Read A Crack in the Sea H M Bouwman Yuko Shimizu 9780399545214 Books

Product details Age Range 10 and up Grade Level 5 - 6 Lexile Measure 740L (What's this?) Paperback 384 pages Publisher Puffin Books; Reprint edition (January 8, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 0399545212

A Crack in the Sea H M Bouwman Yuko Shimizu 9780399545214 Books Reviews

• Oh wow, I loved so much about this. I'd been looking for middle grade fantasy that was based in non-European cultural myths/histories/stories, and when it comes to black people I was finding that much of it (for logical and good reason) is based in traditions of the American South and Yoruba heritage, which is legit and awesome but which I don't have a lot of personal connection to. So enter this book, which is the second book I've ever encountered that mentions the Zong (a crime, literally, but also a crime to have not written more books that deal with this, in fiction or non) and which plays with that story in a really interesting way. Like slave myths of sprouting wings and flying back to Africa, this story allows the Africans thrown off the ship to sprout metaphorical wings and literally walk across the ocean floor to another world. And then we have the Raft King, who is descended from those Africans but was raised by a white adoptive mother, so hello, personal relevance to Hannah Gomez's own life, and is struggling to reconcile what he owes to his people as a king and as a member of a community with his own desire to a) follow his mother, who left him for her own (white, earthen, first world) home, and b) discover his own roots in Africa.
  
  Add to that that we have a black utopia (Raftworld) that trades mostly peacefully with a white(r) island nation but refuses to settle down because it feels it hasn't found the exact place it's supposed to be, and that utopia exists in the second world, whereas our actual earth is the first world, and my oh my isn't that A Statement.
  
  There is so much interesting stuff happening in the setup of this world and in the history and backstory Bouwman constructed for it, and really the only criticism I have for it is that all of that was miles more interesting than the purported main plot of the book, so that's weird. I am also having trouble with (view spoiler), and I'm trying to figure out how much and whether I should care that this incredibly complex and racialized world and story was constructed by a white author, but ultimately I feel like it's a white writer who did hella homework and did a very good job. This was a read like no other.
• This story was beautifully written, with a cast of wonderful characters. (Right at the moment I think Pip is my favorite.) It's told through the eyes of several different characters and each one felt unique, with their own voice their own personality. Definitely an interesting, and unique tale. (It also made me want to reread Bouwman's first book, The Remarkable and Very True Story of Lucy and Snowcap, who I believe made a brief appearance at the end.)
• The author lays a mosaic-like tale from three sibling pairs in this instant classic. Pip is definitely my favorite character! Through her skillful narrative touching on both magical and "real" worlds, H.M. Bouwman manages to converge on every theme including the magic available to us in the power of the story, family, ethics, as well as the inevitable cycle of life, death, and rebirth through love. I highly recommend this book to young readers as well as old as a playful tale that sticks with you.
• reading revolution
• Amazing, historical fantasy! Love this book!
• This isn't a book I would have picked for myself, but it was part of the Penguin Young Readers Author Program and so I gave it a try. As usual, the folks who choose the books for the program were right. Bouwman has created a fantasy world that intersects with ours in remarkable ways. The second world (as it is called), is a cast watery place with a few islands, a large floating nation known as the Raftworld, and even Krakens. People from our world cross over through portals that appear during storms or in whirlpools out at sea. Some of the people who figure prominently in the story are from our world. One group crosses over in 1781, after begin thrown overboard from the slaveship Zong. Another group is pulled into a maelstrom after fleeing from South Vietnam in 1978. And then there are the characters from Raftworld and the Tathen Islands in the second world.
  
  Through the magic of storytelling, the author weaves all these tales together into a whole. There are kidnappings, rescues, magical powers, pirates, sea monsters, quests, and even Amelia Earhart! Readers will have plenty of action and suspense, some humor, family loyalty, and new friends to keep their attention. A captivating ride of historical fantasy adventure.
  
  I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
• Recommended to Middle School students who enjoy complex tales with multiple characters and a bit of magic.
  
  This book is a bit complicated. It combines fables and magic with historical fiction. The story is told through the tales of three sets of siblings Venus & Swimmer escape from a slave ship in 1781 and end up in the Second World, Kinchen & Pip live in the Second World, and Thanh & Sang are trying to escape Vietnam with a few relatives, in the First World in 1976. Inhabitants of the Second World include a large group of people who live on a group of connected rafts, islanders, sea monsters, people who can talk to sea creatures, and others who can walk through water.
  
  I found this book overly long and it had difficulties keeping my attention. The child characters are too similar and I found myself forgetting who was who.