Zoe Collins is just like any other 15-year-old. She goes to school, hangs out with her friends and dreams to become an author; in other words, the usual.

Well, at least that's what it looks like. In truth, she is hiding a dark secret she dares confess to no one: the previous year she killed someone she loved.

The guilt is destroying Zoe, but one day she comes across a simple way to channel her remorse. A nun visits her school and tells her about the people on death row in America, so Zoe looks it up on the computer and soon enough she finds Stuart. As a man who killed his wife, Stuart knows exactly how Zoe feels; he killed someone he loved too. So Zoe picks up her pen and writes him a letter, which turns out to be the first of many.

After reading Annabel Pitcher debut book My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece in my Carnegie Shadowing Club in 2012, I was first in line to read Ketchup Clouds. It is the second book by Waterstone's Children's Book Prize winning author Annabel Pitcher, and although I think My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is slightly better in the way it is presented, Ketchup Clouds is still an amazing read.

Annabel Pitcher is great at building suspense and you read almost the whole book until you find out who Zoe has actually killed. Zoe is very easy to relate to and has a good personality with lots of interesting quirks; this helps the book along, as the voice of Zoe is an intriguing one to listen to.

While Zoe's character lacks some of the refreshing innocence and frankness found in Jamie, the protagonist in My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, Zoe is still a great storyteller, even if her way of viewing the world isn't quite so original.

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for an invigorating, coming-of-age book. The young adult category can often come off as whiney and "woe is me" but this book proves that that is not always the case, even when the main character does have a lot to whine about. There are good authors of every genre if you just know where to look and Annabel Pitcher is one of them.

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