Sunday, May 3, 2009

The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong

Losing your mother and home then becoming lost at sea and stranded on a desert island may be a bit much for any teen, or any adult even, to handle. That is the situation in which Ben and his two brothers, Gerry and Dylan, find themselves. When their mother dies in a car accident, the boys and their father are unable to bear their grief. Ben's father goes off the deep end and sells their home so they can sail for a year around the Bahamas. Ben is not happy with his father's decision, and this creates a rocky relationship between them. Being stuck on a small sailboat with three others who are not getting along can make for a very long year at sea. It turns out they do not get stuck together for a year on the boat. Instead, the Ben's father disappears off of the boat and is lost at sea, leaving Ben to take care of his brothers and the boat. Then a storm shipwrecks the boys on a desert island. Ben finds himself in the role of father to his brothers. Each brother has his own troubles surviving on the island between accidents and just plain going insane.

The book is a fast read, mainly because it is a page turner. You will be dying to find out if the boys make it off of the island alive. Some parts are predictable, and I became a little tired of the constant reminders of the family's grief over the loss of their mother (yeah, kind of cold- I know). However, the book is definitely worthwhile. I recommend for a pleasurable summer read for guys and girls.

Book; 12+; ISBN 9780670063307; New York : Viking Childrens Books, 2008

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