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The Fires Beneath the Sea (The Dissenters #1)
by
Lydia Millet
Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2011
Cara's mother has disappeared. Her father isn't talking about it. Her big brother Max is hiding behind his iPod, and her genius little brother Jackson is busy studying the creatures he collects from the beach. But when a watery specter begins to haunt the family's Cape Cod home, Cara and her brothers realize that their scientist mother may...more
Cara's mother has disappeared. Her father isn't talking about it. Her big brother Max is hiding behind his iPod, and her genius little brother Jackson is busy studying the creatures he collects from the beach. But when a watery specter begins to haunt the family's Cape Cod home, Cara and her brothers realize that their scientist mother may...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
July 26th 2011
by Big Mouth House
(first published May 1st 2011)
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The jury’s still out on how much I liked this one. It has some beautiful moments. It also has some awkward moments. The story is entertaining, but I’m really not compelled to find out when the next book of the series comes out. The characters are all likeable, but I didn’t fall in love with any of them. I found the title on a list of noteworthy books of 2011, but I’m not sure I’d laud it among the best. I guess I’d have to say it’s a middle of the road middle grade read.
Here’s what happens: Cara...more
Here’s what happens: Cara...more
Lots of adult writers are writing kid novels. Most of them are hack writers and their fiction is hack fiction, coasting on the fact that their names sell books.
Yet,the simple fact is that even a very good, award winning writer can write less than wonderful books for kids, and this one is proof of that. Not everyone has the ear to hear how kids really sound, to give the details they care about and the ones that they don't.
It just so happens that the part of Cape Cod where this book is set is a be...more
Yet,the simple fact is that even a very good, award winning writer can write less than wonderful books for kids, and this one is proof of that. Not everyone has the ear to hear how kids really sound, to give the details they care about and the ones that they don't.
It just so happens that the part of Cape Cod where this book is set is a be...more
This was an entertaining and mildly scary middle grade fantasy. Cara and her brothers Max and Jax are all missing their mother, a scientist, who has gone away. No seems to know, or at least no one is telling them, where she has gone. They are all dealing with her absence in their own ways. Max is hanging out with friends and burying himself in his music. Jax is attending science camp. Cara is spending time with her friend Hayley and wondering what happened to her mom. Their dad has also withdraw...more
http://www.rantingdragon.com/the-fire...
Rating: 3,5 stars
Lydia Millet is an award-winning writer best known for her works for adults; her most recent accomplishment, a collection of short stories called Love in Infant Monkeys, was one of three finalists for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. And so her newest novel, a middle-grade fantasy called The Fires Beneath the Sea, seems like a big departure for her. In Fires, Cara and her brothers are trying to cope with the sudden disappearance of their mother, o...more
Rating: 3,5 stars
Lydia Millet is an award-winning writer best known for her works for adults; her most recent accomplishment, a collection of short stories called Love in Infant Monkeys, was one of three finalists for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. And so her newest novel, a middle-grade fantasy called The Fires Beneath the Sea, seems like a big departure for her. In Fires, Cara and her brothers are trying to cope with the sudden disappearance of their mother, o...more
There were several things I liked about this book. First, there is a cool villain--the pouring man who is always dripping and attacks through any kind of water. Second, the author's detail about the setting (Cape Cod) created a great picture in my mind, which is useful for someone who has never been there. Third, the use of animals in a location they aren't normally found in, this helps create tension.
Character-wise, I liked the characters okay but I didn't love them by any means. I prefer book...more
Character-wise, I liked the characters okay but I didn't love them by any means. I prefer book...more
Cara's family is still suffering from the sudden disappearance of their mother, a marine scientist. Research she was working on has been stolen, and Cara and her brothers and father are bewildered by the turn of events. It doesn't seem like the work of normal thieves or kidnappers, especially when frightening and fantastical things begin to occur, like the sea otter that "talks" to Cara, and the terrifying creature that comes out of the rain one night, whom they call the Pouring Man. What is the...more
I hadn't heard a thing about this one until it made it onto Kirkus Reviews' Best of 2011 list. I don't always agree with Kirkus' love/lack of love for specific books, but decided to give it a shot. And I was actually pleasantly surprised. I don't really know why it made it onto the Best list, but it was not a waste of time at all. (At least for me). Because of the blending of environmental issues and magic, I can picture fans of Julia Golding's Companions Quartet being fans. It also, for whateve...more
ATOS Book Level: 5.1
Interest Level: Middle Grades (MG 4-8)
AR Points: 9.0
Word Count: 57572
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
ok maybe it' not that bad....but it's close.
