Publisher: Corgi Childrens
Release: 2nd July 2015
Genre: Magical Realism
Source: Proof copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Synopsis:
"It's the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.
The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.
But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?"
Review
The Accident Season is a gorgeously written, haunting tale that puts a fresh magical spin on human tragedy. Magical Realism isn’t a genre you see a lot of in YA and the dash of horror that Moira Fowley-Doyle adds is just enough to make you slightly uncomfortable. I loved how different this was to anything I’ve read in YA before.
Every October Cara’s family are prone to accidents and their lives become carefully controlled as they avoid anything from bruises and grazes to broken legs and broken hearts. And then there are the tragedies…but nobody speaks of those. The family do not know why they are cursed to tumble, fall and break but the greatest mystery of all is Elsie a girl who though ever present in Cara’s life doesn’t appear to be present at all…
It’s impossible to talk about The Accident Season without giving away its secrets so instead I’m going to tell you how it made me feel: on edge, spellbound and distorted. It’s the kind of book that even after finishing it I’m not entirely sure what took place and what didn’t between the pages and I love that this book messed with my mind so thoroughly.
Eerie, lyrical and atmospheric The Accident Season is an instant classic for YA fiction.
