you can read the summary for yourself. I will start out saying I have read all of Boyne's books and like them all very much. He's an excellent writer. If you had asked me about 1/2 through this one, I would have said it was ok and my least favorite. I hated the main character (sometimes that's how you can tell its a good book! ) and he was annoying me. However I kept on and was indeed not disappointed! And the ending was excellent. So i would put this on my TO READ list and if you find yourself giving up, DON"T. it continues to get better and is very well written.

If you can get your hands on a book by John Boyne, do it. I’ve read four, and they are all great. Now I’ve read another, A LADDER TO THE SKY, and it proves once again what a master he is at writing both plot- and character-driven literature. Every sentence is so well written I wanted to reread it.

This novel is about a bad guy, a really, really bad guy, a psycho: Maurice. He lurks among the writing community. He fancies himself a great Prize [sic]-worthy author of fiction. And he is a good writer, but his stories are boring. So he cannot become a recognized author who can at least get on the short list for The Prize [sic] unless, as he sees it, he inserts himself into the lives of successful authors. He uses and abuses, as the saying goes. And he’ll do anything. (I capitalized "The Prize" because it is spelled that way in the book.)

Through his characters, Boyne often says what I often say when I review a book: the writing may be good, but that is not enough. A good book is also driven by a plot. Without that, the book is boring. And that is Maurice’s problem: he cannot come up with plots. He needs story ideas. And he’ll stop at nothing.

A LADDER TO THE SKY is, in a way, difficult to read because one bad thing after another happens. Now and then, though, someone is wise to Maurice. Unfortunately, his beauty attracts both men and women, so he gets away with years of exploitation.

Do yourself a favor and read A LADDER TO THE SKY.

The writing in this novel is amazingly good. Boyne has weaved another great story. I loved the section written in Edith’s voice.