Review – Sea Change by Frank Viva (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 120 pages
Publisher: TOON Graphics
Release Date: May 24, 2016
ISBN-13: 978-1935179924
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars
“One summer can change your whole life. As soon as school lets out, Eliot’s parents send him to the very edge of the world: a fishing village in a remote part of Nova Scotia. And what does the small town of Point Aconi have to offer? Maggots, bullies and grumpy old men. But along the way, Eliot discovers much more—a hidden library, starry nights and a mysterious girl named Mary Beth. See Point Aconi through Eliot’s eyes, as he finds that this place he never wanted to visit is becoming a home he doesn’t want to leave.”
I got this to review through the Amazon Vine program. This was a well done middle grade picture book. This is basically a coming of age story about a boy who spends his summer in Nova Scotia.
I liked some of the things that were done with the text and pictures throughout; they were very creative and fun to read/look at. For example text about walking up the stairs done in a stair form; there is also text about fishing that runs along the line of a fishing rod.
The lesson and story itself is a pretty typical coming of age story. Basically Eliot is forced to go to Nova Scotia and spend the summer with his grumpy old Uncle. He is absolutely livid, until he gets there. Then he learns a lot of things and realizes that not everything is how it first appears to be.
I thought this was going to be a graphic novel but it really isn’t. It is more of a chapter book with pictures aimed at middle grade and older peeps.
Overall I enjoyed this. The way the text in the book is formatted is interesting and creative. While this basically a typical coming of age story there are some other issues touched on in here as well. The book deals with friendship, bullying, ecological issues, and abuse. I would recommend it in general to middle grade and older readers.
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Challenge