I liked this book and will write a review but I made the mistake of
looking up the book here before I read it. My book jacket didn't
tell me the plot of the book - it was really just recommendations
about the book and the character. Then I look it up here and find
out lots of things about the book that I didn't want to know before
I read it. I would consider the information above to be a total
spoiler (if something doesn't happen until at least halfway through
the book you should imagine that I don't want to hear about it!)
and didn't enhance the experience. I was unhappy about that. Okay -
consider the rant over.
What did I feel about the book? It was quite delightful. It had a
lyrical style that reminded me of the ocean and whales that were a
theme throughout the book. While the book was set in the late 1970s
(for the first half any how) it didn't feel old. Modern day kids
would relate to it without a hesitation. While it looked at a lot
of different issues (racism, abuse, and others I don't want to
mention in case I'm accused of being a spoiler!) it didn't become
an issue book - it was about the characters and the journey they
take.