Deep, Complex, Perfection — THE NIGHT SHIP by Jess Kidd
Based on a true story, an epic historical novel from the award-winning author of Things in Jars that illuminates the lives of two characters: a girl shipwrecked on an island off Western Australia and, three hundred years later, a boy finding a home with his grandfather on the very same island.
1629: A newly orphaned young girl named Mayken is bound for the Dutch East Indies on the Batavia, one of the greatest ships of the Dutch Golden Age. Curious and mischievous, Mayken spends the long journey going on misadventures above and below the deck, searching for a mythical monster. But the true monsters might be closer than she thinks.
1989: A lonely boy named Gil is sent to live off the coast of Western Australia among the seasonal fishing community where his late mother once resided. There, on the tiny reef-shrouded island, he discovers the story of an infamous shipwreck…
With her trademark “thrilling, mysterious, twisted, but more than anything, beautifully written” (Graham Norton, New York Times bestselling author) storytelling, Jess Kidd weaves “a true work of magic” (V.E. Schwab, author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue) about friendship, sacrifice, brutality, and forgiveness.
Released: October 2022
My ThoughtsWhere are my words?
I pre-ordered The Night Ship without reading the synopsis, something I only do with a handful of authors whose gift with words leaves me without any of my own. I then read this book without knowing a thing about it, and I was lost, transported to another place, living it with each breath. Then I got to the end and read the author’s note, which reinforced my belief that Jess Kidd was born to give us stories.
This is historical fiction with two timelines 360 years apart. Both stand separately but blend seamlessly, reminding us how the past can reach into the present and affect us in unexpected ways.
The depth and complexities of both the plot and all the characters drew me in so close that the ending left me shattered and wrung out. I closed the book and simply sat. That’s the power of a writer with magic in her words.
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