A review by nataliii
The Night Ship by Jess Kidd

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

A soft sadness outshines the outright brutality our two main characters experience in this historically inspired tale of two newly orphaned children, both 9 years old and on similar voyages 300 years apart. While the historical events of the Batavia’s ultimate demise move the story forward, it’s still very character driven with a cast that breaks your heart left, right, and center. Mayken’s dark whimsy and Gil’s quiet misery are both so endearing and had me feeling protective of them right away. Seeing the world through their eyes, often with beautifully told mirroring of their thoughts and experiences was both joyfully sweet and painfully real, not unlike childhood itself. Their respective support people were also well done with an interesting twist on Gil’s end that his found family was actual family he’d never met. What worked less for me was when the details of the Batavia’s shipwreck overtook Mayken’s part of the time line - what happens to most of the souls aboard is terrifying and so sad, but the telling was longer than I cared for and so bleak in a story already awash with so many hardships.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster / Atria and NetGalley for an eARC of this book!