katiemayveil's review against another edition
5.0
Willa's parents got divorced.
Willa moved to Japan with her mom, a well-known marine biologist.
Willa's mom died.
Now Willa lives in Washington state again with her dad and his 'new' family. Willa is trying to navigate all these changes and doesn't know how to do it. She and her dad go on a whale watching tour and she sees a humpback whale do some amazing tricks. She is able to capture them on video and feels that this is the world's way of letting her grieve her mom. Willa is able to figure out how to be a better friend, daughter, sister, and a better version of herself. She realizes that it is okay to be sad and grieve. She realizes how much she needs a friend. She discovers new interests and learns that she's not that different from someone that really used to bother her.
Willa is passionate and determined. But she's also a little girl having to figure out some big issues.
Chad Morris and Shelly Brown do an amazing job writing stories that kids can relate too. This story can help kids understand their own feelings, but also how to be more empathetic and understanding of others. This would be a great book to read with your child or in a class or therapy setting.
Willa moved to Japan with her mom, a well-known marine biologist.
Willa's mom died.
Now Willa lives in Washington state again with her dad and his 'new' family. Willa is trying to navigate all these changes and doesn't know how to do it. She and her dad go on a whale watching tour and she sees a humpback whale do some amazing tricks. She is able to capture them on video and feels that this is the world's way of letting her grieve her mom. Willa is able to figure out how to be a better friend, daughter, sister, and a better version of herself. She realizes that it is okay to be sad and grieve. She realizes how much she needs a friend. She discovers new interests and learns that she's not that different from someone that really used to bother her.
Willa is passionate and determined. But she's also a little girl having to figure out some big issues.
Chad Morris and Shelly Brown do an amazing job writing stories that kids can relate too. This story can help kids understand their own feelings, but also how to be more empathetic and understanding of others. This would be a great book to read with your child or in a class or therapy setting.
llkendrick's review against another edition
5.0
Read this aloud with my daughter and we both loved it! We enjoyed all the marine biology facts throughout the story and liked all the characters.
ljrinaldi's review against another edition
5.0
So, Willa meets a whale, while whale watching, and find she can talk to it when she goes down to the beach. Her mother, who was a marine biologist died recently, and she is now living with her father and his new family, and there is nothing of her old life, except the house she grew up in, which is now filled with people she doesn't know.
So, yes, it is hard, and yes, she has some good talks with her whale, Meg. They talk about life, and death, and friendships, and this seems to help her with healing, at least a little.
Beautifully written it includes the story, which happened last year, as told by Meg, of a mother whale who gave birth to a baby that died, but that she kept afloat, as they migrated up the coast, for nearly two weeks. As Meg explains "She wasn't ready to let go."
There is lots of sadness in this book, but, as is pointed out, that's ok. You can be sad about losing your mother, and you don't have to stop just because everyone else has stopped.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
So, yes, it is hard, and yes, she has some good talks with her whale, Meg. They talk about life, and death, and friendships, and this seems to help her with healing, at least a little.
Beautifully written it includes the story, which happened last year, as told by Meg, of a mother whale who gave birth to a baby that died, but that she kept afloat, as they migrated up the coast, for nearly two weeks. As Meg explains "She wasn't ready to let go."
There is lots of sadness in this book, but, as is pointed out, that's ok. You can be sad about losing your mother, and you don't have to stop just because everyone else has stopped.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
afterglobe's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.
2/5 - It was okay
The good - This book takes on a LOT and I am tempted to rate it higher based simply on how many difficult subjects it tackles with sensitivity and many fascinating marine facts. Willa is a young girl who is absolutely fascinated by marine life and is coping with the loss of her mother following her parents' divorce. She's an extremely believable protagonist with big feelings and the book handles these beautifully - everything from grief to pre-teen embarrassment over making and keeping friends to anger at being forced into a blended family. Some more surprising topics came up throughout the narrative, but I don't want to give anything away - suffice to say that I think the story integrates real life and how real children might deal with it very, very well.
