FINISHED:
Eagar, Lindsay. (2017). Race to the Bottom of the Sea. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[Eleven-year-old Fidelia Quail must go live with her Aunt Julia, a librarian who lives above the town library, after her internationally-acclaimed, underwater biologist parents die at sea during a powerful storm while exploring in a submarine of Fidelia’s creation.  Not long thereafter, while still grieving the loss of her parents, Fidelia finds herself kidnapped by Merrick the Monstrous, a pirate, and is forced to help him retrieve a treasure in a cave deep under the sea.  White Fidelia is a strong, intelligent, richly-drawn protagonist with a gift for invention and inquiry, while periodic flashbacks cleverly build a full portrait of compassion for the eccentric, larger-than-life Merrick.  Though it feels slightly overlong at times, Eager provides cinematic action sequences which play as though you are watching a vivid movie, as well as a couple of startling revelations which should surprise even the most keen reader.  With an intriguing setting – which seems to exist in its own time and place – and dynamic characters, hand this one to those who enjoy broad adventure stories.]

STARTED:
Balliett, Blue. (2018). Out of the Wild Night: A Ghost Story. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

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