I don't know if the story's going to be too complex and more info will be coming in the next book, or if I just didn't buy into the story line, or how everything fit t...more
Interest Level: Middle Grades (MG 4-8)
AR Points: 9.0
Word Count: 57572
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
ok maybe it' not that bad....but it's close.
I don't know if the story's going to be too complex and more info will be coming in the next book, or if I just didn't buy into the story line, or how everything fit t...more
I read several reviews that alluded to this being similar to A Wrinkle in Time. I could see some similarities but not that many. This was a wonderful story of three children on a quest to help their mother. They are given bits and pieces of the puzzle as needed. I found myself not wanting to put the book down. I found after reading about the “Pouring Man” that I had trouble going to sleep. It might have something to do with the fact it was raining outside and it was nighttime. That parallel was...more
Oct 30, 2011
Jacob Beaver
added it
The first chapter of the book is very well written. It goes into depth about the characters very well it. It also goes into the characters' histories very well. The author, Lydia Millet shows a very good sence of imagery and uses allegory and irony very well in the first two chapters.
Main character analysis
Cara is a girl drawn to mysterious things, for example when she is at the beach with her best friend Halley, an animal talks to her and instead of being afraid she is drawn to the animal. Car...more
Main character analysis
Cara is a girl drawn to mysterious things, for example when she is at the beach with her best friend Halley, an animal talks to her and instead of being afraid she is drawn to the animal. Car...more
Another disappointment. This book was just to silly for words. The children, about 10, 12 and 16, got away with too much and never seemed to encounter difficulties with things like borrowing scuba gear and using it without adult supervision. Or taking off in the middle of the night and the care giver not noticing. Totally unbelievable. I won't be reading book 2.
Cara, Max, and Jackson miss their mother, who left them and their father with no hint of where's she's gone. When strange things begin happening to Cara, she and her brothers are suddenly on a quest to help her mother and explore a fantastical new world. I enjoyed Cara and her brothers, their relationships, and the magic that begins to fill their lives.
Lovely prose and a compelling story with an ecological twist. Near and dear to my heart because the setting in Wellfleet, MA is EXACTLY where I spend every summer and very accurate. My only gripe is that the entire book is really just the set up for the rest of the series. Reminiscent of A Wrinkle in Time and The Dark is Rising.
Fires Beneath the Sea is the first book in the Dissenters series. I enjoyed the fantasy aspects of the plot and became involved in all the main characters. The book would appeal to young adults and adults who enjoy fantasy and who liked the Percy Jackson series. I plan to read the second book to see what happens nex..
I'd like to have rated it higher, as it had an interesting concept and was fairly engaging, but I frankly don't much care for any author who seems so careful in regard to the language young characters use, only to have them profane the name of the Savior. Not cool.
Loved the book, the writing, the story, the kids. One reference to safe sex and contiguous pages where characters swear using the Lord's name make this problematic in our children's department. Will send it to YA.
I received this book in a First Reads giveaway...
I found this novel to be a suspenseful, fun read for a YA audience. I enjoyed the environmental twists, and although it took a bit of imagination to believe in some of the characters, that's why it's fiction! I enjoyed Cara's little brother's abilities just like I enjoyed the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. Neither is realistically possible, but that's the point. It's a story. I will be looking forward to picking up the next one!
I found this novel to be a suspenseful, fun read for a YA audience. I enjoyed the environmental twists, and although it took a bit of imagination to believe in some of the characters, that's why it's fiction! I enjoyed Cara's little brother's abilities just like I enjoyed the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. Neither is realistically possible, but that's the point. It's a story. I will be looking forward to picking up the next one!
A good middle grade read. Recommend to kids who enjoy a bit of fantasy with a side of scary.
How in the world did this even get published, much less make a Kirkus best of list? The author can't even keep track of what the main character has on her feet between two paragraphs! Giving up on page 32.
... need to persuade Lydia to tell me when she publishes a new one ... or find a way to set Amazon to just auto-ship the things. Taking this on vacation & pre-ordered the next novel coming out in the fall.
:)I really liked it! I'm so happy I chose it for our first independent
reading.. :)
reading.. :)
Apr 30, 2013
Joanne
marked it as to-read
Apr 28, 2013
Jordan
marked it as to-read
Apr 08, 2013
Sydney
marked it as to-read
Mar 28, 2013
Margot
marked it as to-read
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Born in Boston in 1968, Lydia Millet moved to Toronto, Canada with her Egyptologist father and teacher/librarian mother two years later. She received a Master's in Environmental Policy at Duke University and moved to New York in 1996, where she worked as a fundraiser for the Natural Resources Defense Council. In 1999 she went freelance and moved to Tucson, where she now lives and writes full-time...more
More about Lydia Millet...
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Sep 14, 2011 11:54am