Es war düsterer, die Themen heftiger als ich erwartet hatte, aber es war auch so ein wichtiges Thema.

Het gaat niet iedere bladzijde over haar moeder/ouders, maar logisch is Julia daar wel veel mee bezig. Ze ontmoet Kin en Adrian in het dorp. Kin is aardig, maar Adrian pest. Although my expectations where high, I'm happy to say that this story met them head on! It's one of those stories that transcends its age-demographic and moves straight into instant-classic territory. It's emotional journey for all ages, and honestly the kind of book I hope to see parents read, by themselves, or preferable together with their child. The story is a wonderful starting-point for meaningful conversations, yet stands powerful enough on its own not to require explanation for its emotional resonance. Tom de Freston's stunning illustrations perfectly complement the poetry of Kiran Millwood Hargrave's story - Cressida CowellEen aantal teksten, haar dromen, zijn cursief en in de vorm van een haai. Haar dromen worden minder zorgeloos naarmate de dagen in de vuurtoren verstrijken. It was much darker and the themes so much more intense than I expected, but it's an important topic. A beautiful, lyrical, uplifting story about a mother, a daughter, and love – with timely themes of the importance of science and the environment. Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer - her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother's obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope... Somewhere between the ocean waves and the lighthouse surprises, there’s home for me I felt while reading this short middle grade book.

Das Thema um mentale Gesundheit fand ich wirklich richtig gut geschrieben und mit Respekt behandelt. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing -

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Julia and her parents take off from their home in Cornwall to live in a lighthouse on Shetland. Her father is working on fixing the lighthouse light while her mother is determined to explore the wide and very cold seas to find an elusive Greenland shark. While Julia’s father is practical, methodical and minds about numbers, Julia’s mother minds about words and about the scientific research she is so passionate about. While Julia begins to make friends with the few other children around, her mother becomes more and more absorbed in the search for the shark. Nothing will stop her - not the danger and not the cost. Julia wants to help her mother to fulfil her dream but she also knows that there is something irrational, uncontrolled and deadly dangerous about what she is planning to do. A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure! - Jacqueline Wilson

Even' beginnen aan dit boek is best lastig, want dat even breidt zich uit naar 'even+even+even'. Je merkt snel dat het leest, zowel door de zinnen van de auteur als door de vertaling van Maria Postema. Niet goed uit te leggen, maar je merkt dat de woorden allemaal bij elkaar passen en de sfeer dus overkomt op de lezer. Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars – a classic from cover to cover’ Eoin Colfer Award-winning Kiran Millwood Hargrave tells a story of great power and significance with incredible sensitivity and writerly skill. By drawing on both, Julia and the Shark is magical, imaginative and mysterious while also dealing with complex emotions and situations. Julia woont gedurende één zomer op een Schots eiland waar haar moeder op zoek gaat naar een zeldzame Groenlandse haai. De enthousiaste en vrolijke emoties maken ineens plaats voor wanhoop en leegte. Aan het begin van het boek vertelt Julia al dat haar moeder meer is dan de getallenreeks op een polsbandje, maar getallen zeggen niets over wie haar moeder is. En woorden zeggen ook niet altijd alles. Ze verloor bijna haar moeder, maar op welke manier is voor geen enkele lezer duidelijk. Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.Truly extraordinary. Julia and the Shark is contemporary MG at its best but with a hint of the fantastic. It is the kind of book that you will want to have on your shelves and treasure - Katherine Webber Tsang Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments I could see this becoming a modern children’s classic. Julia and her parents (and not forgetting the cat, Noodle) are off on an island adventure to Unst, in the north of Shetland, where her father will keep the lighthouse for a summer and her mother, a marine biologist, will search for the Greenland shark, a notably long-lived species she’s researching in hopes of discovering clues to human longevity – a cause close to her heart after her own mother’s death with dementia. Julia makes friends with Kin, a South Asian boy whose family run the island laundromat-cum-library. They watch stars and try to evade local bullies together. But one thing Julia can’t escape is her mother’s mental health struggle (late on named as bipolar: “Mum sometimes bounced around like Tigger, and other times she was mopey like Eeyore”). Julia thinks that if she can find the shark, it might fix her mother. Tekst en illustraties zijn één verhaal en ondersteunen elkaar precies goed. De illustraties zijn soms heel duidelijk, soms lijkt het een vlek maar is er meer te zien als je beter kijkt.