The Secret of the Water Knight

by Rusalka Reh, Katy Derbyshire (Translator)

Ten-year-old Kat has a terrible fear of swimming. She’s tried everything, but to no avail: the feeling of water closing over her head sends her into a panic every time. So when her parents plan a summer vacation to an island, Kat is understandably less than thrilled. Yet the moment she arrives on the beach, she senses there is something very unusual about this place. When she finds a strange whistle floating in the surf, she knows her instinct is right: from that moment on, she can understand the island’s animals when they speak. And what they have to say is extraordinary…

A dolphin known as the Water Knight tells Kat that, long ago, a horrible curse was cast upon the island by a villainous toad. Only a child can break the spell and only during a special full moon that shines once every forty years. Just such a night is rapidly approaching, and it’s up to Kat to free the island from the curse. But doing so means confronting her phobia of water. Can she face down the evil toad in her deep ocean lair to save her new friends? Or will her fear of swimming overwhelm her once again? Packed with adventure and suspense, this story about a plucky girl conquering her greatest fear makes for a rousing — and heartwarming — listen.

Genres: Childrens

100 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2011

Reviews

[Karissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got an Advanced Reading Copy through the Amazon Vine program. It sounded like a fun story, but was a complete dud. I don't know if the story just didn't translate well or what, but as short as it was it was a struggle to get through. I've given one star to maybe three books in the hundreds and hundreds that I have reviewed...and this is a one star book.

Kat is afraid of swimming. Her parents take her to an island on vacation with the intent of teaching her how to swim. While there Kat finds a magic whistle and finds that she is destined to defeat a horrible curse put on the island by a villainous toad. Will Kat be able to set aside her fear of swimming long enough the save the island?

I am trying to think about positive things about this book and am having trouble. I guess it is kind of creative and had potential to be a fantastic story if you consider the general idea. The idea of a girl running into a dolphin who is a Water Knight is interesting, yet we didn't get to see much of the Water Knight in the story.

First let's talk about the awkwardness of the writing. The writing does not flow, it is fractured and simple. Kat sounds more like a simpleton than a little girl throughout the book. I don't know if the book was poorly translated or what, but it was horrible. At 100 pages long this should have been a cinch to read, but it was a struggle. It was one of those books where I just kept shaking my head and thinking "did anyone actually read this before it was printed?" Seriously I want the hour that it took to read this book back.

Kat's hilarious father is just annoying. Kat spends time dwelling on the Americaness of things on the island (bright water toys, loud tourists) but she is American and is on a Spanish speaking island; it comes off as confusing and odd. Kat makes a number of decisions that don't seem to fit with her characters and don't make a lot of sense. All of the characters are mere sketches, none of them are that interesting. There is a lot of Spanish in the book and it is translated, I guess it might help your kid learn a few Spanish phrases but mostly it was just obnoxious.

Now let's talk about the numerous inconsistencies in the story. At one point Kat talks about how mosquitoes sting people...umm okay but being from Minnesota this was a glaring error...they bite, they don't sting. Then there is the man Kat meets with webbing up to the tips of his fingers...guess what he wears gloves all the time. The author explicitly described the webbing and how it goes to the very tips of his fingers and then spends time talking about his gloves. Ummm...okay..how do you get gloves on webbed hands? This is talked about multiple times in the story and it annoyed the stuffing out of me...maybe the webbing is really loose and he tucks it down between his fingers? I am not sure why this bothered me so much...it just didn't make sense.

Lastly lets discuss the final epic (or actually pretty non-epic) battle between Kat and the evil toad. First of all Kat suddenly becomes one with the water and can swim after all the time of not being able to swim even a stroke. Next she swims into an underground cave and (not only stays down there forever) but can talk down there and walk around. So suddenly not only can Kat swim like a fish, she can breath underwater, stay under water indefinitely, and walk around. Why is this? As a reader we will never know. I read it through multiple times and couldn't figure out if it was the magic whistle, the Water Knight, or maybe just that the stars were aligned correctly. By the end of the story I had no idea what had happened...honestly though I didn't really care, I just heaved a breath of relief that I was done reading the most horrible book I have read this year so far (I've read 154 book this year so far so that is saying something).

Overall just a horrible book. Poorly written, poorly edited, awkward language, an inconsistent plot, and dull characters. The writing level might challenge a five year old but any older children will be bored. The only interesting parts, where Kat interacts with the dolphin, are very brief. Please don't let your child read this book, they may never want to read again. Especially a middle grade reader. Get them something wonderful and magical like Harry Potter, Percy and the Olympians, The Warriors, or Fablehaven. I can't believe this book is targeted at that age group and I can't believe that it is in print. I almost never give one star reviews for books since for me that requires horrible editing, glaring errors, and an atrocious plot and characters...this book is the exception though, it had it all and not in a good way.

[Therearenobadbooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to get this book because the cover is simply amazing, but I felt disappointed with the story.

I finished reading the book but I feel like I quit more or less in the beginning. I was hoping to change my mind, but it never caught my interest at all. Maybe I built my expectation around a villain that didn't exist... It just went in a different direction.

