Dear Gill,
My group of children of KJV (Children's Jury of books in Flanders) has just finished reading your book Sky Hawk. They liked it enormously but they wondered why you decided to let Iona die? They found it such a pity, and they had liked to get to know her better. Is there a specific reason for that? We would really like to know!
Thank you in advance for your time!
Kind regards,
Isabel
KJV Belgium
Hieronder lees je Gills antwoord:
Dear Isabel
Thank you so much for the email. I'm delighted to think that children in Belgium are enjoying Sky Hawk. As the author, I found it really sad when Iona died! I felt she was a vulnerable character who deserved a lot more love and luck in her life, and that's why she liked Callum and his family so much, because they accepted her for who she was. However, when I was first working out the story of Sky Hawk, the first chapter was actually going to be about a boy who had just lost a friend, but promised his friend he'd look after the ospreys. So I started thinking, well who was this friend…and I found myself wanting to know more about her, and so the book then began at his meeting with Iona. I suppose I could have not 'killed her off', but somehow the promise Callum gave, about looking after the osprey, became even more powerful after Iona's death. Also, her death made the people of the local community reflect upon their own previous prejudices towards Iona and her grandfather. The scene of Rob donating his bike to the charity is symbolic of the whole communities change of attitude and also shows that everyone has the capacity for change.
Thank you once again for the email
Best wishes
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