2 out of 4 stars
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Pearl of the Seas by Ruth Finnegan is a fairytale adventure written in a poetic style. Kate and Chris are two typical kids who are playing on the shore when Chris finds the perfect log for a ship. The two set to work making their ship with dreams of sailing around the world. They embark on their magical journey in their newly named vessel, “Pearl of the Seas.” Along with their dog Holly, Chris and Kate find themselves on an exciting escapade. This short prequel to Black Inked Pearl was a great read on my snow day.
The style of the book made it a fun read. There are a ton of poetic elements without it being completely written in verse. The style was also simple, unlike many poetry books I have read. I really enjoyed the repetition of words and the use of lists of adjectives for description. I’m a big fan of books in this style, especially when they tell an actual story like this one does. However, there were multiple typos throughout the book that made it a little difficult to read. Because of the style of the book, sometimes it was hard to tell if the author was purposely making mistakes or if they were accidental. There were also quite a few spots where there were obvious typos. I felt like these mistakes took away from my enjoyment of the poetic style that the author wrote with.
Another downfall was that some parts were a little unclear and tended to jump around a bit. Some readers might enjoy this as it keeps you on your toes, but I wasn’t a big fan of it. I was a little lost a couple of times because the plot wasn’t always connected. I also was a bit disappointed in the overall content of the book. Pretty much everything that happened in Pearl of the Seas was mentioned in the blurb that I read before reviewing the book. I thought there would be at least a little more to it than that. I felt like I already knew what happened before I even read it.
Despite the fact that I thought the plot could have contained more than the blurb, I did enjoy the length of the story. I thought that the pacing was excellent. The chapters were a great length as was the overall book. I was never bored, and I was left wanting just a little bit more, which I’m assuming is the intention considering there is a sequel. I also really liked the way the author leads into the second book. I can’t say much more without giving out spoilers, but it was definitely a nice transition.
Another aspect that I really enjoyed was the inclusion of discussion questions at the end. I think that this would be a great book to use in the classroom with high school and middle school students. The questions really made me think about the book, and I would love to use them in an actual discussion.
I have to admit that was really torn on how to rate this book. If I could give the book 2.5 stars, I definitely would. I thought the style and story itself were great, but the plot could use a little more connection between the different parts. There were also a lot of typos that distracted me from enjoying the style of the book. I think that this book has a ton of potential, but it could use one more revision. As it currently stands, I’m going to give the book 2 out of 4 stars. I’d love to see a revised version of this book in the future.
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Pearl of the sea
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