Author: Mardi McConnochie
ISBN: 978-1-76029-091-7
RRP: $14.99
This month we looked at diversifying our Book Club titles and adding in something for younger readers, but not those so young the books needed to be read by a parent.
Quest of the Sunfish is written for the 9-12 year old demographic and some of our readers will be reviewing the book for us.
This book is the first in an exciting new series, with the second book due in April 2017.
Quest of the Sunfish is set in a post-apocalyptic world that could be quite like ours, after a world altering flood. Global warming caused sea levels to rise, and then there was a disastrous flood that completely changed the world. Many places are still under water decades later, the devastation was so widespread that rebuilding was prioritised leaving entire cities still under water or seriously flood damaged.
In the aftermath of the flood the Admiralty, the navy equivalent, stepped up and governed. Now that the crisis has passed there seems to be no more need for Admiralty control, according to some, but the Admiralty have no plans to relinquish power.
Will and Annalie are teen twins about to be tossed into a story that throws everything they know into chaos. Annalie is away at school when she is visited by an Admiralty officer and asked about her father’s whereabouts, which is the first she had heard of his disappearance. Rather than stay at school and worry she heads home to find her brother, and try to work out what is going on.
Their home has been destroyed and they have nowhere else to go so rather than sit back and wait to see what will happen Will and Annalie embark on a perilous adventure to see if they can track down their father and find out what’s going on.
Having spent a lot of time on the water growing up they are both quite confident sea-farers, so they head off in the direction they think they will find their father. Along the way they pick up a couple of unlikely runaways as deckhands and become quite a handy team, they are in a position that sees them having to put faith in one another to survive and they all bring quite a unique skill set to the voyage.
The Sunfish is the small boat that Will and Annalie spent much of their childhood aboard so they are familiar with the boat and its workings, they find themselves facing storms, pirates and Admiralty pursuit in this adventure filled journey across the high seas.
For a group of young teens this crew are faced with tough choices, a need to be adaptable and always have a back up plan and are forced to rely only on themselves for the first time in their lives.
Quest of the Sunfish is fast-paced and action packed with enough exciting differentiations from the world we live in to excite fantasy fans, but it’s still close enough to not be completely outside the realms of believable.
Quest of the Sunfish is book #48 for the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge 2016.
Thanks to Allen & Unwin 23 of our Beauty and Lace Club members will be reading Escape to the Moon Islands: Quest of the Sunfish with their children so please be aware there may be spoiler in the comments below. I look forward to hearing what they think.
Quest of the Sunfish is available now through Allen & Unwin, Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
My gosh what a great book, we have enjoyed this book looking forward every day to read a little more, it opened up a few discussions on the meaning of quite a few words and some of there context, it is definitely a book that needs to be read with an adult or of the like as the lauguage is beyond any child I know for the age grouping it is intended but in saying that I did love the fact that it challenged our kids to read words they didn’t know and ask what things meant in the context they were in, the beginning was very laborious when reading out loud and then explaining what it all mean but then when the setting was established I found it was easier for our kids to picture and form an understanding, when I first applied for this book I thought it would of related to the boys more, but it’s a great book for the girls as well as the boys, and I must say that I have enjoyed it a lot too, it’s great it get away from your own worries and woes and step into a fantastical world that’s not your own, thanks for this opportunity, it’s well worth your time to read it with your kids and other people’s too!
What an ADVENTURE ! A must read for kids,
A brilliant first novel in the seriers, well done to Mardi McConnochie. My son and I read this book together, we made it our nightly event.
We loved the story line, what an adventute Spinner sent his kids out on. I very well written book with lots of events and incidents which kept you guessing.
Cant wait for the sequel next year.
My 8 year old avid reader is loving Escape to the Moon Islands, both reading chapters herself and having mum or dad read a chapter a bedtime. The amazing cover at sets the tone immediately for an exotic and exciting adventure story. The spirited, independent and courageous kids are quite inspiring in their quest, the strong characters and amazing adventures make for a thoroughly enjoyable read. We can’t wait for the next instalment! Thanks Beauty and Lace for introducing a great new series to our family.