Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Xoc by Matt Dembicki

Title: Xoc
Author: Matt Dembicki
Publication Date: July 25, 2012
Length: 120 pages

Xoc tells the story of a great white shark who is on a long journey. Along the way, the shark is joined by a turtle, whose fin has been damaged by a boat. As the two travel through the ocean, they encounter many dangers, from natural predators to floating garbage patches.

This book would be a good introduction for kids to the negative effects our pollution has on the oceans. Although, some explaining would be required, since I doubt most kids could recognise the oil barrels and other dangers, and they aren't really explained in the book, since everything is from the point of view of the shark, who doesn't know what these things are.

I liked the turtle, and I enjoyed the interaction between the two characters, but the story fell a bit flat for me. And the way the shark talked was too unnatural to be able to read smoothly. (I know, I know, what's unnatural speaking for a shark? But I found the ellipses tiresome. "How much farther... do you plan... on following me?" I didn't quite get what the author was going for with that.)

2 stars, which are entirely for the delightful turtle.

This book counts for the 2012 A-Z Book Challenge.

Full disclosure: Free e-book copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.

2 comments:

  1. Too bad. I kind of like the idea. It was like Nemo.

    I've recently started following you thanks to RCCleanup, if you have time drop by http://emaginette.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I liked the idea, too! It just didn't deliver for me, sadly.

      Glad to have you here! :) I'll check out your blog, too.

      Delete