The could-be-better - I personally did not find the writing style very engaging. A pet peeve of mine in YA and youth lit has always been overenthusiastic hashtagging. Yes, we did these kinds of things when we were younger. But it completely takes me out of any story that I'm reading. Overall, the writing felt a bit repetitive - the same conversation or theme would be played out over several pages until I found myself skimming to see if the topic had changed. This slowed down the pace of the story for me and broke my engagement. Of course, this book is geared to a younger audience but I still think it didn't have to be so repetitive. And most importantly, the title to me felt like a bit of a misnomer. Willa's friendship with Meg, the whale, is a part of the story but it certainly isn't THE story - in fact, Meg felt like a side character and I wanted more of her and more actual interactions between Willa and Meg.
Overall, I would still recommend this book to middle-school aged children, especially those with an interest in marine biology.
2/5 - It was okay
The good - This book takes on a LOT and I am tempted to rate it higher based simply on how many difficult subjects it tackles with sensitivity and many fascinating marine facts. Willa is a young girl who is absolutely fascinated by marine life and is coping with the loss of her mother following her parents' divorce. She's an extremely believable protagonist with big feelings and the book handles these beautifully - everything from grief to pre-teen embarrassment over making and keeping friends to anger at being forced into a blended family. Some more surprising topics came up throughout the narrative, but I don't want to give anything away - suffice to say that I think the story integrates real life and how real children might deal with it very, very well.
The could-be-better - I personally did not find the writing style very engaging. A pet peeve of mine in YA and youth lit has always been overenthusiastic hashtagging. Yes, we did these kinds of things when we were younger. But it completely takes me out of any story that I'm reading. Overall, the writing felt a bit repetitive - the same conversation or theme would be played out over several pages until I found myself skimming to see if the topic had changed. This slowed down the pace of the story for me and broke my engagement. Of course, this book is geared to a younger audience but I still think it didn't have to be so repetitive. And most importantly, the title to me felt like a bit of a misnomer. Willa's friendship with Meg, the whale, is a part of the story but it certainly isn't THE story - in fact, Meg felt like a side character and I wanted more of her and more actual interactions between Willa and Meg.
Overall, I would still recommend this book to middle-school aged children, especially those with an interest in marine biology.
jesforeverlostinbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Oh this one has all the feels!!! It might have been the perfect book at the perfect time as I sit here looking over the ocean watching whales. This story is beautifully told and has the most delightful descriptions coming many different feelings and situations to different ocean wildlife. A story of grief, pain, sorrow and loneliness as Willa navigates her life with her father and his new family in a different country after her mother passes away. She learns that she isn’t quite as alone as she thinks with her pod behind her cheering her on…. Would be the perfect book for a young child who is dealing with grief.
aublar's review against another edition
5.0
LOVED this book! I grabbed it off the shelf at the library on a whim because of the whale on the cover, thinking that I like whales so I’ll give this book a shot. So glad I did! It’s about Willa, a young girl (12, if I remember correctly) who returns to her home town to live with her dad and his new family after her mother dies. She loves the ocean and the story is about how it (and her whale friend Meg) helps her to navigate her new life and begin to heal. Highly recommended!
andriaerin's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a sweet, poignant story dealing with coping, sadness, and loss. I think that it delicately handled how a person who lost a parent might have been feeling without making those feeling seem wrong or like they just needed to get over it to be happy. At no point in the story did anyone tell Willa that she shouldn't feel sad anymore; instead, they helped her overcome the sadness so that it didn't feel so unbearable. The interactions between Willa and her family and friends felt genuine and enjoyable to read. Willa herself never felt whiny or overbearing, but felt like someone I could easily connect to. This is a great story to normalize and humanize sadness and feeling overwhelmed by negative things, but also allowed for the reader to experience humor, joy, and the sense of overcoming something difficult. It was a truly enjoyable read
mrs_eileen_dontreadlikethem's review against another edition
3.0
Healing can happen through many ways and sometimes it happens through talking to the ocean. Willa's love of ocean animals grounds her but also keeps her connected to her decreased mother. By the end of the book part of you feels like you read nonfiction with it's simple short facts about marine biology in the journal part of the book. The comparison between Willa's stepmother and a guppy due to their reproduction speed will have you guiltily laughing to yourself. That may have to do with being a mother. Would a child laugh? I don't know. This whole book reads like an adult talking through a child. As the book continues it eventually finds its flow. As an adult I enjoyed the commentary on technology through Willa's eyes as well as the class debate over video games. But again were they authentic children voices being shared? Willa's constant dialogue of doubt running through her mind hit home in the best way possible for me. Willa and the Whale feels like it is written for a specific kind of reader ( an old soul).