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A review by celjla212
Surrounded by Sharks by Michael Northrop
3.0
3.5 STARS
This is the first book I've ever read that had anything to do with sharks, but upon reading the synopsis of this book I was excited to give it a shot. Sharks have become a pretty well known symbol in pop culture now, and of course this all culminates in the much anticipated Shark Week that the Discovery Channel showcases every year.
In Surrounded by Sharks, the main character is indeed in the middle of a number of the predators. But to me, the more immediate danger would have been not the animals, but any number of other things that could have killed the boy: exposure, exhaustion, thirst, and above all, drowning.
The book starts off a bit slowly, but once the main character disappears, everything then moves very quickly. Davey is a 13 year old boy on vacation with his family on a tiny private island resort in Florida. A smart and deeply private boy, he is less than thrilled that he has to share one room with his little brother and parents. On the first day of their vacation, Davey wakes up early and decides to take a walk around the resort to try to find a quiet reading spot. He finds that spot in a hidden beach cove, but he decides to ignore the "No Swimming" sign and wade into the ocean a little anyway. Before he can do anything, he is swept away by the waves and ends up drifting more than two miles away from shore.
Davey's younger brother Brandon had noticed he was gone from the hotel room not long after he left, but he didn't inform his parents of this immediately. Probably the main thing that irritated me about the plot of the book is that there were so many mix ups, mistakes, and missed opportunities that I felt like Davey could have been rescued much sooner. I understand that all of this is a plot device to make particularly younger readers feel more of a sense of danger and urgency, but for an adult who can put this book away in just a couple of hours, it's more annoying than anything.
As I said before, the sharks are present in the book, but for myself I didn't feel like they were as menacing as I guess they were supposed to be. For most of the book, up until the last couple of chapters, all the sharks do is swim in circles below Davey. It seems they are nothing but curious about him, but to a 13 year old kid that is lost in the vast sea, it doesn't matter what the motivation of the sharks is.
I think middle grade readers will enjoy this read; it is split up into short, easy to read chapters and often the chapters end on a menacing note. I also believe it might make the kids who read it think twice about the consequences before they break any rules!
This is the first book I've ever read that had anything to do with sharks, but upon reading the synopsis of this book I was excited to give it a shot. Sharks have become a pretty well known symbol in pop culture now, and of course this all culminates in the much anticipated Shark Week that the Discovery Channel showcases every year.
In Surrounded by Sharks, the main character is indeed in the middle of a number of the predators. But to me, the more immediate danger would have been not the animals, but any number of other things that could have killed the boy: exposure, exhaustion, thirst, and above all, drowning.
The book starts off a bit slowly, but once the main character disappears, everything then moves very quickly. Davey is a 13 year old boy on vacation with his family on a tiny private island resort in Florida. A smart and deeply private boy, he is less than thrilled that he has to share one room with his little brother and parents. On the first day of their vacation, Davey wakes up early and decides to take a walk around the resort to try to find a quiet reading spot. He finds that spot in a hidden beach cove, but he decides to ignore the "No Swimming" sign and wade into the ocean a little anyway. Before he can do anything, he is swept away by the waves and ends up drifting more than two miles away from shore.
Davey's younger brother Brandon had noticed he was gone from the hotel room not long after he left, but he didn't inform his parents of this immediately. Probably the main thing that irritated me about the plot of the book is that there were so many mix ups, mistakes, and missed opportunities that I felt like Davey could have been rescued much sooner. I understand that all of this is a plot device to make particularly younger readers feel more of a sense of danger and urgency, but for an adult who can put this book away in just a couple of hours, it's more annoying than anything.
As I said before, the sharks are present in the book, but for myself I didn't feel like they were as menacing as I guess they were supposed to be. For most of the book, up until the last couple of chapters, all the sharks do is swim in circles below Davey. It seems they are nothing but curious about him, but to a 13 year old kid that is lost in the vast sea, it doesn't matter what the motivation of the sharks is.
I think middle grade readers will enjoy this read; it is split up into short, easy to read chapters and often the chapters end on a menacing note. I also believe it might make the kids who read it think twice about the consequences before they break any rules!