Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Willa and the Whale by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown Book Review

Book Details

Willa and the Whale

by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

Publication Date: 3/3/20 Hardcover

ISBN: 9781629727318

Retail Price: $16.99 Page Count: 256

Middle Grade Fiction

Book Design: © Shadow Mountain

Cover Illustration: © Iconic Bestiary/Shutterstock.com

Art Direction: Richard Erickson Design: Emily Remington

***I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own***

Book Synopsis:

Can a whale talk to a human? Willa thinks so...

After losing her mom, Willa is grieving and having a hard time living with her dad and his new family on an island off the coast of Washington State. Her dad tries to cheer her up by taking her whale watching, something Willa's mom used to do.

While all the passengers are on one side of the boat, Willa encounters a humpback whale on the opposite side. Willa feels so lonely that she starts to talk to the whale—and the whale talks back!

The whale, named Meg, quickly becomes a trusted friend and confidante Willa can speak to whenever she's by the ocean.

Meg offers sound advice Willa needs about dealing with a nemesis at school and trying to figure out why her friend Marc is keeping secrets about his family life.

Before the story ends, it will take all of Willa's courage and connections to tackle a problem that's as big as a blue whale!

My Review

I really loved this story of a thirteen-year-old girl and her journey through grief after the death of her mom. Willa had been living with her Marine Biologist mother in Japan after her parent's divorce. Her mom passes away and she heads back to the US to live with her dad, his new wife, and several step-siblings. Willa is suffering as she tries to adjust to life with this new family living in her old house. Willa doesn't know if her old best friend still wants to be her friend. Her life is filled with doubts and sorrow. Willa finds a friend and mentor in a humpback whale that she met while on a whale watching tour with her dad. Honestly, I loved this aspect of the novel. Willa found someone she could share all of her troubles with and Meg, the whale, was able to help her find the answers she was looking for.

This novel highlights so much middle school angst, tweens and teens will be able to really relate to Willa, her bestie Marc, and her snotty rival, Lizzy. The uncertainties of fitting in and being good enough are shown many times in the book. I liked to see how each one of the teens grew and became better people. Willa's development as a person was the greatest, as she with Meg's help learned to let the anger go, forgive others, and finally learn to start healing from the loss of her mom. Funny enough, Meg the "talking" whale was my favorite character. I loved her humor and sound advice she gave to Willa. I truly enjoyed the moments that Willa and Meg chatted with one another.

I recommend this book to tweens, teens, and adults. This book would be a great family read-aloud.

Meet Authors:

SHELLY BROWN was born in the Northwest and grew up near the ocean. It’s a part of her. She can surf and point out all sorts of sea creatures and plants (though not necessarily at the same time.) Now that she lives in the mountains, she has saved money, planned, and taken Chad and their five kids to both coasts to swim, surf, search tide pools, snorkel, and watch sea lions, seals, turtles, whales, and more. Her soul speaks ocean.

Growing up, CHAD MORRIS was fascinated by blue whales. He read books about the world’s largest creature and did grade school reports on them. He drew pictures of them and taped them to his wall (the pictures, not whales—that would be impossible). He would love to see a blue whale in real life, but he’d rather not meet a Bobbitt or zombie worm. Seriously, he’d prefer his bones not become jelly.