SuitabookOut of the Blue
Sophie Cameron
- Reading
- Consider checking in before or during the sections involving the mother’s death, falling Beings, cult abuse and witnessed death. Afterwards, discuss consent, care and competing claims over the Being.
- Themes
- Grief and guilt: Jaya is coping with her mother’s death while living with a father absorbed in the Beings and carrying guilt connected with what happened. The supernatural mystery provides a framework for examining how grief and guilt shape Jaya’s decisions.
- Care versus commodification: People form groups, share sightings, auction feathers and seek to capture Beings, while Jaya and others resist treating them as objects. The book takes a critical view of this.
- Identity and belonging: Jaya is lesbian and of Sri Lankan–British and white Scottish family heritage; she is negotiating relationships, loss and her place in the world. The book presents this favourably.
- Worth knowing
- Notice that bereavement, guilt, fear and exploitation are intertwined with wonder. The book also includes difficult depictions of cult abuse, death, kidnapping, illness, drinking and occasional strong language.