Book Review: Race to the Bottom of the Sea

Synopsis: Fidelia loves nothing more than spending time with her marine biologist parents, Dr. and Dr. Quail on the water tagging sharks, gathering new specimens and inventing new machines. But, when her parents die in a tragic accident in Fidelia’s own submarine invention, she is racked with guilt and grief. Soon, she is capture by the pirate Merrick the Monstrous and is forced on his ship to retrieve his treasure from the bottom of the ocean. As Fidelia learns more about Merrick and his crew, she realizes all is not what it seems, but with the Navy hot on their trail will she be able to uncover the treasure before it’s too late or will she die in the water that she loves at the hands of a monster?

Review: So, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t super excited to pick this title up and I’m honestly not sure why. I really enjoyed Lindsay Eagar’s novel  Hour of the Bees and I’m a huge fan of anything that has to do with pirates, but this book’s cover just didn’t grab me. And let me tell you, this is one of my new favorite’s of 2017 – Eagar built a world that I fell completely into and didn’t want to leave, with characters that I fell in love with (even at their worst) because they were so complex. Yes, I know pirates are horrible people who don’t follow the law by stealing, looting, killing, pillaging and more but my heart ached for Merrick the Monstrous and his small, motley crew. My heart ached for Fidelia (who I was convinced would find her parents by book’s end). And I absolutely adored the setting of Arborley – a town that I could totally live in (if Fidelia’s aunt would give up the librarian job!). This is my newest must-read title and one that I won’t soon forget or stop gushing about for the next few weeks months. Do yourself a favor and pick up this title… NOW!

Twitter Booktalk (280ish characters or less): When Fidelia’s parents die in an accident in her beloved sea, will she have the strength to get back on a boat after being captured by pirates in order to save herself and find the treasure?

Title: Race to the Bottom of the Sea
Author: Lindsay Eagar
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: October 10, 2017
Page Number: 432 pgs.