By Christina Soontornvat
4RBooks: 5+/6, grades 5-8
Amazon rating: 4.7/5, grades 3-7
Good Reads: 4.18/5
Common Sense Media: 4/5, ages 9+
359 pages
Synopsis:
Sai has done a great job hiding her true family history, but her 13th birthday is coming soon. That is when a proper family gives their children a “lineal,” a bracelet highlighting their family status. Sai’s dad is a scam artist and thief, and they live in the “Fens,” but nobody knows that. Sai has found a job working for the local mapmaker and worries every day that someone will learn her secrets.
An opportunity to escape her status and home is provided when the queen offers a reward to any sea captain willing to sail past the 50th parallel to discover what lies there. Is there truly a land mass known as “The Sunderlands” or is that just a sailing myth. Sai’s master, Paiyoon the mapmaker agrees to take her along as he is appointed to “The Prosperity,” the best ship in the fleet with the best captain, Sangra. Riches and status await for the captain and crew who discover the truth.
For many months “The Prosperity” sails toward the Harbinger Sea. There are storms to navigate, illnesses to avoid, and mutinies to quell, while watching out for rumored sea monsters ready to destroy them all. Will Sai, with the help of her new friend Bo, a stowaway on the ship, survive the voyage, find their way home, and start new lives of a higher status?
Parental Guidance: medium
Sai’s father is a conman and thief. Her father and a friend try to recruit Sai into a scam.
Seafaring dangers: storms, illnesses, sea monsters. A number of people fall
overboard.
Sai is accosted twice and uses her skills to escape.
A whaling ship captures a baby whale and uses it as bait to harpoon an and kill an
adult whale.
There is some fighting and gambling on board the ship.
Bo is a pickpocket and stowaway. He uses colorful language (thought never profane)
There is a memory of a slaughterhouse and the killing of baby pigs.
It is revealed that a couple of the characters were illegitimate births.
Recommendation:
There is a lot to like about this book. Sai’s story of pushing boundaries to improve her lot in life is inspiring. Her relationships with her father Mud, her friend Bo, and the hero turned villain Rian are interesting and provide insight into Sai’s character. The sea journey to the Sunderlands is dangerous and exciting with lots of intrigue. There are many heroic female characters leading the plot.
Though my parental guidance notes may paint the picture of a rough and violent book, the author handled these details without being overly graphic. Sensitive readers with the ability to visualize the story might find some scenes tough, but most students will take them in the matter-of-fact manner utilized by the author.
It’s a longer story and the use of Asian sounding names for people and places might make it difficult for some students as they work to sound out the names or come up with their own pronunciations. This is a story for strong elementary readers and middle school students. It would work well in a classroom reading group, especially for girls.
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