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marierossi 's review for:
Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish
by Howard Chua-Eoan, John Hargrove
I was so anxious and excited to get my hands on this book. I've been a fan of Hargrove since Blackfish; he was one of the trainers who really stuck out to me. How brave, I thought, to leave behind and then defend something you love so much. It would have been so easy for Hargrove to turn a deaf ear to the allegations against Seaworld. What he does is encouraging for the future, and hopefully many more trainers and people in general will see his side of things. The book itself was raw and informational but in a good way. There was emotional pull but it was manipulative and I appreciated that. I think people come into the book already emotional enough and Hargrove doesn't try to sway the reader one way or another. He also does the beautiful whales justice in the story and never undermines them or their power.
The reason why this is a four star and not a five is that it was not written well. The words were fine but it is clear that Hargrove is not a writer. Which is fine, but he should have gone through a more rigorous editing promise. I felt like it might have been rushed so it could hit shelves while the topic was still "hot." This means there are sections that are repeated and Hargrove doesn't trust the reader to remember anything. Again, this is typical of a non-writer and it's not his fault. Still, it distracted me enough that I couldn't fully enjoy the book.
The reason why this is a four star and not a five is that it was not written well. The words were fine but it is clear that Hargrove is not a writer. Which is fine, but he should have gone through a more rigorous editing promise. I felt like it might have been rushed so it could hit shelves while the topic was still "hot." This means there are sections that are repeated and Hargrove doesn't trust the reader to remember anything. Again, this is typical of a non-writer and it's not his fault. Still, it distracted me enough that I couldn't fully enjoy the book.