The Crooked Mask by Rachel Burge, published by Hot Key Books, was Issue 4’s book club pick. Our co-editor Amy is here to share her thoughts on YA read, as well as our book club writing prompt!
This was a brilliant, tense read. I loved the incorporation of Nordic myths and the sense that no-one was what they seemed. As I’m currently enjoying Loki on Disney, it was really interesting to see another perspective on the Nordic gods.
My favourite aspect was the atmosphere; intense, evocative and mystical, the pervading feeling throughout the book was a thrilling sense of uncertainty. The mist and darkness reflected the central question for Martha – is she seeing what is in front of her?
Our ‘Crooked Mask’ inspired writing prompt is ‘mayhem of masks’. Write 500 words or create an art piece based on the prompt ‘masks’. If you’d like, you can share your work with us, or submit it to our journal!
Reading recommendations: We’re all about strong atmospheres this issue – please tell us about a novel you read where the atmosphere created really jumps off the page and drags you in in our replies. And if you loved The Crooked Mask, please let us know!
You can buy The Crooked Mask here
Thank you for following along with our Book Club! You can hear more from author Rachel Burge in our Book Club corner of Issue 4. Now available at 15% off! We’ll be announcing our next pick at our launch next Thursday, so stay tuned!
