What do you think?
Rate this book
Ragboy, Rats and the Surging Sea
Silas is a rag-and-bone boy, a ragamuffin who makes his living by scavenging in the dirty streets of the city and beachcombing by the wild blue sea. Early one morning, after a big storm, he makes greatest find of his life- a mermaid, a savage girl with a tail and claws,lying injured on the beach.
Silas offers the mermaid shelter and protection. But Silas is only a ragged boy, and there are ruthless villains at large- ruffians who lurk in gangs in the twisting alleys, and who know that a mermaid could bring them fortunes beyond their wildest dreams...
Silas offers the mermaid shelter and protection. But Silas is only a ragged boy, and there are ruthless villains at large- ruffians who lurk in gangs in the twisting alleys, and who know that a mermaid could bring them fortunes beyond their wildest dreams...
272 pages, Paperback
First published May 22, 1998
16 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 16, 2022
This book was alright but predictable in most parts. Was an interesting short story though with jasper and his cronies picking on poor Silas and stealing what they could.
When Silas found the mermaid his luck changed because in thanks for saving her, she caught him and his grandad plenty of food. the characters in this story were kind of weakly made as they felt very stereotypical, especially the bad guys.
The mermaid and Silas were captured by the bad guys, but the escape from Jaspers cellar was interesting and I like how they used the sewers to escape to the sea.
I’m glad the sailors all pitched in at the end to help capture all the bad guys and send them off to prison because it meant they couldn’t keep breaking each other out. I especially like that the police decided to bring the army in to round up the whole cities criminals in the Alleys.
I’m sad that the house burned down but glad they can now set out for a new life where the mermaid came from on sunny shores, where Silass grandad can heal from the cold.
All in all this book was alright, I wouldn’t read it a second time but made a decent tale to kill some time with.
When Silas found the mermaid his luck changed because in thanks for saving her, she caught him and his grandad plenty of food. the characters in this story were kind of weakly made as they felt very stereotypical, especially the bad guys.
The mermaid and Silas were captured by the bad guys, but the escape from Jaspers cellar was interesting and I like how they used the sewers to escape to the sea.
I’m glad the sailors all pitched in at the end to help capture all the bad guys and send them off to prison because it meant they couldn’t keep breaking each other out. I especially like that the police decided to bring the army in to round up the whole cities criminals in the Alleys.
I’m sad that the house burned down but glad they can now set out for a new life where the mermaid came from on sunny shores, where Silass grandad can heal from the cold.
All in all this book was alright, I wouldn’t read it a second time but made a decent tale to kill some time with.
May 2, 2016
Read this a loooong while back and could not for the life of me remember the title. It's a great story, with lovely characters and gave me the sense of wonder good books often do. I remember a sense of longing at the end, wishing for my own post-ellipses adventure, if that makes sense.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews