A rich tale of spirituality, grit, and danger.
Sheldon (Strong Heart, 2017, etc.) returns readers to the mythic history, natural wonder, and terror of the Olympic Peninsula in this nautical sequel.
When the container ship Seattle Express catches fire in the Gulf of Alaska, it sets dramatic events in motion for many different people. Larry and Louise, a downtrodden pair of tugboaters, race their old, reliable tug Warhorse to the wreck, hoping that a successful salvage will breathe new life into their faltering family business. William, aka “Walleye,” returns from the previous novel, serving onboard the Seattle Express. When his lifeboat disappears, it’s up to his daughter, Myra, and friends Tom and Sarah to save him, and as they do so, they dig into the spiritual and physical past. The story takes place against the backdrop of the shipping industry around the Haida Gwaii archipelago, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands by British Columbia. As in the previous installment, this novel does an excellent job of portraying the nuance and overlap in spirituality and working-class struggles, as nature, family, history, and business collide over the course of the story. William spent a significant portion of Strong Heart as a witness to others’ family histories, but he takes center stage here; Haida Gwaii is his birthplace, and his history with the islands is complex. Larry and Louise are also welcome additions to the cast, as their story gives readers insight into the realities of maritime life and broadens the scope of the series overall. For readers who aren’t familiar with Sheldon’s previous work, this novel effectively stands alone and remains accessible throughout. The story of how the crew of the Seattle Express fights for survival and the detailed descriptions of land- and seascapes make for a stirring combination.
A rich tale of spirituality, grit, and danger.Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9970600-8-9
Page Count: 334
Publisher: Iron Twine Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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