Julia and the Shark

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I could see this becoming a modern children’s classic. Julia and her parents (and not forgetting the cat, Noodle) are off on an island adventure to Unst, in the north of Shetland, where her father will keep the lighthouse for a summer and her mother, a marine biologist, will search for the Greenland shark, a notably long-lived species she’s researching in hopes of discovering clues to human longevity – a cause close to her heart after her own mother’s death with dementia. Julia makes friends with Kin, a South Asian boy whose family run the island laundromat-cum-library. They watch stars and try to evade local bullies together. But one thing Julia can’t escape is her mother’s mental health struggle (late on named as bipolar: “Mum sometimes bounced around like Tigger, and other times she was mopey like Eeyore”). Julia thinks that if she can find the shark, it might fix her mother. Furthermore, Tom de Freston's illustrations perfectly capture the atmosphere of the story and writing style. Kiran Millwood Hargrave is an award-winning poet, playwright, and bestselling author. Her debut The Girl of Ink & Starswon the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2017 and the British Book Award's Children's Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for numerous awards including the Jhalak Prize, the Branford Boase Award and the Little Rebels Prize. How Julia tries to keep hold of her mother is an emotional rollercoaster. Kiran Millwood Hargrave explores the confusing effect of a parent’s deteriorating mental health in a story that is lyrical and empowering as well as profound. What a gorgeous book - calm, funny, heartfelt, wise, full of the quiet and force of the sea - Ross Montgomery, author of The Midnight Guardians

Es un viaje bastante intimo el que nos ofrece, aunque no se muy bien a que publico esta destinado, se supone que ha partir de 10 años, y esta es la edad de nuestra protagonista que nos contará la vida y problemas familiares que sucedieron cuando fueron un verano a buscar un tiburones de Groenlandia. Ya que su madre es bióloga marina y su padre iba a trabajar en el faro para actualizarlo. Trata el bullying infantil y trastornos mentales como la bipolaridad, y lo hace de tal forma que cualquier personita lo entienda y lo asimile, para entrar en materia de tales conceptos esta muy bien. Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer - her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother's obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope... Five years before this volume’s start, Mila’s father abandoned her family as Eldbjørn Forest and its surrounding lands, including their family home, was plunged into a never-ending winter that Continue reading » Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. This little gem is a book about mental issues, mental health, friendship, bullying, adventure, love and caring for the environment. And of course about cats: Noodle is a cat who has her rightful place in the family and the story.

Kiran Millwood Hargrave Press Reviews

Duik in de fantastische wereld van Mus & kapitein Kwaadbaard in dit debuut van (stem)acteur Kevin Hassing! As Julia settles into their summer, her mother’s search for the shark becomes more and more frantic - she’s running out of time before they have to go home, but her obsession with the creature is beginning to pull her family apart. When Julia decides to save her family, she embarks on a journey through darkness and hope to find her mother again. I fell in love with the tale itself, the setting (I do love a lighthouse!), the characters and the little details - it's a beautiful, forceful storm of a book - Emma Carroll, author of Letters from the Lighthouse

Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer – her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother’s obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope…

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A gorgeous (both visually and content-wise), heart-rending story. Think this is my favourite middle grade novel I have read so far. The topic of mental health is discussed in such a realistic, open way and although this straightforwardness made the story feel very intense, I think the fact that there is no sugarcoating or stigmatisation of mental health is going to be helpful to any child (and even adults) reading this story. Das Thema um mentale Gesundheit fand ich wirklich richtig gut geschrieben und mit Respekt behandelt. This was a gorgeous story of mental health, friendship, family and realising for the first time that your parents aren’t as unbreakable as you once thought. Writing about topics such as mental health and depression for children is not easy feat but I think Kiran Millwood Hargrave executed it with grace, sensitivity and a brilliant balance of honesty and whimsy.

A beautiful, lyrical, uplifting story about a mother, a daughter, and love – with timely themes of the importance of science and the environment. Snel was voor mij wel duidelijk dat psychische problematiek een rol speelt in dit boek. Julia denkt na over de buien van haar moeder, haar zorgen en schuldgevoel groeien. Uiteindelijk krijgen de afwisselende vrolijke en verdrietige buien een verklaring: een bipolaire stoornis. Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars. A classic from cover to cover. - Eoin Colfer Although the themes are very different, this reminded me a little about one of my all-time favourite books A Monster Calls, with its honest and heartwrenching exploration of a difficult theme through the eyes of a child, coupled with hauntingly beautiful illustrations. That comparison alone is some of the highest praise I can give a book, if you know my feelings on the former. Extra credit goes to Tom de Freston, who's credited as the secondary author, but whose illustrations add an integral level of depth to the story.Julia and her parents take off from their home in Cornwall to live in a lighthouse on Shetland. Her father is working on fixing the lighthouse light while her mother is determined to explore the wide and very cold seas to find an elusive Greenland shark. While Julia’s father is practical, methodical and minds about numbers, Julia’s mother minds about words and about the scientific research she is so passionate about. While Julia begins to make friends with the few other children around, her mother becomes more and more absorbed in the search for the shark. Nothing will stop her - not the danger and not the cost. Julia wants to help her mother to fulfil her dream but she also knows that there is something irrational, uncontrolled and deadly dangerous about what she is planning to do. Julia woont gedurende één zomer op een Schots eiland waar haar moeder op zoek gaat naar een zeldzame Groenlandse haai. De enthousiaste en vrolijke emoties maken ineens plaats voor wanhoop en leegte. Aan het begin van het boek vertelt Julia al dat haar moeder meer is dan de getallenreeks op een polsbandje, maar getallen zeggen niets over wie haar moeder is. En woorden zeggen ook niet altijd alles. Ze verloor bijna haar moeder, maar op welke manier is voor geen enkele lezer duidelijk. I've heard that this is a middle-grade book and can honestly say that it will probably allure to many middle graders and explain complicated topics to them brilliantly. However, the author's writing style as well as the narrative itself are of the kind that can't really be placed in a box and labelled so this will definitely be fantastic for old(er) readers as well. As a matter of fact, if I had to categorize it, I'd put it up there with A Monster Calls though what exactly happens to the children is quite different. A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure! - Jacqueline Wilson Le cuesta arrancar pero es para que entendamos todo el proceso que vive la familia. El libro esta bien, sin mas.