4 out of 4 stars
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Adrift is an emotional stand-alone second book of the Strong Heart series by Charles Sheldon. It is narrated alternately between third-person and first-person perspective of Captain Steve Procida and Myra.
It was an hour to dawn in December, and the weather was extreme yet onboard the Seattle Express, a 700-foot cargo ship sailing in the North Pacific, Captain Steve Procida wakes up from the general fire alarm an hour before dawn with his ship 100 miles from the nearest land, southwest of the Queen Charlotte Island. The fire alarms go off. The crew attempts to locate the position of the fire, but it is already too late; abandoning the ship seems the only option. Although the closest area is the sparsely populated and dangerous-to-navigate island known as Haida Gwaii, Still, to survive, the twenty members of the ship’s crew split up between the two lifeboats and abandoned the ship; thus they set adrift on one of the most treacherous waters in the world.
Mr. Sheldon created a set of well-developed, relatable, commendable, and lovable characters. My picks include Steve, the caring captain of Seattle Express and a loving father, Travis, the automatic wire splicer with a severe craving for good news, and Sarah Cooley, the cryptic teen with boundless optimism and William for his level wisdom.
Scenes are vigorously and graphically described that reading it felt like watching a non-fictional movie. Suspense is kept at a VIP level that my attention was captured right from page one. Spine-tingling scenes, which take place either at sea or in the wastelands, are rotated between calmer prospects on land. Conversations between characters were equally realistic and straightforward. This technique, in my opinion, gave the story a sort of balance. Though there are numerous intense parts within the entire book, of no doubt, the climax is dramatically gratifying.
I loved everything about the book; it is one of the few novels that captured my heart and made me stay awake at nights just because I was felt with curiosity as well as anxiety for the characters. I appreciate the author's ability to cover multiple themes in one story; and they are survival, love, friendship, endurance, teamwork, leadership, sacrifice, and hope.
In my opinion, this book was professionally edited since I only managed to spot one grammatical error. Except for a few technical jargons like ‘coaming’ and ‘bitts’ that I had to Google, the story was easy to understand. Nevertheless, I think the unexplained slangs gives the reader an opportunity to search words and add to his/her vocabulary.
To conclude, Adrift is a must-read story. Honestly, you would not want to miss out on the thriller, adventure, and suspense. I heartily rate this book 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to adventure novel lovers especially marine adventure fans.
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Adrift
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