Blog Tour: War of the Wind by Victoria Williamson

Cover design by Sadie Butterworth-Jones

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for eco-thriller War of the Wind by award-winning author Victoria Williamson.

As someone who recommends a lot of books, in turn I have a lot of books recommended to me – so many that I, sadly, cannot hope to read them all. One of my favourite bloggers tagged me into her review of this read last year, piquing my interest enormously, so when I was offered the opportunity to take part in this tour I jumped at the chance to see just why she had loved this read so much.

Discovering a dark and intelligent story, full of twists and turns, I was soon drawn into the world of 14-year-old Max whose life has been turned upside down by an accident at sea that has stolen his hearing, and the events that follow when the introduction of a new wind farm on his remote island does not bring the benefits that were promised, but a secret plot to use him, his family and neighbours as guineapigs in the most sinister of experiments.

Much has changed in Max’s life since his accident – most of it for the worse. No longer part of the local group of boys that hang out and play football, as he heads to school he sees them picking on fellow pupil Beanie, before they are chased away by her grandmother. Popping into the local shop, he reflects that its owner Mr Strachan is one of the few people who makes an effort to communicate with him now and looks at the sign within the shop protesting against the installation of the new wind turbines – something that his parents are also against as they will be very close to their home.

Max, on the other hand, is excited at the prospect of finally joining the modern world and the anticipated ability to use a mobile phone at long last, both to be able to talk to the boys who were once his friends and to join in on social media. Reaching school, he reluctantly joins the others in his class, all of whom have additional needs, resentful that he is no longer within the mainstream class that he used to be a part of. After a day which doesn’t improve for him, Max heads home to be confronted by his mother who needs him to help as she is struggling with running the house and caring for his baby sister while Max’s fisherman father is at sea.

When the turbines arrive, Max and many of the other islanders watch from the cliffs and following this brief relief from his usually dull existence, he heads back home. Waking up during the night and unable to sleep, he heads back outside to look over the bay and is puzzled to see a strange light out on the water. This is only the first of several odd things to happen and Max starts to wonder if the events could be linked to the turbines in some way. When he then meets scientist Dr Ashwood, who appears to be in charge of the turbines, he starts to question if internet access and cheap electricity are all the turbines are bringing to the island. With the help of Beanie and two others from his class, Max uncovers an inhumane plot to experiment on the islanders but with everyone else around them convinced of the turbines’ benefits, can the four of them reveal the truth and prevent the catastrophe that seems to be waiting for them?

The shocking truth is that – like Max – any one of us could become disabled in some way in the future, whether it be through an accident, illness or any other reason. For Max, who prior to becoming deaf looked down on those in what he terms the zoomers class, his suddenly joining them and losing his previous friendship group is a bitter blow. Initially refusing to judge those around him on what he sees, he continues with his old ableist prejudices until fate forces him to reappraise not just those in his class but also himself and his immediate family, sending a powerful message to readers that we are all different but not one of us is less.

The idea of hidden powers using uninformed participants in scientific experiments is not a new one but it is a truly terrifying one. Possibly, most of us would be like Max is at first and welcome in the new technology that promises to deliver so much but I doubt that many of us would stop to really consider the cost of that progress and if we did, would some of us consider it was actually worth paying?

Written with a great deal of empathy and reviewed by the British Deaf Association to ensure that its characters sympathetically reflect those for whom hearing loss is their lived experience, this is a read that is both engaging and thought-provoking and one that I very much enjoyed. Aimed at KS3 upwards, this is perfect for that top end of middle grade readership that is not always well catered for and is another winner from the author.

My enormous thanks go to publisher Neem Tree Press and to The WriteReads for my gifted review copy of the book and for inviting me to take part in the blog tour. War of the Wind is on sale now – don’t forget to check out the other stops: