Recent book review

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

A great ocean fantasy, July 27, 2007

By	Reader Views "www.readerviews.com" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Ian McCurley (age 13) for Reader Views (7/07)

The story begins when Qoshonni, an Aquavian, is out gathering herbs and is kidnapped by the people of the island and given to the Mermen, an evil race of humanoid fish-people. Mermen are much like Aquavians except that Aquavians can travel and breathe on land well, while Mermen must stay near or in the water. Qoshonni is taken along with many other Aquavians to the bottom of the ocean and forced to join the army of the Mermen who feed them tainted meat to control them. She and a group of Aquavians resist in secrecy, only eating what they can catch.

Twenty years later, the young Aquavian, Shunda, is living in the ocean with his dolphin friend, Obraidh, and Obraidh's pod of rough toothed dolphins. Lately, Shunda has been thinking about leaving the pod and going off in search of his own kind. He had only come to the dolphins after the Great Wave which took his own family. Although he enjoyed their company, he sought the companionship of his own kind. After finding a warrior's belt of pearls, Shunda decides to set out with Obraidh in search of other Aquavians. They eventually land upon the shores of Hoondiake, which, as one of the Hoondiake princes tells them, is at war with the Mermen. The prince asks Shunda to help them deal with the captured Aquavian who, because of the meat, has become extremely violent. Can Shunda help this Aquavian and all the others under the rule of the Mer King break their addiction to the mysterious, evil meat and become their gentle selves once again? And, can Qoshonni help herself and her band of rogue Aquavians escape the Mer King? And the biggest question is "Why is this called `The Heart of the Caveat Whale?'"

"The Heart of the Caveat Whale" is for ages 13 and up. You will like reading this book if you enjoy the topics of islands, the ocean and the classic fantasy novel. S.J.R. Smith shines in this book because of the well-written, well-thought-out and very original story. "The Heart of the Caveat Whale" is an intriguing and interesting adventure tale.