Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

A touching, funny and beautiful book.

15 year old Zoe Collins has done something wrong. Not just a wee bit wrong or even very wrong. What she has done is absolutely terrible! And the reason the guilt is rapidly building up inside her is because she's gotten away with it. So when Zoe hears about a criminal on death row in Texas she picks up a pen and paper and desperate to spill out her secrets to someone she writes to him the entire story of what happened that year. These are Zoe's letters.

Written from Zoe's perspective in letters this is a story about love and betrayal, family and friendship and more importantly making the right decision. This book touched my heart just as much as Annabel's debut novel My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece did. Annabel captures the voice of Zoe perfectly just like she did with ten year old Jamie in her first novel. Throughout the book you are desperate to know what Zoe has done wrong as you only find out and start piecing the puzzle together towards the end. During the novel you not only feel sorry for Zoe but you sympathize deeply for the man on death row, wishing you could hear his thoughts while he reads the letters. Once you finish the book you will  end up in a flood of tears and will finally understand how the book got it's title.

I reccomend this and Annabel Pitcher's My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece to anybody who has an endless supply of tissues.