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A review by lchamberlin97
Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk
4.0
What a delightful little children's book! (I am constantly reminded that children's books are better than teen books.)
Wolk doesn't try to over-complicate things, but you still get a nice flavor of things. There are interesting personalities abound and a pleasant progression through the plot so that it's not too predictable but not too obnoxiously twisted. I really like what she does with Crow - I feel like she still has a child's voice, a child's innocence, a child's hope...but she's pretty mature, too. I'm also really fascinated by the setting. That's actually one of the best parts of this book: the Elizabethan islands ARE the plot, but they also are (apparently) reasonably historically accurate (Wolk said so in a little historical note). Everything from the leper colony to the fires to the bird sanctuary to the rumor that there's treasure buried there. Cool.
And I also have to think of it from a child's perspective. I remember in reading books like Second Hand Lions and East and the Ravenmaster's Secret and Star of Kazan - I put this book on par with them, from what I remember. It's a great example of what a kid that age should be reading: just the perfect amount of "children's". And then, a great example of what you can read as a (semi) adult and still find enjoyable.
Wolk doesn't try to over-complicate things, but you still get a nice flavor of things. There are interesting personalities abound and a pleasant progression through the plot so that it's not too predictable but not too obnoxiously twisted. I really like what she does with Crow - I feel like she still has a child's voice, a child's innocence, a child's hope...but she's pretty mature, too. I'm also really fascinated by the setting. That's actually one of the best parts of this book: the Elizabethan islands ARE the plot, but they also are (apparently) reasonably historically accurate (Wolk said so in a little historical note). Everything from the leper colony to the fires to the bird sanctuary to the rumor that there's treasure buried there. Cool.
And I also have to think of it from a child's perspective. I remember in reading books like Second Hand Lions and East and the Ravenmaster's Secret and Star of Kazan - I put this book on par with them, from what I remember. It's a great example of what a kid that age should be reading: just the perfect amount of "children's". And then, a great example of what you can read as a (semi) adult and still find enjoyable.