Out of the Blue

Kegan's life is miserable - his father is a drunken bully and his mother is worn out with the demands of her job and a young baby. Kegan's one asset is his artistic talent but his father strenuously resists the idea of him entering a scholarship, disdaining his artistic achievements. When Kegan's brother dies suddenly he is even more isolated and seeks solace in the foxes he has found in the local scrapyard. Like him, they are outsiders, threatened by the imminent development of the land which is their home. The arrival of Zo‘ at Kegan's school heralds another outsider - wealthy and well-spoken, she is too independent to join the crowd. The recent death of her father has left her emotionally isolated and she becomes an unlikely ally in Kegan's fight to save the foxes. Welford describes the animals beautifully, evoking their power and danger as well as their physical magnificence. She is not as successful in creating a credible relationship between Kegan and Zo‘-it is too sudden, too close, too unlikely. The book's ending is similarly strained - all is abruptly too well, losing instantly the harsh realism which perfectly evokes a life with little hope for the future.