Review of Adrift

[Lungelo Mhlongo]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Adrift" by Charlie Sheldon.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Adrift by Charlie Sheldon is a sea tale of 16 days that takes you through a whirlwind of emotions and leaves you needing more. Onboard the container ship Seattle Express in the wilderness of the Pacific ocean just about the Gulf of Alaska, a fire ensues. Despite the hurried attempts by the Captain Steve and his crew to mitigate the fire, the flames roar with even more vigour, you could even say it's a symbolism for the hell that is yet to come.

Upon seeing how the flames threaten to blaze them alive, Steve commands they abandon the ship and seek refuge in the life boats. They depart into two different groups in hopes that rescue will come for all of them way before the rath of the sea ravages them. Following Steve, Anne, William and the rest of the crew into the wilderness of the ocean in December will teach you about how powerful faith, resilience and belief is when life itself is not guaranteed.

Charlie captured the human emotion so profoundly in this tale that you will find yourself rooting for the young Anne to come up top despite the impossibility of the situation. His attention to detail is so impeccable, even I could vividly see the icy steeps of the village of Haida Gwaii, could hear the invigorating roaring of the sea lions as if I was right besides them and could relate greatly to the anxiety of the villagers as they prayed for the safety return of their loved ones.

The high number of point of views is the most confusing aspect of the book as it made it hard to keep up. I found myself repeatedly having to look at the top of the page in order to remember whose point of view I was now reading. The maritime jargon would also be quite confusing for someone who knows nothing about sailing since a lot of it is featured.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because of the difficult navigation between the characters' point of views and the infinite use of sailing terms. The book was also excellently edited as I never stumbled through any grammatical errors.

I would recommend Adrift for readers of 16 years and older as it contains a small amount of swearing, and I feel someone of that age has the adequate emotional ability to understand the book.

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Adrift
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