I absolutely loved this book. I loved it so much in fact that I hugged it after I finished.

It's the story of the Walkers, particularly father Alf and oldest son Joe, but it's also the story of a whole town maybe even of a specific time. Small town politics play a big role in this story. Everyone knows everyone and that comes with positives but also negatives. How do you leave your past behind when it's not just your past, it's shared by the whole town?

Alf and the Mill are the central story here but Joe's story stands out to me. He falls in love with a new girl in school and here we see class politics at play. Joe doesn't feel he's worthy of a girl like Anna, feels he has to become more than he is to win her over. In spite of it being pretty clear that this is his own issue, not necessarily hers, it weighs him down to a point where he struggles with his own family and upbringing while constantly trying to escape it. Joe and Anna actually reminded me of Pip and Estella from Great Expectations in some ways. Not quite as dark or tragic as that pairing but still I saw a lot of similarities there.

There are a few different threads of different stories in this book and for once I feel like every one of them was rounded off perfectly. Everything was wrapped up in one way or another. I finished the book feeling completely satisfied. Except for..... there's on chapter in the middle there, where Jamie and Billy go to cut a Christmas tree.... if you've read it you know what happens. I'm still not sure why it was in there, and in such detail? I kept thinking it'd come up again later, but it didn't really.

That issue aside The Island Walkers goes right onto my list of favourite books, and straight to the top of my "Make This Into A MiniSeries When I Win The EuroMillions Lottery" list. High praise indeed.