The Shark Caller

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As the girls’ friendship develops, they find themselves caught up in a compelling mystery to uncover the secrets that Maple’s grieving father is hiding, secrets that uncover their family’s history and reveal a longing to change the past …

Walaupun aku udah tau “plot twist” dari buku ini, The Shark Caller tetap menarik bagiku untuk mencari tau bagaimana kebenaran tentang Blue Wing terungkap. Ah she's a pure soul. Aku jatuh cinta dengan cara Bethell menciptakan karakter Blue Wing. Nggak sepenuhnya bijaksana karena dia masih kecil tetapi banyak perkataan yang keluar dari dirinya yang cukup buat aku kagum. I know she's a complete fictional character but I'm one hundred percent sure there are children with the same personality as Blue Wing. Anak-anak yang didewasakan oleh keadaan. The Shark Caller is Zillah Bethell’s remarkable new book that leaves you completely stunned and totally in awe of the wonderful storytelling. Hiu bikpela biasanya betina. Hiu betina di banyak spesies lebih besar daripada jantannya. Jadi kemungkinan Xok itu betina, atau jantan yang tru bikpela. Such a stunning book deserves a glorious cover and we are absolutely delighted to exclusively reveal the image below. The cover has been illustrated by Saara Katariina Söderlund, and designed by Katharine Millichope. Chimera’s appearance in the story, begins to change the way Blue Wing thinks about Maple. The daughter of a witch-doctor, Chimera has been cast out of the village by Bigman, to live in a cave. Blue Wing likes to visit her and talk. On one occasion, she takes along Maple, who wants to ask Chimera a very important and sensitive question.Glad you’re managing to keep some time to yourself at the weekends. Hope the testing isn’t too unpleasant! We’re all fine thank you 😊 x Blue Wing lives with her guardian Siringen, a shark-caller, on the outskirts of her village. She’s desperate to become a shark-caller herself to avenge the death of her parents, who were killed by a notorious shark, Xok. But it’s against tradition for a girl to become one, and Siringen believes Blue Wing still harbours too much anger in her heart. An unlikely friendship begins between both, brought together through loss, and soon the girls become suspicious of the actions of intentions of Maple's father. Why does he need Blue Wing's carer, the local Shark Caller, Siringen, to map out the coast for him? Why is he interested in coral when his specialism is in World War 2? And what of Xok? The shark that killed Blue Wing's parents? Does he still hunt these waters?

I love stories from other settings and cultures and this is one of the best I have read in quite some time. Lots of new books receive plenty of ‘book chat’ on social media but none more so than this one. It has been raved about on all social media platforms and I was excited to read it to see if it lived up to all of the hype.Can the two girls discover what secrets Maple’s father is hiding from her, and what will happen when Blue Wing decides to try to summon the sharks without Siringen’s knowledge? Will she be able to break the traditions of her people and take over from him to become the latest in a long line of Shark Callers, or is she destined for something else? Occasionally a book comes along that draws me in entirely with its compelling story and characters. This is one of those stories. It evoked images of some of my favourite writers, Sophie Anderson, Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Eva Ibbotson in it's style and themes. The way Zillah Bethell created a sense of place in this was stunning and skilful writing. Firstly, I must say I loved the setting of the tale. I didn’t even know that Shark Calling was a thing and that New Ireland in Papua New Guinea was famous for it. I thought the author did a brilliant job in bringing out people and their lifestyles into this book. Reading this book made me further research Shark Calling’s topic, and I found it fascinating.

I’m going to shout about this book everywhere I go because it is EXTRAORDINARY!” Eloise Williams, Children’s Laureate Wales What an absolutely stunning book. I fell in love with the cover - the vibrant rich deep of the ocean and the story just blew me away. Blue Wing wants to be a Shark Caller but her waspapi says she cannot be one. We follow Blue Wing's story as she meets and befriends Maple Hamelin. Someone who eats in a restaurant with orchids,” was another suggestion. This because an orchid collector often came to the village and made us search for orchids in exchange for razor blades. To sell to the restaurants, she said, where rich people eat. The story’s characters are solid and interesting – moneymen, spiritual healers, visitors and seekers. They represent the past, present and future of Papua New Guinea, altered over time by outside influence and Western ‘progress’. The sea, beach and mountains all play their parts in this, too. But it’s Maple and Blue Wing who steal the show. The girls are adventurous and intuitive, innocent victims of misfortune who are unafraid of the unknown. They are ready to face their demons head on, and learn the truth of their place on earth. Meskipun untuk anak - anak, temanya sendiri cukup universal. Di luar cerita tentang pemanggil hiu, dinamika di Papua Nugini plus penggunaan bahasa Inggris Tok Pisin-nya, tema utama buku ini adalah bagaimana memaafkan diri sendiri dan menghadapi rasa duka. Bethell cukup piawai dalam menjabarkan lima fase duka (penyangkalan, amarah, menawar, depresi dan penerimaan), terutama pada sosok Maple dan Mr Hamelin. Penyampaiannya pun enak dibaca tanpa terasa menggurui. Bahkan untuk hati gue yang menurut gue udah cukup keras karena kenyataan hidup pun, membaca The Shark Caller legit make me (almost) ugly crying. Memang terasa ada beberapa narasi yang tampak bijaksana padahal keluar dari sudut pandang Blue Wing yang notabene baru usia 12an tahun, masih anak - anak. Tapi mungkin juga anak - anak pun sejatinya bisa berpikir lebih pijak ketimbang orang dewasa.This book is mobeta than I expected. Positive vibe di sepanjang cerita, peran antagonis tipis-tipis yang gak hitam-putih belaka, lalu penjabaran latar tempat dan sejarahnya sedap banget. PLOTTWISTNYA!!! Padahal di sepanjang cerita mereka ngomongin hantu dan tetek bengeknya, dan alasan Siringen gak mau mewarisi ilmunya ke Blue Wing yang terlalu samar, tapi nggak nyangka ternyata begitu endingnya. So clever! So cleverly written with a huge turning point I did not see coming at all, the moment when all the pieces of the jigsaw fitted and the plot came together was just breath-taking! And the ending... an ending so moving, it gives me goosebumps and the biggest lump in my throat just thinking about it. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time - for 'the long now' as they say in Papaun. When Maple and her father arrive on the island, Blue Wing is not impressed. Not only does she have to give up her hut, she is expected to befriend this rude new girl too, who has no interest in learning about the ‘weird, stupid’ village and its inhabitants. It’s clear that neither girl wants to be friends and they argue and disagree over almost everything.