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Into the Blue
Book by Andrea Curtis
269 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
1 person is currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Curtis
21 books25 followersAndrea Curtis is an award-winning writer in Toronto whose books have been published around the world. She writes for both adults and children.
Her most recent kids' books are Barnaby (Owlkids) and City of Water (Groundwood). She is also the author of A Forest in the City (Groundwood), Eat This! How Fast Food Marketing Gets You to Buy Junk (and How to Fight Back) and What's for Lunch? from Red Deer Press.
Her first YA novel is Big Water, published by Orca. It's inspired by the true story of a shipwreck on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, and the harrowing experience of the two teenaged survivors.
Her most recent adult book, written with Nick Saul, is the National Bestseller, The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement. It is published by Random House Canada and Melville House Press in the US and UK. It was shortlisted for the Toronto Book Award and won the Taste Canada Award for Culinary Narratives.
Andrea's critically acclaimed creative nonfiction book Into the Blue: Family Secrets and the Search for a Great Lakes Shipwreck (Random House) won the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction.
Andrea lives in Toronto, Canada, with her family.
Her most recent kids' books are Barnaby (Owlkids) and City of Water (Groundwood). She is also the author of A Forest in the City (Groundwood), Eat This! How Fast Food Marketing Gets You to Buy Junk (and How to Fight Back) and What's for Lunch? from Red Deer Press.
Her first YA novel is Big Water, published by Orca. It's inspired by the true story of a shipwreck on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, and the harrowing experience of the two teenaged survivors.
Her most recent adult book, written with Nick Saul, is the National Bestseller, The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement. It is published by Random House Canada and Melville House Press in the US and UK. It was shortlisted for the Toronto Book Award and won the Taste Canada Award for Culinary Narratives.
Andrea's critically acclaimed creative nonfiction book Into the Blue: Family Secrets and the Search for a Great Lakes Shipwreck (Random House) won the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction.
Andrea lives in Toronto, Canada, with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 21, 2019
Decent book about shipwreck in Georgian Bay. Interesting to read the ripple effect through time
September 14, 2021
I found this treasure while browsing the shelves in my local library for the first time in over 8 months. I've really missed coming across books by chance, and this was such a delightful find. Great addition to books about Ontario history!
April 1, 2017
A very interesting radio interview with the author served as a successful enticement for me to read this book about the effect on the life of her maternal grandmother of the sinking (in 1906) of the steamboat J.H. Jones (captained by her father, Jim Crawford).
The early chapters feature well-researched historical facts intertwined with family oral history and believable speculative stories ("creative non-fiction") about life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the community of Wiarton, Ontario and in the homes of the author's ancestors. Residents of Wiarton had high hopes for their town, and the reader rides the cycle of the development and downfall of the timber, gristmill, sugar-beet, fishing, and steamboat-tourism industries. The pace is exciting and, at the same time, comfortable: the author keeps the reader's attention by skilfully alternating exciting narration with historical details.
However, about two-thirds of the way through the book, when the search for survivors of the wreck has been abandoned and the community of Wiarton is struggling to preserve its way of life, the focus shifts firmly to the author's family history. When at this point I began to question the point of the book, I was reminded by the sub-title that the "family secrets" had not yet been revealed. I quickly reviewed the early chapters, sketched out the author's family tree, and persevered through a couple of sluggish and confusing chapters. The reward was a fascinating tale of a young sensitive non-conformist woman who succeeded in escaping the condemnation of her hometown and re-inventing herself as a Montreal socialite.
Because this book does not fit neatly into any genre or category, it would appeal to a variety of readers. Although it does not present a clear-cut chronological history of the community of Wiarton, it is supported by solid historical and genealogial research and presents a thoughtful analysis of the effect of that history on the personal life of one of its residents.
The early chapters feature well-researched historical facts intertwined with family oral history and believable speculative stories ("creative non-fiction") about life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the community of Wiarton, Ontario and in the homes of the author's ancestors. Residents of Wiarton had high hopes for their town, and the reader rides the cycle of the development and downfall of the timber, gristmill, sugar-beet, fishing, and steamboat-tourism industries. The pace is exciting and, at the same time, comfortable: the author keeps the reader's attention by skilfully alternating exciting narration with historical details.
However, about two-thirds of the way through the book, when the search for survivors of the wreck has been abandoned and the community of Wiarton is struggling to preserve its way of life, the focus shifts firmly to the author's family history. When at this point I began to question the point of the book, I was reminded by the sub-title that the "family secrets" had not yet been revealed. I quickly reviewed the early chapters, sketched out the author's family tree, and persevered through a couple of sluggish and confusing chapters. The reward was a fascinating tale of a young sensitive non-conformist woman who succeeded in escaping the condemnation of her hometown and re-inventing herself as a Montreal socialite.