Kat can't swim so he her parents decide they should go on vacation to an island. There's a lot of spanish in it, if a person doesn't know a thing it can break the flow and interest. I wonder what the second language is in the original version...
Sometimes books lose to much in translation and that can be a problem, but with this one, I think the story is just not compelling.

[Ashley Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids liked it.

[Ana Mardoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Secret of the Water Knight / 1611090067

Kat can't swim and she's afraid of the water, so her parents take her to the ocean on a summer holiday so she can learn to swim far away from the teasing jibes of her friends. Yet when Kat gets to the lovely island paradise where they will spend their vacation, she learns that a terrible curse has been plaguing the island residents, and that *she* is expected to swim on the night of the full moon and do battle for all their lives. No pressure!

I had heard that this short story suffered from translation issues, but I had no problem whipping through it in a single night -- for myself, the text flowed well and the story was gripping. There are perhaps a few sentences where the sentence structure is different from what an English reader might be used to, but the meaning was still clear to me and the unique phrasing added to the poetic feel of the novella.

The plot itself is very gripping: this story puts me in mind of a collaboration effort between Gabriel Marquez (for the magical realism) and H.P. Lovecraft (for the intense body horror) to create a kids' novel about learning to swim and embracing and overcoming your fears. Since I'm a huge fan of magical realism and body horror, I suppose it was inevitable that I would enjoy this book, but I'm not sure how many young children will love this story, just because there are several quite intensely scary moments, including: (spoilers) humans having their body parts replaced with fish parts; a sad, wounded, bleeding dolphin; and a grown man tying up and gagging a young girl and leaving her alone in the dark.

I really enjoyed the magical realism in this book -- animals speak to our young protagonist without a lot of buildup or explanation, and Kat runs into people curses with changed bodies on a regular basis without batting much of an eye. The body horror is gripping and the frightening plot juxtaposes very nicely with the child-like narration and the vivid depictions of an island paradise. I'm not sure this book is for everyone, but I can definitely attest that I enjoyed it and recommend it as well worth a look.

NOTE: This review is based on a free Advance Review Copy of this book provided through Amazon Vine, though I did end up buying the ebook version as well.

~ Ana Mardoll

[Sherry Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kat is afraid of swimming. So what do her parents do? They take her to an island hoping to teach her to swim. Little do they know that the island is magical and that its inhabitants are under a curse. Kat must overcome her fear and save the island from a villianous creature before it is too late.

The Secret of the Water Knight is a book with a lot of imagination. It is an enjoyable read until the end. Kat finds herself in the villian's underwater cave, breathing through a long tube that a couple of seagulls are holding above the water. She actually has a conversation with the villian while underwater. While this is a work of fiction, attention should still be made to ensure the actions are believable. The reader might also be left feeling like there should be more to the story - like what's the history of the dolphin known as the Water Knight? How did the villian get its power? Why is the island magical? More character development would have improved the story.

That said, The Secret of the Water Knight is a good read. The surprise near the end is a well-done unexpected twist. The translation from the original German version is also nicely done.

The Secret of the Water Knight is a book that would appeal to kids ages 9-12.

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to get this book because the cover is simply amazing, but I felt disappointed with the story.

I finished reading the book but I feel like I quit more or less in the beginning. I was hoping to change my mind, but it never caught my interest at all. Maybe I built my expectation around a villain that didn't exist... It just went in a different direction.

Kat can't swim so he her parents decide they should go on vacation to an island. There's a lot of spanish in it, if a person doesn't know a thing it can break the flow and interest. I wonder what the second language is in the original version...
Sometimes books lose to much in translation and that can be a problem, but with this one, I think the story is just not compelling.

[Angie Fehl · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise is what made me curious, as I have a water phobia myself and don't see it worked into characterizations very often, but something mostly definitely must have been lost in the translation here. The characters are not fully developed, plot ideas are introduced but not fully explained, and the overall flow of the writing is jarring and weird. The English translation uses American slang terms but they're slightly off, like the way someone still learning English might say them. The writing just needs a lot of work, which is a shame because there's a really cute idea here that had potential to appeal to a lot of young readers, if only the story wasn't so clunky in the delivery.

[Anjanet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not strong. I wouldn't bother.

You think you know who the "bad guy" is through the book, and then it switches. But there isn't a good line to follow to see the switch. Since it is kit lit and they should be able to get it on their own, this makes it doubly annoying.

Also, the writing is awkward and the setting is off. It is a translation, and I think that it made it that much more inaccessible for an American-kid audience. If the writing was good, not sure the setting would have mattered as much. But with sub-par writing, the setting could have helped save the story. It didn't.

[Mamaturtle · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read this aloud (5&7yos) and were always curious about the next phase of the adventure. The book is translated from German and has a few rough sentences, but the girl's determination through her adventure was a delight. We were sad to see she has no more books of adventure

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little story about a girl overcoming her fear of swimming. A little on the nose and the translation's a bit clunky, but a sincere story.

[Bradford Houchins · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a awesome book

it was vary cool book
I read it with my mom bofor I go to sleep
My brother listens to it too

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting book for all ages

Got this to read to my children, but I found myself enjoying the story as well. The ending is a little weak, but definitely worth a read.