From the Publisher
"Vivid characters, a breathtaking story, and the promise of a sequel all come together in this alluring middle-grade fantasy." — Booklist
"Murray expertly parses out pieces of world building alongside foreshadowing for his multiple story-shattering plot twists, making this one hard to put down." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"Murray weaves an ambitious tale of paranoia, religious zealotry, and adventure. A strong sense of unexplored history combined with the dynamic characters and atmosphere offers potential for further exploration, and readers will enjoy Ellie’s struggle to protect her friends and home." — Publishers Weekly
"A psychologically intricate, steampunk-infused tale that will please adventure-lovers as well." — Horn Book Magazine
"The pace never slacks in this page-turning adventure, with well-crafted twists and secrets. Murray’s prose is descriptive and vivid; kids will think they are in Ellie’s workshop, piled high with crab catchers, broken machines, books, notes, and unidentified items."
— School Library Journal
Horn Book Magazine
"A psychologically intricate, steampunk-infused tale that will please adventure-lovers as well."
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"Murray expertly parses out pieces of world building alongside foreshadowing for his multiple story-shattering plot twists, making this one hard to put down."
Booklist
"Vivid characters, a breathtaking story, and the promise of a sequel all come together in this alluring middle-grade fantasy."
Booklist
"Vivid characters, a breathtaking story, and the promise of a sequel all come together in this alluring middle-grade fantasy."
Kirkus Reviews
2021-09-29
In this British import, a girl struggles to do what is right.
Decades ago, the Great Drowning destroyed most of civilization; only a small island called the City remains. Periodically, the God Who Drowned the Gods, known as the Enemy, possesses a citizen of the City as its human Vessel, through which it gains power and sows destruction before the City’s power-hungry Inquisitors find and execute the Vessel by burning them alive. When a boy with light-brown skin and blue eyes is discovered inside the belly of a whale beached on top of a church, everyone in the City is convinced the new Vessel has arrived—everyone except Ellie, that is. The orphaned daughter of Hannah Lancaster, the City’s inventor, Ellie makes it her mission to protect the boy, figure out his secret (and why he can manipulate the ocean with his emotions), and keep her own tragic backstory and deepest secret safe. She’s aided by her best friend from the orphanage and Lord Castion, a town leader who was friends with her mother. Excerpts from the diary of the last Vessel are interspersed between third-person chapters that follow Ellie. The pacing is compelling, but superfluous details detract from the narrative, and several worldbuilding questions remain unanswered, presumably leaving space for the sequel. Blond Ellie reads as White; Castion has dark-brown skin and uses a prosthetic limb.
A promising series opener, although the quality ebbs and flows. (map) (Fantasy. 9-12)
