The Chalk Man

This is a very impressive debut. CJ Tudor generates a great atmosphere of intrigue, with a jumping timeline between childhood and the present and a slow unravelling of the truth behind events in the past. In The Chalk Man we follow the story of a group of friends, jumping between what happened in a summer break during their childhoods and their interactions today. During this summer these children happened to come across a body, and the impact of that had a profound impact on their relationship and the community they are in.

CJ Tudor effectively manages to blend these timelines to create an intriguing mystery that is slowly revealed. Her characters are sympathetic, varied and interesting. The community feels like a real living breathing community in the south of England, with the hypocrisy and pettiness that communities always hold. She has a nice easy reading prose

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable read!

What shapes us is not always our achievements but our omissions. Not lies; simply the truths we don't tell.”

Something about the way it was written kept me at a distance from the characters even if the mystery kept me interested. More so, when when it was revealed what had really happened, I couldn't help feeling disappointed.

3.5 stars

ehhhhh.. this was a really really really enjoyable book in terms of writing style (omg ! ! need to read more from this author) and characters. The characters were so well written, it felt like I knew them personally. If the characters weren't so well written this book would be a 1 star, without the characters this book would fall apart.

It was interesting at first, I couldn't solve the mystery but when it does get solved.. its underwhelming. stupid really.

if I had to describe this entire book I would say its a rollercoaster. waiting in line for an hour, excitement building,youre kinda getting annoyed about waiting so long, you finally get on and you're way too excited, you cant wait for the big drop of the coaster. slowly climbing up to the big reveal, getting ready to be shocked, ready for the ride of your life and then the rollercoaster stops just before it plummets down. The ride broke, you have to get off the emergency exit and climb down the stairs. All that waiting and you were only a second away from your excitement being fulfilled but it all falls flat.

the ending was whack. Weirdly thrown in, it makes sense but still..

The first half of the book basically copied IT by Stephen king. a group of boys and one red head girl that they had a crush on. The red head girl has a abusive father, one of the boys is a master at celebrity impersonations, one of the boys dates girls that are just like his mum, the bullies are basically the same ones from IT, and many more I cant say because of spoilers.
It doesn't sound like much but when you read it, you'll think of IT straight away. Way too many similarities.


anyways in conclusion, started of really good, it was so addictive and the writing is phenomenal but I came away disappointed. It was a massive let down