4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Can you imagine being on a ship on fire in the middle of the sea? Can you imagine having to abandon ship and go on a tiny lifeboat? Can you imagine being stranded on an island in the middle of winter? Can you imagine risking your life to tow an abandoned ship back to shore? Can you imagine knowing a loved one is lost at sea? Through the points of view of many characters, Charlie Sheldon’s book, Adrift, can help you imagine all these things and more.
The book tells the story of the Seattle Express, a ship that starts on fire. The captain makes the difficult decision to have his crew abandon ship in the Gulf of Alaska in winter. A small tugboat named Warhorse races against bigger boats to retrieve the ship to earn money to save their business. This is a brief description of the book. There are many themes explored throughout such as religion, perseverance, strength, disability, the role of women, and more. Going into all these themes in detail would probably give away too much of the book. I would suggest checking out the forums for more of that.
It was difficult to decide what I liked most about the book because it was so good! I finally decided on the strong female characters. Myra, Sarah, Louise, Anne, and Heather added so much to the story. They all played very important roles in their own way. They kept people alive and kept spirits up. I wish I could say more about them, but that would spoil the story.
What I disliked the most about the book were the sea voyage terminology and some very specific boating details. As someone who doesn’t know much about ships and tugboats, I found myself bored a few times. The description of attaching a tugboat to a ship was particularly tedious to read. Honestly, if I weren’t reviewing the book, I would have just skimmed through those parts. So those sections probably wouldn’t take much away from the average reader.
I would give Adrift 4 out of 4 stars. There were so many points of view in the story. There were so many layers to the story. I truly enjoyed reading it and was sorry when it ended.
People who love complex, thrilling, adventure stories would enjoy reading Adrift. I couldn’t put the book down. I had to keep reading to find out what happened to all the characters. I’m not sure who wouldn’t enjoy the book. There are some pretty graphic moments, so someone with a weak stomach may not enjoy it. I would suggest powering through those parts, though, because it really is an amazing story.
The book was well edited, and I didn’t notice any errors.
I would highly recommend Adrift by Charlie Sheldon. It’s the second book in a series (but that didn’t make anything confusing), so I’m excited to go read the first book now!
******
Adrift
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Kaylee123's review? Post a comment saying so!
