Genre: Adventure, Fiction, Psychological Fiction
Key Stage: Year 7+.
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (2021)
Plot: Julia and the Shark is a novel of a young girl, Julia in a summer where her family move to stay in a remote lighthouse in Shetland. This also the story of the elusive Greenland shark which Julia’s mother (a marine biologist) studies and hopes to find soon as it is said that it lives within the waters nearby. But once they settle into the summer, Julia’s mother’s passion turns to an obsession. This begins to pull apart the close family that Julia knows and loves. As she decides to save her family, Julia embarks on a journey through darkness and hope to find her mother again.
Positives and negatives: This book captivated me in such a beautiful way; I never realised until only after completing the book that I had been so enthralled that I had read it in one sitting! This book is one that is unique, and for some reason unread by most people I know. The illustrations by Tom De Freston were fantastic, with their vivid colours which compliment the story throughout- it had made me believe that this is a masterpiece and that this is an experience which I should cherish and could never forget. Of course, a novel with so many positives can never have any negatives, right? Or maybe it’s just me, I probably have a tendency for having a great experience with every book I read. Who knows? It’s always dependent on the reader.
Who I would recommend to and what to read next: This has to be recommended to everyone: it is a book that should be read by all whether you prefer romance, gothic novels or YA Fiction- try something new. This was a book recommended to me by a favourite teacher of mine and it is a book which I must recommend to you. If you loved this book and felt just as touched as I did, then you should read a few other books by the same author, Kiran Millwood Hargrave. Some include The Island at the End of Everything, The Girl of Ink and Stars and The Mercies.
Reviewer: Yaminah, Year 9