Another one of my Pink Balloons book reads that has been on my shelf for too long (I feel like i say this about every book but I swear i'm not lying! This is the life of a book hoarder!)
In the 80s, 12 year old Eddie and his group of friends are looking for something interesting to do over the summer holidays. They start their secret language by drawing chalk men outside their houses and around the UK town. But then a chalk man leads Eddie and his friends to a dismembered body... In 2016 Eddie thought it was all past him until he receives a letter with a chalk man, and his friend goes missing. Eddie tries to figure out who the mysterious chalk man is and what has happened to his friend.
We flit from the 80's to present day in 2016 between the story of the Waltzer Girl and the chalk men and Eddie's missing friend. I always enjoy books that do this well as it then sums everything up at the end quite nicely and this was no different. The chapters were long enough to not be confusing as to timings and the detail included was enough to keep you guessing about each.
I wasn't sure I enjoyed reading about grown up Eddie, he seemed a little bit like a wet fish for me, which made the present day chapters a little harder to read. However the chapters of the school kids seemed a lot more interesting and I didn't mind if Eddie wasn't too colourful a character as he is 12 years old! But it did seem like there was more going on in the 80s than in present day making those chapters a little more exciting to read anyway.
I actually enjoyed some of the other characters more, it seemed they were more doing characters whereas Eddie was more an observing character. And I enjoyed the idea of chalk men messages between friends, I wish I knew this when I was their age! There were also plenty of times it felt dark and twisty (sorry I have been watching too much Grey's Anatomy recently. If you know you know). But also other times it was quite heartfelt learning more about the families of the boys and their backgrounds. It was nice having a bit more than a whodunit story line running through this and really helped keep it flowing during the times I wasn't as invested.
And to be fair I did not expect the ending that was delivered! Very weird but unexpected! I will always appreciate a book that can surprise as sometimes it feels like you have read it all. For that reason I gave the book four stars as there is nothing worse than a slowish book with a predictable ending so I was happy with that! With no triggers I can think of but with a bit if heart and a bit of darkness (strange dreams and dismemberment), plus a relatively short novel it was worthy of the stars.
The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
Pages - 280
Goodreads Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