Because this book does not fit neatly into any genre or category, it would appeal to a variety of readers. Although it does not present a clear-cut chronological history of the community of Wiarton, it is supported by solid historical and genealogial research and presents a thoughtful analysis of the effect of that history on the personal life of one of its residents.
May 19, 2013
Andrea Curtis does a wonderful job of sharing the story of her great-grandfather and the tragic story of his family.
February 21, 2023
A very good story. Very thoughtful. Highly recommended.
November 7, 2017
This is part family memoir with fictional details to complete the picture, part anthropological account of the early settlers and development of the town of Wiarton, and part the dangers of life on the sea.
What I like: the author's writing is smooth and comforting as a lullaby, even when describing turbulent times on the sea or in her family.
What I didn't like: I had expected more and fuller account of her grandma Eleanor's life and how she came to be, but the book spent a considerable number of pages describing how the town of Wiarton came to be including its residents and economies. I also was not as interested in learning about the various shipwrecks. Although both these aspects may be of great interest for someone else. Essentially what I didn't like about the book was more about expectations and personal preferences than about the author's abilities as a writer.
What I like: the author's writing is smooth and comforting as a lullaby, even when describing turbulent times on the sea or in her family.
What I didn't like: I had expected more and fuller account of her grandma Eleanor's life and how she came to be, but the book spent a considerable number of pages describing how the town of Wiarton came to be including its residents and economies. I also was not as interested in learning about the various shipwrecks. Although both these aspects may be of great interest for someone else. Essentially what I didn't like about the book was more about expectations and personal preferences than about the author's abilities as a writer.
March 27, 2020
This book has two streams - the story of James Victor Crawford, the owner and master of the boat "J H Jones" which was lost on Georgian Bay with all crew and passengers during the “big blow” of November 22, 1906, and the author’s roots which lead back to James Crawford, her maternal great grandfather and the life of her maternal grandmother. It’s for readers interested in nautical stories and/or the history of Georgian Bay. Andrea paints a vivid picture of the town of Wiarton, Ontario during its hay days where her grandmother's family had emigrated from Ireland. The second stream deals with the life of her grandmother during the early years of women’s emancipation - a pioneer determined to live life on her own terms. Enjoyable read.
August 21, 2018
This was a very interesting novel, mostly set in the Bruce peninsula in the province of Ontario. The author is on a quest to find the history of the SS J.H. Jones, a family owned tug boat that sank off the coast of Cape Croker during a fall storm in 1906. She is also trying to find more about her Grandmother Eleanor who disappeared to Montreal not long after the sinking. I found this story so interesting as it paints a picture of an era that would be very difficult to imagine for people who enjoy this area today. Having spent many, many visits to this area during my own life it just fascinates me to think of the way life was at the beginning of the twentieth century. Excellent reading.
September 6, 2020
A fascinating local story that goes generations forward and backward into the lives of small town Georgian Bay.
September 3, 2023
Fantastic storytelling of women across multiple generations. Less focused on the wreck of the boat and moreso on the families impacted and how it shaped their lives.
December 6, 2024
Interesting family history
August 20, 2013
I enjoyed this book a lot. I am writing this review some time after I finished it. Curtis simultaneously writes a personal story and family history; a history that involved the perilous life of working on the inland seas of Canada-The Great Lakes.
Having spent time myself piloting a working boat on Lake St. Clair-the puddle, I still have a great deal of respect for those early captains.
Curtis' prose captures the people, the lakes and Georgian Bay with realism. Great story. I own an author signed copy too.
It's a book that would make a great companion read together with "Too Close to the Falls" (see my review?).
Having spent time myself piloting a working boat on Lake St. Clair-the puddle, I still have a great deal of respect for those early captains.
Curtis' prose captures the people, the lakes and Georgian Bay with realism. Great story. I own an author signed copy too.
It's a book that would make a great companion read together with "Too Close to the Falls" (see my review?).
November 6, 2013
Having been born in Wiarton and now living in Montreal I really enjoyed all aspects of Andrea's book. The description of the lives, attitudes and relationships of the people at this point in time are especially fascinating as is the details of the hard and many times tragic lives of the sailors on the Great Lakes.
May 28, 2024
Andrea Curtis is such a good writer, mixing imagination and history, memoir and folklore. This is the second book of hers I've read. Both have been about shipwrecks. I hope she writes more. Captivating.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews