It is so hard to read when crying

I have just finished reading The Shark Caller

By Zillah Bethell

To my ten year old twins

And for the last 20 or so pages

My heart was breaking and I could not stop the tears

This book had me from the start

But once I started reading the last chapters

I just did not want it to end

This is masterful storytelling

Exquisite writing

Wonderful descriptions that paint stunning scenes in your mind

And create characters you want to meet and hold on to and know everything about

I loved Blue Wing and Maple

I loved how their friendship grew

Through their experiences of loss and guilt and grief

I loved wise village elder, Siringen, the shark caller

And I loved Chimera and the pair of them together

I also had huge empathy for Atlas Hamelin, Maple’s father

And his need to make sense of his loss and try everything he could

No matter how mad it might seem

To try to see his lost wife again

To try to have more time

I share the pain of thinking that we would have more time

This is an incredible story

Of family, friendship, love, loss, grief and forgiveness

This is a story of courage and guilt and living with grief

It is a story that sucks you in and holds you tight

As it dips and dives and twists and turns

This is an incredibly emotional read

But it is not a sad book

Though I did cry a lot

It is a story of hope and living with heart

It is a reminder to us all

To grab life with both hands and live it to the full

It is so hard to write a review of this book

Without giving too much of the story away

I think that I have said enough

Here is the blurb from the book

“Blue Wing is desperate to become a shark caller, but instead she must befriend infuriating newcomer Maple, who arrives unexpectedly on Blue Wing’s island.

At first the girls are too angry to share their secrets and become friends. But when the tide breathes the promise of treasure, they must journey together to the bottom of the ocean to brave the deadliest shark of them all.”

William fell in love with sharks

After meeting Addie in A Kind of Spark

Meeting Siringen and Blue Wing

In The Shark Caller

Has cemented that passion

If you are looking for an escape

A beautiful book to immerse yourself in

Set sail for the shores of Papa New Guinea

It is time to call the sharks!