Welcome to the second day of my Recommendations Under the Radar: Ingo series. (Don't miss the entire RADAR schedule here. )
Today I'll be telling you about The Tide Knot--the second volume of the Ingo series. It will be published in February 2008 in the U.S. by HarperCollins. (It is currently available in the U.K., Canada, and Australia.)
As The Tide Knot opens, Sapphire and Conor are learning to cope since the disappearance of their father into the sea. Mum has moved the kids from their Cornwall cottage on the cove to the bigger town of St. Pirans. Mum and Conor thrive in their new environment, but Sapphire misses her cove and the world she discovered in Ingo--the world of the Mer.
Sappy learns more about the Mer and their ways as The Tide Knot progresses. She also discovers why she is drawn to this alien and beautiful life in the deep. A "chance" encounter with Granny Crane, an elderly woman knowledgeable in the ways of the Earth, tells her all she needs to know. Granny says:
- 'But I never knew any with the Mer blood and the human divided so equal as it is in you. Half and half you are. It must be the way the inheritance has come down to you. It weakens in one generation, and grows strong in the next.'
And Sapphire soon discovers that this time she is called to the sea for a purpose. Some of the Mer are restless and ready to take revenge against the humans for what they have done to the world of the seas. Revenge comes swiftly as devastating coastal flooding, and Sapphire has to work with the Mer to restore the tides and save her town and family. It’s a nail-biting race to the finish as Sapphire works with the Mer, whales, dolphins, and sharks to save not only the seas, but also the Earth and her home.
Over the course of The Tide Knot, Sapphy learns more about the Mer, some of the truth of her father’s disappearance and, most importantly, that she has a baby brother under the seas. Sapphy's devotion to her family on Earth is tested in ways she never thought possible, and her courage tried in her efforts to restore the balance between Earth and the Seas.
As in Ingo, Dunmore's taut, lyrical prose moves the story along, while also providing language to savor. Middle Grade readers will be drawn into the world of the Mer with Sapphy and consider the bond between the land and the seas. Just watch them closely when you go to the beach!
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Today's RADAR schedule:
A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy: The President's Daughter series by Ellen Emerson White
Jen Robinson's Book Page: The Zilpha Keatley Snyder Green Sky trilogy
Bildungsroman: Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn: A Discussion Part 1
Chasing Ray: Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn: A Discussion Part 2
lectitans: Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn: A Discussion Part 3
Finding Wonderland: The House on Hound Hill by Maggie Prince
Miss Erin: The Reb & Redcoats and Enemy Brothers, both by Constance Savery
Bookshelves of Doom: Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher
Interactive Reader: Shake Down the Stars by Frances Donnelly
Chicken Spaghetti: Pooja Makhijani guest blogs with Romina's Rangoli by Malathi Michelle Iyengar:
Writing & Ruminating: Dear Mr. Rosenwald by Carole Weatherford
Shaken & Stirred: Elizabeth Knox and the Dreamhunter Duet
