Peasreads: Whale Fall by Elysia Rourke

I couldn't put this book down once I started it. It is a middle grade book, but like Black Beauty not just for middle grade. I often thought "What age is this? How is this a children's book?" It is heartbreaking. It is real. It is raw. There is hope, heartbreak, heartache, longing. It is so well written. The pacing was really good. The story telling just drew me in. Are some parts predictable? Yes. Of course Whale gets captured, but her story is captivating, her journey is one that grips you. There is strength in how she loves and lives. 

I refuse to go to shows with animals like this anymore and have for years. This gut wrenching story will help readers of all ages see through a lens of empathy and compassion. Especially with World Animal Day on October 4th.

Grab some tissues.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description:

 A debut novel in the tradition of Black Beauty and The One and Only Ivan, in which a young orca who dreams of becoming the matriarch of her pod instead finds herself living a life in captivity.

“Heartbreaking, but unputdownable. Read with a box of tissues. Whale’s story doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of animals in captivity, but it is a testament to the power of faith, storytelling, and hope.”—Shakirah Bourne, author of Josephine Against the Sea and Here Lies A Ghost“

Whale, a young orca, dreams of becoming the matriarch and storyteller of her own pod one day, just like her grandmother. But her dream becomes a nightmare when she is captured by the Two-Legs and taken to a sea pen far from her ocean home. At first, angry and scared, Whale can only think of escape and finding her way back to her family. But as the months wear on, and Whale becomes restless and lonely, she finds herself befriending her keeper, Red, named for his bright red fur. Whale starts to look forward to their daily feeding rituals and playtime as they learn to communicate. As time goes on, she even counts on Red’s singsong laughter to fill her day.

But just as Whale gets used to life with Red, she is ripped away from the sea pen she’s lived in for more than a year. She’s taken on a long, painful journey in a container to somewhere new—the suffocating waters of an aquarium. Whale is given a name—Ingrid—and along with whales who don’t speak her language, she is made to perform. The grueling work is hard on Whale’s body, but if she doesn’t perform, she doesn’t eat.

Whale’s only solace is the memories of her pod and her grandmother’s stories of Great Mother and how whales came to be. Whale longs for the promise of Whale Fall, where the Great Mother will at last reunite her with her family—her body becoming one with the ocean. But also she tries to find joy in the here and now and in the comfort of her adopted pod. And, before rest, there is still one unexpected dream that will come true for Whale.

A deeply moving story of family, determination, and hope as a majestic creature weathers the storms of a life in captivity.

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I received this egalley from Penguin Young Readers was under no obligation to give a review. All opinions are  my own. 

Peasreads- A Year Without Home V.T. Bidnia

A Year Without Home

Ages 10 and up

 A poignant middle-grade novel in verse about a Hmong girl losing and finding home in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. For fans of Jasmine Warga and Veera Hiranandani. For eleven-year-old Gao Sheng, home is the lush, humid jungles and highlands of Laos. Home is where she can roll down the grassy hill with her younger siblings after her chores, walk to school, and pick ripe peaches from her family’s trees. But home becomes impossible to hold onto when the communist government takes over after U.S. troops pull out of the Vietnam War. The communists will be searching for any American allies, like Gao Sheng’s father, a Hmong captain in the Lao Army who fought alongside the Americans against the Vietnamese. If he’s caught, he’ll be killed. As the adults frantically make plans – contacting family, preparing a route, and bundling up their silver and gold, Gao Sheng wonders if she will ever return to her beloved Laos and what’s to become of her family now. Gao Sheng only knows that a good daughter doesn’t ask questions or complain. A good daughter doesn’t let her family down. Even though sometimes, she wishes she could be just a kid rolling down a grassy hill again. On foot, by taxi, and finally in a canoe, Gao Sheng and her family make haste from the mountains to the capitol Vientiane, and across the rushing Mekong River, to finally arrive at an overcrowded refugee camp in Thailand. As a year passes at the camp, Gao Sheng discovers how to rebuild home no matter where she is and finally find her voice.

Inspired by author V.T. Bidania’s family history, A Year Without Home illuminates the long, difficult journey that many Hmong refugees faced after the Vietnam War. V.T. Bidania was born in Laos and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has an MFA in creative writing from The New School and is a McKnight Artist Fellow. She is the author of the ASTRID AND APOLLO series, the first children's book series to star Hmong American characters, and A YEAR WITHOUT A HOME, a fictionalized memoir in verse about her family's escape from Laos at the end of the Vietnam War.