout, pulling at each end relentlessly. The book is immensely heavy and dark. And yet there's an ebullience that skips lightly across it, courtesy of Kit's friend Allie. Thank goodness she's there, reminding the reader that there is light, there is beauty, there is hope. In Aristotle's On Rhetoric , he calls a certain persuasive technique the "enthymeme"--a rhetorical device through which an orator can persuade an audience by allowing it to 'fill in the blanks.

Once the audience provides the missing parts to the arguments, they participate in the creation of the speech, feeling immensely satisfied as a result. This is how Almond writes. The way he does it is nothing short of masterful. His tone is so exceedingly complex, and yet totally simple throughout. He writes sparingly so the reader can provide the visuals in his or her own mind, thus making the reading experience richer somehow.

Almond is never didactic, he never overstates nor overexplains. In some ways it feels like it lasts much longer than it does because it's so easy to adapt to the hypnotic dialogue and seductive tone. The climax of the book is intense and completely enthralling. Somehow Almond is able to present a multitude of threads throughout the story and connects them all together, to the point where not one detail feels like it shouldn't have been there. It feels so timeless that its references to a Megadeth t-shirt and Walkmans it was written in the late 90s seem like anachronisms.

Thanks to my sister Stephanie for recommending this book to me. Mar 20, Chantelle Atkins rated it it was amazing. This book had such an effect on me, I felt like I had been sucked into another world for the time I was reading it.

I started it late one night and picked it up again in the morning to finish it. To say I was mesmerised is an understatement.

There is something so simple yet beautifully profound about the writing and the setting of the scenery. This is the story of Kit, who moves with his parents back to the old mining town they came from Stoneygate, when his grandmother dies and his grandfather This book had such an effect on me, I felt like I had been sucked into another world for the time I was reading it.

This is the story of Kit, who moves with his parents back to the old mining town they came from Stoneygate, when his grandmother dies and his grandfather needs looking after. Kit feels immediately at home and welcomed back to the old town where he is eyed as someone who belongs, someone whose heritage goes back decades. Kit is drawn to a boy named John Askew, a dark, hulking brute of a boy, who engineers a spooky game with the local kids called Death.

The kids chosen are the kids whose ancestors died as children in the mines. There is a very haunting scene where Kit's grandfather shows him his own name on a monument to the dead children. Christopher Watson, aged Askew's name is also there; John Askew, aged This link compels Kit to want to play the game of Death, during which a child is chosen by a spinning knife to stay in the dark on their own to die.

When they emerge, they are born again. It's a child's game, yet there is something undeniably dark about it and Kit finds himself drawn to the brutish darkness of Askew, a boy who is brutalised at home. There is so much to this short and simple book, that it's hard to know what to say. Instead, I will say what I loved. I loved the characters to such an extent, I felt like searching for them after I'd finished reading. I missed them. Kit was a great main character and I also felt incredibly drawn to the sad darkness of Askew.

When the tale concludes, the ghost takes a "part of me[Askew]"[7] and he is no longer mad. Allie finds the two of them in the mine after getting their location from Bobby, and they go back to town. Askew is accepted back into school to take art classes, his father stops drinking, and at the end of the novel, Kit's grandfather dies.

After he dies Kit decides to move on, knowing that his grandfather will be with him forever. This content is from Wikipedia. GradeSaver is providing this content as a courtesy until we can offer a professionally written study guide by one of our staff editors.

We do not consider this content professional or citable. Please use your discretion when relying on it. Askew came out last. He slid the door back into place, leaving the dead one in the dark. Sometimes the dead came quickly back to us. Sometimes it took an age, and on those days our whispering and sniggering came to an end. We glanced nervously at each other, chewed our nails. As time went on, the more nervous ones lifted their schoolbags, glanced fearfully at Askew, set off singly or in pairs toward home.

Sometimes we whispered of sliding the door back in order to check on our friend down there, but Askew, without turning to us, would snap,. Death has its own time. Wake him now and all he'll know forever after is a waking death. So we waited, in silence and dread. In the end, everyone came back. We saw at last the white fingers gripping the door from below. The door slid back. The player scrambled out.

He blinked in the light, stared at us. He grinned sheepishly, or stared in amazement, as if emerged from an astounding dream. We left Askew hunched there by the river, strolled back together through the wilderness with the dead one in our midst. Sign up for Underlined here.

Search for books Submit Search. Browse Our Latest Releases for Look inside! For Ages 12 to — The Printz Award—winning classic gets a new look. He spun the knife. We chanted, "Death Death Death Death. We lay together in the long grass, in the sunlight, by the shining river.