Jun 6
Review: The Shark Caller
WARNING: There are some spoilers here, so if you are currently reading and/or don’t like spoilers, please come back later.
Recently, I am drowned in a reading slump. I should’ve finished reading The Kill Order by James Dashner days ago, followed by reading two non-fiction books I’ve been meaning to read. But, I had no motivation at all, not to mention a series of events that happened at my workplace lately (mostly, they’re team fun and stuff).
So, I decided to let it aside for a while and read another book. I bought four fiction books at the weekend. I just picked novels with pretty illustrations as their cover, including The Shark Caller by Zillah Bethell. I can say, I’m quite happy with my reading experience this time.
The setting of place is quite special. It takes place in Papua New Guinea, a neighboring country of Indonesia, a country where I was born and grow up. When I read novels written in English, most of them take place in a fictional world with heavy American or British reference/influence. If they take place in Asian countries, the point of view comes from a “white person” who tries to explore things. That is why I’m quite interested in reading the whole story.
As I predicted, this story is likely targeting middle grades. However, adults can read this story, too, since Bethell offers values that are relatable to our relationships with people. I love how Blue Wing’s wasaspi reminds her not to immediately judge Maple as rude and ignorant when they first meet. He also asks her to be more understanding to Maple.
I also love how Maple eventually learns to accept her regrets from not doing the supposedly right thing before her mother died and start to live in the present. She persuades her father to do the same. That part really hit me, as I was struggling with acceptance for years before I finally recovered.
One small thing that bothered me was the fact that Blue Wing had already died with her parents. Her spirit wandered around, seeking vengeance to the shark that killed her parents. The revelation of Blue Wing’s death in the last chapter felt a little bit forced for me.
Still, I would give this book 4 of 5 stars.
