Book Review: Girl at Sea
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that there isn't too much to worry
about here beyond some kissing and underage drinking.
Families can talk about how authors research their stories. For this book, for example, the character knows how to scuba dive -- and recounts in great detail her dive through a shipwreck. The author obviously had to learn about diving in order to make that believable. Can you think of other books you've read that have showcased this kind of expertise? What are the different ways that authors can research information? How does this research make a story richer?
Common Sense Media Review
There's a lot going on here, both in the background and
foreground, from the strained relationship between Clio and her
dad to his crew's mysterious mission off the coast of Italy.
Readers will be there for Clio's first kiss -- and her dive
through an old shipwreck.
The author even creates a colorful backstory for Clio involving exotic childhood trips around the globe (during one, she even got a tattoo from a famous manga artist). All of these details are well described and well woven together -- and readers will find themselves engaged throughout Clio's journey at sea.
Letters between one of the shipwreck's victims and his own headstrong daughter help readers figure out what Clio's dad's crew is after. But readers will be guessing until the end about which characters they can actually trust.
Readers will appreciate the author's ambitious premise here -- and that her characters manage to, for the most part, be likable and flawed. All in all, there's a little something for everyone: adventure, romance, family drama -- even pirates!
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
