“I want to be able to call the sharks. Teach me the magic and show me the ways.”
Blue Wing is desperate to become a shark caller, but instead she must befriend infuriating newcomer Maple, who arrives unexpectedly on Blue Wing’s island.
At first, the girls are too angry to share their secrets and become friends. But when the tide breathes the promise of treasure, they must journey together to the bottom of the ocean to brave the deadliest shark of them all.
I believed this would be a story about the deadly white shark and how people learned to live along side it rather than just fearing it and killing it. I knew from reading The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare and Whisper of Horses that it would have more depth to it than just another shark story, but I hadn’t realised just how far off the mark I was. I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the proof from Usborne, so even though it is not due for publication til February , I have the advantage of having read it in advance.
I was torn apart by this story. So many threads or strands or strings to this simple tale of love, loss and letting go that I hardly know where to start. I confess, I had a feeling Blue Wing was a little more than just your average island girl when the story begins, but I have read a lot of children’s fiction so that is no surprise. I think a child reader would recognise some of the clues the author slowly releases as the story progresses and not realise who exactly Blue Wing is until at least half way through the book. But when you discover the great reveal really doesn’t matter because the beautiful essence of this story is the relationships between Blue Wing and her Waspapi, Blue Wing and Maple, Maple and her father and Blue Wing and Xok.
Once you have read the language for a couple of chapters it is fairly easy to guess the English from the English based creole that Blue Wing uses. I recognised some of the words as being quite close to English when sounded out and found it did not detract from my understanding at all, and the context of the story helps with that. If you have read the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness and that is your bar for translating other English based languages then this will be a walk in the park. Even more so if you have visited any country where creole English is spoken or where any derivative of the native Papua New Guinea languages is spoken.
The atmospheric scene setting is similarly familiar and yet not familiar: a tropical paradise which is also portrayed as somebody’s home. Bethell does not stint from presenting both sides of the story when it comes to modernisation. While the village leader Bigman wishes to modernise and welcomes the tourists with open arms, Blue Wing and her Waspapi are not so keen to sacrifice all the old ways. Despite this, Blue Wing is frustrated by her Waspapi Siringen’s refusal to teach her the skills of a Shark Caller, since it is a skill which traditionally is only passed down to the male generation. As Siringen has no male children of his own to pass the skill on to, the talents of the village Shark Caller are in danger of being lost to the tides of history.
Bigman is keen for Siringen to use his Shark Calling skills to respond to the requests of visiting tourists who most often wish to see a shark lured, caught and killed. But Siringen has learned to respect the sharks and believes they too respect him, something he tries to teach Blue Wing. He is therefore apprehensive when an American academic and his daughter visit the village on the island and Bigman insists Siringen take the American out to sea on his boat to study the reefs.
Meanwhile Blue Wing has been instructed by Siringen to befriend Maple, the academic’s daughter. Maple has been left to her own devices on the island and is sullen and surly, and as much against befriending Blue Wing as Blue Wing is to her. Slowly Bethell reveals the reasons to the reader as to why these two belligerent girls, who seem so different from each other, cannot get along. They are both struggling to deal with the blows life has dealt them. The reasons why they initially clash become the same reasons that bring them together. At first they are united in exploring the environment around them and following their curiosity about the secrets the adults appear to be keeping from them. But soon, they grow a greater bond, one that is emotionally strong and supportive in a way that can transcend death and bring healing for them all.
This is a compelling emotionally challenging read, which has great depths and requires persistence initially but will reap great rewards. I would recommend this as a good class read, with preparation prior to reading, and as an individual read for any confident emotionally mature reader from year 5 upwards.
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