THE SUMMER SKIES by Jenny Colgan

THE SUMMER SKIES is Jenny Colgan's latest novel and is set mostly in the skies of the Scottish islands. Our main character, Morag, is a third-generation pilot. She works in the city as a commercial airline pilot, though back home her family has always run a charter plane service for the islanders.

Currently on a break after a flying incident, Morag is called back home by her grandfather to temporarily take over his flying duties. She returns her thinking it is only for a few days till she gets the all-clear at her job and hopefully the promotion she is hoping for. While a love for flying and the open skies is what she has in common with her family, the remote, lonely location is not what Morag wants in her future. She tries to take it a day at a time. Soon she is hopping the islands, being a co-pilot and general girl Friday in their small plane service.

A storm and a crash force Morag to take shelter on an island with just one other person present. With a storm brewing above them, no lights and limited options for entertainment, Morag and the ornithologist are soon on each other's nerves. Will she survive the storm and find her love for the islands like her family or is she counting the hours until she is rescued and can run back to the city?

The backdrop of the Scottish islands described in THE SUMMER SKIES brings a stunning wilderness into the narrative which suits the plot. The small community adds a quirkiness to the story which is always good and brings a few laughs without fail. At times I found the main character droned on and on about the open skies, the concept of flying, and the role of humans in it all. I didn't find it to add much to the already-established themes of the story.

Nonetheless, I definitely recommend THE SUMMER SKIES for its backdrop, dry humour between the lead couple, and the compelling plotline while they are stranded on an island.

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SUMMARY

New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan takes us to the gloriously windswept islands of northern Scotland, where we meet young Morag McGinty, who runs the puddle-jumper flights that serve the islands’ tiny but proudly feisty population.

Morag MacIntyre is a Scottish lass from the remote islands that make up the northernmost reaches of the UK. She’s also a third-generation pilot, the heir apparent to an island plane service she runs with her grandfather. The islands—over 500 dots of windswept land that reach almost to Norway—rely on their one hardworking prop plane to deliver mail, packages, tourists, medicine, and the occasional sheep. As the keeper of this vital lifeline, Morag is used to landing on pale golden beaches and tiny grass airstrips, whether during great storms or on bright endless summer nights. Up in the blue sky, Morag feels at one with the elements.

Down on the ground is a different matter, though. Her grandfather is considering and Morag wonders if she truly wants to spend the rest of her life in the islands. Her boyfriend Hayden, from flight school, wants Morag to move to Dubai with him, where they’ll fly A380s and say goodbye to Scotland’s dark winters.

Morag is on the verge of making a huge life change when an unusually bumpy landing during a storm finds her marooned on Inchborn island. Inchborn is gloriously off-grid, home only to an ancient ruined abbey, a bird-watching station, and a population of one: Gregor, a visiting ornithologist from Glasgow who might have just the right perspective to help Morag pilot her course.