Review by Karina Nowak -- The Fisherman and his Foundlings

[Karina Nowak]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Fisherman and his Foundlings" by Phillip Leighton-Daly.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Fisherman and his Foundlings by Phillip Leighton-Daly tells the story of a kind fisherman who catches fish for lepers and travels treacherous paths to visit orphans. One day he finds a merchild as he works on the coastline. He doesn't harm her and their encounter is brief, but little do they know that a cruel merqueen has marked the fisherman as her next prey. His chance meeting with this little foundling could lead to danger for both of them.

From the first page, this short story is mysterious and captivating. The author weaves in such thrilling descriptions to make you see clearly the atmosphere and scenery of the small world that is the fisherman’s coastline. Leighton-Daly slowly builds on the dread and unease as he takes you beneath the ocean to the merqueen’s domain.

The illustrations were vivid and alluring and matched well with the book's theme. The author also constantly made mention to other stories within his work, e.g. calling the cliffs from the sea the 'Great Wall of Troy', or referring to the fisherman as the 'Pied Piper' as the orphans followed him, etc.

At first, I found this weird. This book seems to be marketed to adolescents and teens. I imagine most of them won’t get the many references to other literary works as they weren’t explained. However, if the point was to engage their curiosity then I think it was a good idea. My hope is that they will go looking up these other titles to learn more about them rather than be disenchanted by the story because they don’t understand the reference.

I loved this story. It was beautifully written with dark undertones, suitable for the middle and secondary school audience. The book's vibe was both pleasing and menacing, much like a mermaid, and though the ending may seem unexpected for today's stories, it would fit in well with the 'Grimms' Fairy Tales'. This book had only one minor error, so I would also give it 4 out of 4 stars.

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The Fisherman and his Foundlings
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[Merix]

The fisher men and foundlings, what a tacticle bidding. Honestly i so much love this too, there's something i just learnt from this. It really gave me the ultmost instincts!!!

[Caroline Anne Richmond]

This sounds like a wonderful book. It sounds like a heart warming tale that turns into a suspenseful journey. Thank you for a great review.

[Karina Nowak]

Thanks for the comments. This is definitely the kind of book I would have liked as a tween, especially the illustrations.

[NDeMeer]

This is a great story! The art is beautiful too. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Sou Hi]

Thanks for reviewing. Looks like the readers will have to do some research if they want to fully understand this book .

[honesty_pays]

What are amazing review I hope the book is really this captivating as I would love to find out what happens to the fisherman and the little founding.

[Ellylion]

Seems to be a really engaging book for young adults, and I'm really looking forward to reading it! Thanks for this insightful review!

[Karina Nowak]

Thanks for all the replies!

[Christabel Uzoamaka]

Haha! This really is the type of book I enjoyed as a teen. I really loved a good illustration book!

Great review!

[rahilshajahan]

This seems like a young adult fantasy. Thanks for an insightful review!

[pablo10]

Sounds like a good book for my neices. Nice review.

[Phelicia Gloria]

The fisherman was very kind, helping orphans was very great. This very inspiring novel. Thanks for the review

[Karina Nowak]

Thanks for all the replies!

[Rashida10]

This book seems to explore an intriguing storyline that centers around bonding and interrelatedness. Thanks for sharing.