The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Publisher: RHCP Digital 

Date: 2 July 2015

Originality: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Quality of Writing: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Character development:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Settings:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Overall View:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

So let's raise our glasses to the accident season,

To the river beneath us where we sink our souls,

To the bruises and secrets, to the ghosts in the ceiling,

One more drink for the watery road.

First of all, let me tell you why you should purchase this book as soon as it comes to shops this July… It's the most bone-chilling, nail-biting, heart-tearing young adult novel I have ever read that has a juicy mix of love, friendship, and horror. Told in an entirely beautiful voice, The Accident Season is a book that will leave you thinking about it even after you've finished it.

Cara's family are not so normal as you would think. Her whole family are affected by what they call the 'Accident Season', a whole month of continuous head-banging, bone-breaking, flesh-bruising terror that haunts the family even after it's over. Since the death of her father one accident season many years ago, Cara's mother is constantly reminded of the effects of that particularly terrible October. The memory tears through the whole family, creating a constant fear between each member. However, there is one thing that crops up later in the novel that suggests The Accident Season is not what it seems to be at all. Cara's older sister, Alice, is teller of that even more horrifying tale.

In my opinion, The Accident Season is a very testing young adult novel. It deals with themes of complicated romances between the circle of main characters, fear, fading memories, and friendship. The constant symbol of secrets is effectively used throughout the novel to bring out the deepest revelations between characters. Through these secrets, we see what's really between the lines of The Accident Season.

I particularly liked the idea of Elsie being found in all of Cara's photographs. From the beginning this is what gripped me. The mysterious essence of the novel began here, and later took us further into more twists and turns. The locations that are described in the novel are so beautiful and magical, you are immediately thrown into another world. While I was reading I felt as I was there, as if I was Cara herself. The most complicated characters I found were Alice and her boyfriend Nick. These two characters are examples of good character development and writing.

Despite being Doyle's first published novel, the whole plot, characters, location and narrative are top-notch. This book will not fail to amaze you at the most appropriate times, and will drag you in for a eerie and romantic ride. I have rated this four stars or it's easy to read yet complicated plot, and I'll definitely continue to look out for this author in the future!