A fast-paced, atmospheric story with a strong emotional core.
In Reid’s children’s debut, World War II brings a Scottish girl back to her family’s mystical roots in the Orkney Islands.
After German bombs level Eilidh Flett’s neighborhood on the outskirts of Glasgow, mum sends her to stay with her Aunt Rhona and cousin Magnus on tiny, rocky Mirk Skerry. Eilidh misses her dad, who’s been lost at sea, resents her grumpy cousin, and doesn’t know how to fill her days. Why does Aunt Rhona spend so much time alone in the tower of the island’s defunct lighthouse, which Eilidh isn’t allowed to enter? And why do Magnus and his mum speak a mysterious language called Norn? One night, a ship is torpedoed near the island, and Eilidh accidentally discovers that she comes from a long line of Nightkeepers, who help usher on the souls of the drowned. The cousins set out on an increasingly dangerous and frantic search for the lost seaglass horn of the mystical aquatic Finfolk, which has the power to recall the souls of everyone who’s ever drowned at sea, including their own fathers and Cam, the ghost of a boy from the sunken ship who’s been left stranded on Mirk Skerry. Together, they face down stormy seas, German bombers, sheer cliffs, underwater caves, loss, grief, and even the Finfolk themselves, in a briskly told adventure that delightfully interweaves Scottish and Norse mythical and linguistic elements.
A fast-paced, atmospheric story with a strong emotional core. (glossary) (Historical mystery. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2026
ISBN: 9781782509899
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Kelpies
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
An outstanding new edition of this popular modern classic (Newbery Award, 1961), with an introduction by Zena Sutherland and...
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1990
ISBN: 0-395-53680-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Navigating this stunning novel requires thought and concentration, but it’s well worth the effort.
Returning to themes she explored so affectingly in Moon Over Manifest (2011), Newbery Medalist Vanderpool delivers another winning picaresque about memories, personal journeys, interconnectedness—and the power of stories.
Thirteen-year-old Jack enters boarding school in Maine after his mother’s death at the end of World War II. He quickly befriends Early Auden, a savant whose extraordinary facility with numbers allows him to “read” a story about “Pi” from the infinite series of digits that follow 3.14. Jack accompanies Early in one of the school crew team’s rowing boats on what Jack believes is his friend’s fruitless quest to find a great bear allegedly roaming the wilderness—and Early’s brother, a legendary figure reportedly killed in battle. En route, Early spins out Pi’s evolving saga, and the boys encounter memorable individuals and adventures that uncannily parallel those in the stories. Vanderpool ties all these details, characters, and Jack’s growing maturity and self-awareness together masterfully and poignantly, though humor and excitement leaven the weighty issues the author and Jack frequently pose. Some exploits may strain credulity; Jack’s self-awareness often seems beyond his years, and there are coincidences that may seem too convenient. It’s all of a piece with Vanderpool’s craftsmanship. Her tapestry is woven and finished off seamlessly. The ending is very moving, and there’s a lovely, last-page surprise that Jack doesn’t know but that readers will have been tipped off about.
Navigating this stunning novel requires thought and concentration, but it’s well worth the effort. (author’s note, with questions and answers, list of resources) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-385-74209-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
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