JULIA AND THE SHARK BY KIRAN MILKWOOD HARGRAVE AND ILLUSTRATED BY TOM DE FRESTON

Julia and the Shark is a book about family love and loyalty, and finding your place within it. Julia, with her mum and dad travel from their home in Cornwall to a place called Unst, a small island in the Shetlands, right at the other end of the country. Julia’s dad has a job fixing a lighthouse there and making it work online. Her mum is a marine biologist who hopes to find a rare and elusive creature called a Greenland Shark. Julia, along with the family cat, Noodle, must endure eight weeks away from friends and home.

Julia has always been fascinated by the stories and facts her mother tells her about life under the sea. They are close and Julia knows she can always rely on what her mother tells her. The first night they are in the lighthouse Julia explores the view from the top of the building. She meets a boy looking at the stars but he runs away before she can talk to him. She meets him the next day in the village and finds that Kin is a stargazer who doesn’t fit in at school. He is being bullied by a boy called Adrian and is frightened to be by himself.  Together they form a rocky friendship as things at the lighthouse begin to unravel. Julia’s mum is obsessed with finding the Greenland Shark and is becoming more and more unpredictable.

Julia dreams the shark is coming to get her and her parents and her holiday in the Shetland Islands begins to sour. Could it be her fault that her mum is unwell? Julia has to navigate her way through the complexities of the adult world and tries to interpret what is happening between her parents. Her life is turned up-side-down by her mother’s sudden illness and she believes she must try and make amends.

Hargrave’s novel confronts the themes of family, finding yourself and mental illness. Bundled together with insights into the natural world and humankind’s impact on its future, it creates a wonderful novel of self-awareness and strength. Illustrations by Tom de Freston are so beautifully intermingled throughout the novel that just looking at them draws the reader further into the narrative. Julia and the Shark is a remarkable story that will be enjoyed by many in the years to come.

 For Ages: 9-13 years

Number of Pages: 244 Hardback

Published: September 2021

Themes: Family, mental illness and finding your place in the world.

Rating: 4.5/5