“Stories you read when you're the right age never quite leave you. You may forget who wrote them or what the story was called. Sometimes you'll forget precisely what happened, but if a story touches you it will stay with you, haunting the places in your mind that you rarely ever visit.” ― Neil Gaiman
Amen, NG! (I love that I continually see eye to eye with a man whose nickname is Scary Trousers.) I just finished a book that had staying power. In fact, after closing the cover of Wild Dark Shore, I woke up the morning after thinking about it. And it just so happens that when I got my hair cut last night, both my girl Devron and her amazing friend Ally had read Charlotte McConaghy’s latest. Boy did we have a yammer sesh about this new atmospheric novel.
I’m new to McConaghy. Apparently, her books are “highly readable, with a skillful mix of plot and character, thought-provoking scientific and ethical problems, and a palpable sense of place that generates a sense of wonder. Wild Dark Shore’s setting is a foreboding island. Inspired by Macquarie Island (located between New Zealand and Antarctica), Shearwater is home to royal penguins, albatrosses, seals and a damaged family who’s charged with caring for a seed vault after a group of researchers flee the island because of rapidly advancing sea levels. During the final 6 months that they’re tasked with supervision and survival, a near-dead body washes up on shore after a ferocious storm. Mystery washes in with her. Not surprisingly, the Salt family (although broken) heals her and vice versa.
Wild Dark Shore has secrets, twists, intrigue—all the good stuff. Devron gave this spellbinder 4.5 stars, while Ally (the idealist) offered up 4 stars. In lieu of stars, I’ll make a promise: odds are Shearwater will immerse you too.
Posted by Tracy