Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Night Ship

Breathtaking, heartbreaking, thoughtinspiring. I adored this book and the way it was written. The parallels of the two children's life were so haunting yet they did not interact much as I thought they may, keeping then realism alive, yet still giving them a deep connection despite being alive 300 years apart.

I loved Mayken's spirit, Gil being unashamedly himself, both of them adventuring as children do, and seeing their world's through their eyes was sepcial. Both of them experiencing the challenges and growth of childhood. I loved their relationships they built with the adults around them and really appreciated those who took care of the children.

The book was steady at the start and middle then sped up quite a lot at the end - or perhaps that was just me as I couldn't put it down.

I went into this book having no idea what it was about, and it's been amazing to learn about a real maritime tragedy of the 17th century and get to know the complex characters within.

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jennikreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

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yvo_about_books's review

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2.25

Finished reading: July 22nd 2023

“The greatest disgrace of humankind is the failure of the strong to protect the weak. We don't need monsters, Gil; we are the monsters.”

I still can't believe this happened to be honest. I mean, I absolutely LOVED my first experience with Jess Kidd's writing when I read Things In Jars, and I've been excited to read more of her books ever since. The blurb of The Night Ship sounded simply fantastic with the (partial) 17th century setting, the fact that it's based on true events and the hint at a supernatural twist. I had high expectations and fully expected to add a new favorite to my list... Imagine my surprise when I ended up struggling considerably with The Night Ship instead. Don't get me wrong, I still love the premise of this story and its 17th century setting. The references to the Netherlands, the Bavaria ship and journey in general added a little something extra to the story for me. The 1989 timeline was likewise interesting, but I do think I preferred the 1629 timeline in the end... Although on the other hand I did prefer Gil's character over Mayken, so it was a bit tricky to decide on a favorite. Part of what went wrong for me had a lot to do with the constant POV switches. The story jumps between 1629 and 1989 so often that I almost ended up with a whiplash, and as a result it was hard to get a proper feel for both the main characters and the story. I just never felt fully inmerged, because I never got to spend proper time with either timeline; instead of adding tension and suspense, it only highly frustrated me (especially in the second half). I also felt that the story was just too bleak, brutal and graphic, and if things had been toned down I would probably have been able to enjoy it better (case in point: was the animal cruelty really necessary?!). The pace itself was also rather slow, which again probably had a lot to do with the constant POV/timeline switches. It resulted in a very halted story, and I struggled to find the motivation to keep reading. I kept putting the story down to do other things instead, and that is never a good sign. I did like the subtle connections between both timelines; sometimes less is more, and it gave the story more impact this way. Still, all in all I'm sad to admit that I struggled considerably with The Night Ship, and I even started considering a DNF in points. I'm still going to give this author another chance though.

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georgie_mb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

Love finishing a book on my birthday, something very satisfying about that!

Once again, Jess Kidd has broken my heart. She has a way of taking you on such a beautiful emotional story even though you know what the inevitable will be. You are still left hoping that things will turn out differently, and that just shows how she is such an empathetic writer.

I also loved how even though the two characters lives are sort of parallel, if there is repetition it doesn’t always link up, which I found really unusual and kept my interest.

These kids seemed older than their 9 years which I did find a bit strange hence the half a star but I did love them.

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clotalksbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Not what I expected. I was hoping for a friendship across time. Instead there were two separate stories, with similarities and differences.

The writing is haunting. I did find myself having to put it down at points, and didn't have the urge as usual to pick it up again. I just had this sense of dread (well I guess you knew at least one story wasn't going to be a happy one). The beginning felt long, in that there was so much build up and character development I was surprised how little book was left before the real action began. The end, as it sailed towards the final destinations, was very good. The short interweaving chapters, skipping between times was very well done.

The characters and all their flaws, were very detailed, but as viewed from the young. Some moments were just heartbreaking. A very unusual book, that has made me want to find out more about the Batavia.

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lauramcc7's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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billyjepma's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

There’s a lot to like here—striking prose, sharp characterizations, vibes so potent you can feel them sticking on your skin—but it ultimately didn’t work for me as much as I wanted. It’s a very cruel book, for one, with more violence than I expected (that’s on me for going into this without knowing anything about it), which I can usually stomach without a problem. But the cruelty didn’t have the teeth it needed to leave a mark—it’s all blunt and brutal and lacks the intentionality I look for. What’s the violence saying? How does it frame or reframe the themes and characters? I kept looking for a moment to make everything click into place, but I never found it. I’m sure it’s there somewhere, but for whatever reason, it never materialized for me.

The dual storylines have potential, and the structure of the chapters does an admirable job of bouncing between the two timelines. Some moments had me by the throat and used the back-and-forth pacing to keep me reading longer than planned. Those moments are the exception, though, as I usually gravitated toward the 1989 story, where Kidd’s characterizations are the strongest, and the narrative has the most momentum and stakes. I kept waiting for the two stories to converge, but they didn’t, at least not in a way that satisfied me. They share themes, sure, but when the themes are this broad and, honestly, kind of basic, it left me cold. There’s enough good here that I can’t go lower than a three-star rating, but suffice it to say, this one wasn’t for me.

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