“A breath of fresh air in a hot and humid summer. Mejlak is at his best, depicting the difficulties of being 15 or 16 in a village that is at least 500 years old, and has not changed much in the meantime. I do not, by any stretch, fall into the age bracket that this book is aimed at. Yet I am not ashamed to say that I enjoyed reading it more than I enjoyed reading works of fiction in Maltese meant for more adult readers. It may well be that I have not yet grown up, but I suppose it is also because finally young adult fiction has come of age. This is a book for young people who want to be treated like grown ups, for grown ups who want to feel young, and for anyone who likes a good story well told. Whatever age you are, buy this book and read it. If your parents are still responsible for what you read, do not tell them about it.”
– Marco Galea, The Times of Malta
“Mejlak writes in a simple, lucid style reminiscent of Mark Haddon. Like Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Riħ Isfel belongs to the cross-over genre appealing to teenagers and adults alike. I’d recommend Rih Isfel to anyone wanting to exorcise the mind-numbing Maltese study texts of past school days. Actually I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good read.”
– Claire Bonello, MaltaToday
