Review: A Flash of Neon by Sophie Cameron

A Flash of Neon is a contemporary fantasy which completely enthralled me: a story of family and friendship, an exploration of selfhood, and of the power of stories and creativity to change lives.

14-year-old Laurie helps out in her mums’ bookshop, Every Book and Cranny, and enjoys both the stories within the books and imagining the stories of the customers. Whilst her mums are heading to London for a week long book promotion, she has secretly invited her best friend, Neon, to visit. She has told him to catch the bus from the train station in Inverness to her small town on the banks of Loch Ness. But this plan is scuppered when best friends, Caitlin and Hannah, insist that she meets him at the station – and they’re coming too! Laurie is not surprised when Neon does not get off the train and her friends even admit that they don’t believe he exists. But then she hears her name, and Neon steps into her life. But that should not be possible as she created Neon six months before … he only lives in her imagination and in the online life she has created for him …

But now she’s taking this boy home, a boy whose story matches exactly the life she has created for him, but can he be the friend that she deserves and needs? And what happens when Neon’s reality comes crashing into her world? Can they work together to defeat the ominous Blanks who have followed Neon? And, will Neon be able to find a home in her town, or will he be forced to return to the realm of imagination?

This is such a fantastic, imaginative delight of a story that completely enthralled me. I absolutely loved the fantastical elements from the mythical creatures to the ominous destroyers of creativity to the imaginary-friend turned real. I really liked that Neon did not exist just in Laurie’s imagination but that she has made him real to others through creating his online presence, almost like a form of catfishing, so that others accept him readily into their lives.

As well as the fantastical elements, this is a story very much grounded in the contemporary. Laurie has projected the things she doesn’t have in her life, but would like to have on to Neon, such as friends who love and accept her as she is, confidence and an ability to perform in public without being crippled by fear and self-doubt.

She is such a sympathetic teenager who has lost her best friend from primary school when she went to secondary school and is not really sure how this has happened, and doesn’t know how to resolve this growing apart. She has drawn the attention of two of the popular girls in school, Caitlin and Hannah, but doesn’t always feel welcome within their friendship, especially when they are together, with them often teasing her and smirking at her. They can be really mean to her and put her under pressure to address things that she isn’t really ready for, or which she still doesn’t know about herself, including her feelings about attraction. But Caitlin and Hannah can also be kind to her, especially when they are not with each other, and this is something that really confuses Laurie and is perhaps instrumental in her creating Neon to offer her some sort of protection and relief from their more toxic friendship – and to make her feel ‘normal’ within the friendship trio.

Neon shines so brightly and is a real force of nature, exuberant and excitable, with a real talent for singing, dancing and playing instruments. I adored the friendship between Laurie and Neon and loved how he supports her, defends her, and encourages her to believe in herself and to be true to herself.

I also loved that this story celebrates the positive power of books and the imagination to bring people together, to make connections, to reignite memories and to celebrate difference. It is so important that young people can see themselves in stories and also empathise with others so I really enjoyed the inclusivity within the story and the timely message of the current worry around book censorship. Children learn so much through wandering through stories, about themselves and others, about acceptance and kindness, and I only wish more adults would wander through these stories too.

A marvellously mesmerising story of finding friendship, of the power of imagination and of having the courage to shine brightly … an unmissable, unputdownable read for children of 11+.

Thank you to Little Tiger for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.