The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong

Ben was supposed to get a car when he turned 15. Instead, he finds himself on a sailboat in the Bahamas with his two younger brothers and his father. For a year, their father promises, they will sail from island to island, enjoying the high seas. What Ben’s father doesn’t say is that he is running away from the memory of their mother—recently deceased.

Ben doesn’t want to be on the boat where he, his brothers and his father are crammed tightly together. Ben doesn’t want to take orders from his father-captain who has uprooted the whole family, selling Ben’s childhood home and family sailboat, to live on the ocean. Ben is angry, furious, and sad—understandably so. But life goes on, and for a while it seems everything is going as well as it can go.

Until Ben’s father disappears. There’s no way to tell if he jumped or fell, and there’s no time to think about it because Ben and his brothers must survive a massive storm without their father, without a radio, and without a GPS.

As Ben slips into his father’s role, struggling to keep himself and his brothers alive, he learns something about love, family, devotion, and courage.

M. H. Herlong’s debut novel is at turns a thrilling, contemplative, and sad adventure story about a family dealing with the wounds of loss. Ben is a compelling and sympathetic narrator with a clear voice, while the rest of the characters are well-developed. Ben is never preachy and his love for his brothers palpable. The final scene might even bring some readers to tears.

The Great Wide Sea will especially appeal to fans of survival stories as well as readers who enjoy sailing. However, I think anyone who reads this book will be drawn into the well-written adventure and quiet family drama.

Although the sailing and nautical terms can get somewhat technical, M. H. Herlong has a wonderful companion site that provides lots of information about sailing, navigation, and the boys’ adventure. Teachers who wish to teach this book will find it an excellent resource.

Herlong, M.H.. The Great Wide Sea. New York: Viking Juvenile, 2008. Print.

Companion Website

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Every year, the Capitol of Panem requires that each District send two tributes (a boy and a girl, aged 12 to 18) to participate in the yearly Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games is reality television at its most extreme—a live telecast of 24 children battling for their lives in an enclosed arena. The tributes will face wild animals, natural (and unnatural) disasters, hunger, and most dangerous of all, one another. Only one tribute will survive. The Hunger Games is at once a form of punishment for the Districts and invaluable entertainment for the Capitol.

This year, in place of her 12-year-old sister, Prim, Katniss Everdeen of District 12 has volunteered to go to the Hunger Games. In the history of the Hunger Games, only two winners have come from District 12—and for good reason. District 12 is the poorest and most neglected of the Capitol’s districts and its tributes have always been at a distinct disadvantage compared to the well-fed, well-trained tributes of wealthier districts. With the odds against her, Katniss must fight to survive and to retain her humanity in the mounting inhumanity of the Games and the Capitol.

The Hunger Games is an absolutely thrilling read. With a true voice, an extremely likable protagonist, conspiracies, action, and intellectual depth and maturity, The Hunger Games is a truly stellar book. Everyone will find something to like in The Hunger Games. Readers may find echoes of books such as Ender’s Game, The Handmaid’s Tale, Graceling, and Battle Royale in the novel, but Suzanne Collins has made The Hunger Games distinct and marvelous in its own right. The only complaint I have is that I won’t be able to get my hands on the sequel, Catching Fire, quickly enough. Although Katniss is a female protagonist, I am sure both boys and girls will find themselves enthralled by the book. And though readers of action-fantasy will particularly enjoy the book, I believe its appeal so wide that I would hesitate to pigeonhole its potential readers.

Collins, Suzanne. Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press, 2008. Print.