The Girl with Glass Feet

Synopsis: A mysterious metamorphosis has taken hold of Ida MacLaird - she is slowly turning into glass. Fragile and determined to find a cure, she returns to the strange, enchanted island where she believes the transformation began, in search of reclusive Henry Fuwa, the one man who might just be able to help...Instead she meets Midas Crook, and another transformation begins: as Midas helps Ida come to terms with her condition, they fall in love. What they need most is time - and time is slipping away fast.

Review: I did really like this adult fairytale although I thought it was a bit of a shame that the occasional swear word and slight graphic content made it unsuitable for children/YA because in every other way it would be perfect.

I loved Ida, she's a lovely mix of feisty and vulnerable. She's someone who would normally be quite outgoing and adventurous but Ida has a problem, her feet have turned into glass and it's gradually seeping it's way into the rest of her body. Ida doesn't know why this is happening, she has only one clue and that's the words spoken to her by reclusive Henry Fuwa after she had come to his aid one day. This happened when she was visiting the remote and icy St Hauda's land, and so she returns there to look for him and see if he can help before it's too late. Whilst searching for him she comes across Midas Crook, who's something of a loner and a keen photographer. He's immediately struck by her appearance, she has the cool, monochromatic look of a fifties movie star all except for the enormous boots that she has on.

Ida soon enlists Midas's help in trying to find Henry Fuwa but unknown to her Midas has his own problems and Henry Fuwa is a part of them too. A friendship grows between the two, a friendship which slowly begins to turn into something more, but time is not on their side. Beautifully dreamy and descriptive, the book's not overloaded with magical creatures but they weave in and out and the mystical sits quite happily alongside the ordinary.

There were occasions when I thought the book lost it's way a bit, and I couldn't really see the point of the moth winged bulls, but the true measure of any story is how much you care about the characters and as this book reaches it's climax I found myself becoming increasingly anxious about Ida. This is Ali's first novel and I'm definitely interested to see what he comes up with next.