Review: A Ring Through Time by Felicity Pulman

Okay, I have a confession to make. I choose this book from Netgalley based purely on where the book was set. What I got was an intriguing ghost story, tale of Norfolk Island history and a moral on how sometimes people can twist history to suit themselves.

A Ring Through Time tells the story of Alice 'Allie' Bennett a sixteen-year-old only child who has moved to Norfolk Island with her parents. For her Dad it is a chance to find out more about his family history, as one of their direct ancestors was a governor of Norfolk Island. For Alice, it is a chance to start afresh after a traumatic experience. Alice finds fitting in with the local kids difficult at first and even more so when she begins to see ghosts. At least she has made one friend, Noah O'Brien. Then Alice makes the mistake of mentioning her family history at school. Her ancestor, it turns out, were considered to be the most brutal ruler on the island and responsible for the death of one of Noah's direct ancestors, who was a political prisoner and sent to the island as a convict. And then Alice discovers a diary, which tells her real family history ...

I found A Ring Through Time to be a fascinating young adult novel and an interesting account of how sometimes we don't always interpret history right. Both the Bennett's and O'Briens have their family legends, all of which paint their side as heroic and the other as the aggressor. The subplot about Allie and her relationship with her friends back in Sydney was a little distracting and there were a few other minor irritations (I find it surprising that a sixteen-year-old only child with no real interest in children would be asked to babysit an infant,) but overall this was an interesting read.

Review Copy: Publisher/Netgalley

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