This book won the Tom Fitzgibbon Award for a first published children's book, and a fully deserved winner it is.
Rory and his friends like fishing and deep sea fishing most of all. When Rory is knocked overboard while his uncle is wrestling with a huge Mako shark, life changes for him. Fears and doubts enter his psyche which will need to be sorted by the end of the book, and they are. Throw in a mystery over who is illegally marketing fish, rivalry between boys, a fishing competition and early male/female attraction, and you have a recipe for a children's book with wide appeal.
The most believable aspects of this book are the cutting-edge dialogue between the young characters, and the excitement generated whenever the sharks are on the scene. Most appealing to primary and intermediate aged children.
Published by Scholastic
Reviewed by Bob
3 comments:
What happened here? I'm sorry the current review does not do justice to this book. If these comments had been included then in my opinion the review would have been better for it. This is an excellent read for those who enjoy sea fishing competitions or have wondered what it is like to be involved in one. The salty atmosphere is captured well with new and experienced fishing people out to make their mark in this sport. Simpson portrays the menace of the shark well to the point that the main character can no longer enjoy looking at his shark poster on his bedroom wall. Even though mako sharks aren't known for attacking people there is still the underlying terror associated with what might have happened if it had been a man-eating shark. Rory struggles with his growing fear of sharks and the sea; he finds organising the school's fishing competition is hard work because his passion of fishing has been rocked by his shark encounter. Then there is the mystery of illegal fishing that needed to be solved...and a nerve wracking climax that had me sitting on the edge of my seat.
A great read for y5-6 children - action, twists, issues to deal with
great read for y5/6
Post a Comment