Official Review: Voyage of Pearl of the Seas

[[Valerie Allen]]

Hmm…I'm on the fence! I'm not certain if I'll read and recommend this enchanted tale, along with a few spoiler alerts to youth and teens, as I believe in one, true living God. But Best wishes to the author on the #BOTD

[Spirit Wandering]

I appreciate you pointing out that the style is highly poetic, which is distracting in trying to follow the novel. Thanks for the review.

[CinWin]

Very good review! It is difficult to give a 2 star review, but you did it well by giving many examples of the parts you did like. Thanks for the excerpt from the book. I understand how some of her writing made the book confusing in parts.

[MarisaRose]

After just seeing the title and cover for this book I was immediately reminded of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader... so it’s Interesting that you likened this book to CS Lewis! I don’t think the writing sounds too distracting, but I’m all for trying a poetic, if not unique, writing style. Thanks for the insightful review.

[[Valerie Allen]]

I appreciate you pointing out that the style is highly poetic, which is distracting in trying to follow the novel. Thanks for the review.

Indeed! Thank you!

[Amystl26]

Leaning more towards poetry is what turned me ofd as well. The writing style and overall "feel" of the free sample I read was very "Little House on the Prairie."

[jaliper]

Wow, I love how you poured out your heart in this review. This sounds like a good book but it's such shame about the errors. Thanks for being honest though

[Nelsy Mtsweni]

Although the story line sounds like something that much could learn from, grammatical errors seem to outweigh all the positivity emanated by the book. Thanks for the review.

[CaitlinGonya]

I loved C.S. Lewis and the Narnia series. However, just because this is similar doesn't mean that I want to read poetical phrases. I agree with you, I'm a blunt "a rose is just a rose" person. Too much "poetry" shouldn't be in a YA novel.

[KRay93]

Thanks for the review. After having read the sample, it is clear that the author's choice regarding his prose is questionable and inappropriate for the genre. If I add this fact to the premise in general and to the book's desired audience, there is no way I can consider a future reading of it.

[Blind_Beth]

Ooh, the excerpt actually makes me want to read it more, even though the sample didn’t grab me. I’m a big stream of consciousness fan. Though the fact that it’s about kids worries me.

[Cdeyoungde]

Bookishcreature said: "I’m a pretty literal person, so this is just my personal preference and not a complaint. I do, however, have a complaint. It seemed like in order to get that poetic feel, the author let punctuation and sentence structure fall to the wayside, which often made sentences confusing."

I read the short excerpt to see if I wanted to read it, and from that I agree with your review. If it is going to be worth my time to read, I want to make sure I'm not going to have to stumble over the reading in the process.

[Andy12]

The book is nice and poetry though I'm not a fan of poet

[Jeyasivananth]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Voyage of Pearl of the Seas" by Ruth Finnegan.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Fans of CS Lewis will likely enjoy the tale of Chris, Kate, and Holly – two kids and a dog who voyage across the ocean on a ship of their own making. Their dreamy and mystical adventure takes them to strange, fantastical places, and they bump into plenty of interesting people along the way. But when all is said and done, will they be able to find their way home?

Ruth Finnegan’s Voyage of Pearl of the Seas is a lyrical, poetic piece of YA fantasy. I’m sure there are certain kinds of readers that will absolutely adore it, but personally, I had a few misgivings. I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars.

Let’s start with the high points. Voyage of Pearl of the Seas tells a deeply layered story, full of allusions to mythology and classic literature. Finnegan pulls inspiration and quotations from the likes of Rumi and Walt Whitman, along with plenty of references to Christian beliefs. These allusions are all pointed out and explained in the Notes section at the end of the book, offering readers a chance to expand their literary horizons and explore the deeper themes of the book.

Speaking of exploration, the author also includes a set of discussion questions to get her readers thinking more critically about the story. I really love when YA authors include discussion prompts – they are wonderful conversation starters for kids and parents alike.

I also adored Rachel Backshall’s gorgeous illustrations. A handful of full-page pencil drawings were scattered throughout the chapters, and each one is brimming with detail. The abstract art style added to the dreamy feel of the story as a whole, and they were probably my favorite part of the entire book.

Unfortunately, that same dreamy feel also plays into what I disliked about Voyage of Pearl of the Seas. Finnegan’s writing style leans far more towards poetry than prose. The semi-abstract, stream-of-consciousness storytelling made it difficult for me to really understand the specifics of the situations that Chris and Kate were in.

I’m a pretty literal person, so this is just my personal preference and not a complaint. I do, however, have a complaint. It seemed like in order to get that poetic feel, the author let punctuation and sentence structure fall to the wayside, which often made sentences confusing. Here’s an excerpt so you can see what I mean.

But Kate was deep in a fairytale full of dreams and did not want to be disturbed. And even when she wasn't reading, her secret vi- - well reading wasn't really a 'vice' was it whatever her mum said? More like a 'voice'. (Oh there you go again Katey Kate, voices and vices and wises and songses, and three-sonicked word-fullnesses sound-ringing in her head - we’ll just have to get used to it, you, so just – well, manage)…

I think there’s a way to make prose more poetic without sacrificing function for form. More conventional grammar would have made this book easier to parse. As it stands, the writing style took me out of the story instead of drawing me in, which is why I’m giving it a final rating of 2 out of 4 stars.

While this book isn’t a book for me, I still think there are plenty of readers out there who will enjoy it. If a heady blend of poetry and Narnia sounds like something you’d enjoy, you should definitely give this book a try! If you’re more literal-minded and a stickler for commas, it might not be for you either.

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Voyage of Pearl of the Seas
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Wow!that's an amazing review! Your observations are well substantiated.keep up the good work!

[love_b00ks]

I like C.S. Lewis too and I am quite intrigued about the similarities. I think that the reviewer's point is valid, I also read a few pages and it did not really draw me in. Perhaps, it is really designed for a specific age group, those questions could really be good tools in getting into the story deeper when used in a classroom setting or read aloud to your kids.