A SUNDAY TIMES BEST HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR A BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK 1628. Embarking on a journey in search of her father, a young girl called Mayken boards the Batavia, the most impressive sea vessel of the age. During the long voyage, this curious and resourceful child must find her place in the ship's busy world, and she soon uncovers shadowy secrets above and below deck. As tensions spiral, the fate of the ship and all on board becomes increasingly uncertain. 1989. Gil, a boy mourning the ...
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A SUNDAY TIMES BEST HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR A BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK 1628. Embarking on a journey in search of her father, a young girl called Mayken boards the Batavia, the most impressive sea vessel of the age. During the long voyage, this curious and resourceful child must find her place in the ship's busy world, and she soon uncovers shadowy secrets above and below deck. As tensions spiral, the fate of the ship and all on board becomes increasingly uncertain. 1989. Gil, a boy mourning the death of his mother, is placed in the care of his irritable and reclusive grandfather. Their home is a shack on a tiny fishing island off the Australian coast, notable only for its reefs and wrecked boats. This is no place for a child struggling with a dark past and Gil's actions soon get him noticed by the wrong people. The Night Ship is an enthralling tale of human brutality, providence and friendship, and of two children, hundreds of years apart, whose fates are inextricably bound together.
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Add this copy of The Night Ship: a Novel to cart. $0.99, Sold by Dream Books Co. rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Atria Books.
Add this copy of The Night Ship: a Novel to cart. $1.07, Sold by Dream Books Co. rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Atria Books.
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Minimal signs of wear. Corners and cover may show wear. May contain highlighting and or writing. May be missing dust jacket. May not include supplemental materials. May be a former library book.
Add this copy of The Night Ship: a Novel to cart. $1.73, good condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Atria Books.
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Good. . All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofit job training program for youth, empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.
Add this copy of The Night Ship to cart. $1.99, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Atria Books.
Add this copy of The Night Ship to cart. $1.99, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Atria Books.
Add this copy of The Night Ship to cart. $1.99, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Atria Books.
Add this copy of The Night Ship to cart. $1.99, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Atria Books.
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Add this copy of The Night Ship to cart. $1.99, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Atria Books.
Add this copy of The Night Ship: a Novel to cart. $2.00, good condition, Sold by Blue Vase Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Interlochen, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Atria Books.
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The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.
Jess Kidd is undoubtedly a very good writer. She tells a tale with vigour and colour, and I applaud her for that.
However.
I am so glad that I've finished The Night Ship, not because I'm glad to have read it so much as I'm glad it's over.
I suppose I'm not the target audience for this historical novel, but I found it to be dismal, depressing and ultimately irredeemable.
I remember enjoying tragic stories purely for their tragedy as a teenager, and maybe if it had just been tragic I could have fallen back into that rhythm, but Gil's story in particular was just awful. I felt sad for him, but I didn't actually like him. Everything that happened to Gil was so sad, it needed a lift of some sort, a draw other than just sympathy for a broken kid in a dingy, dismal situation.
Mayken's story however, I did find enjoyable in a few ways.
There was a great sense of wonder and adventure at the start of the book, and I liked hearing about the way the ship was loaded and the types of people on board. Seeing it all through a child's eyes gave it a great sense of scope. Even still though, knowing from the start that she and everyone she was with was going to be dead soon took a lot of the magic out of reading Mayken's point of view.
I did enjoy the parallel scenes been Gil and Mayken, and the way the author brought their stories alongside each other. Mayken was a happy child who died tragically, and Gil was a miserable child who lived tragically.
I have a hard time with kid stories where all the adults are trash, and I really did have a hard time pinpointing redeemable people among the grown-ups in both eras. I don't know why I would read about such dreadful, sad people in a non educational way. There are times It is necessary and makes sense to read sad things about sad people, but I didn't find this to be worthwhile.
Having said that, there clearly was something that drew me along, as I did make it to the end. Kidd's writing is very bright and interesting, I would still be interested to read more of her work.
