Author: Natasha Carthew
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Details: 272pp, £12.99, hardback
IBSN: 9781408868607
Teacher review
Bloomsbury has advertised Only the Ocean as being perfect for fans of Sarah Crossan and Patrick Ness; as this pitch exactly matches my reading tastes, my expectations were high. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed, as neither the plot nor the writing lived up to the work of these two authors. I struggled to get to grips with the rhythm of Carthew’s writing, and some of her description served only to remove me from the story rather than allow me to get caught up in it.
I loved the premise of a Cornwall partially submerged by floods, leaving the poorest fighting for survival in swampland, while the rich and privileged literally look down on them from towers. But seeing as the main character, Kel, leaves the county almost immediately, this fascinating setting feels wasted.
Kel has a plan to escape her life by kidnapping the daughter of a ship’s captain, using the proceeds to fund a new heart and a new life in South America. The first half of the book is action-packed, and requires a large amount of suspension of disbelief from the reader, especially with regard to Kel’s baby, who has an ability to survive anything and everything. This is a major problem with the book for me, especially as I don’t think the presence of the baby adds anything to the plot or to Kel’s character - it only serves to irritate, as you wonder how on Earth this breastfed child survives when Kel disappears for a couple of days, or how he survives a boat capsizing.
Likewise, there are references to Kel’s heart problem and the fact that she has only kidnapped Rose because she wants to be able to afford an operation, but this doesn’t go anywhere and I am still unsure as to whether Kel really does have a heart problem at all.
The relationship between Kel and Rose (the girl she kidnaps) is an interesting one, but it only really gets a chance to develop once the plot slows down, and it is in the section when they are stranded on an island that Carthew’s writing is at its strongest and the tone fully matches the plot. This final third of the book is by far the best part of the whole novel and I am glad that I had to review this book because I may not have reached this point otherwise.
Overall, this is an inconsistent book, but its moments of beauty are certainly worth reading and I will happily recommend it to some voracious readers.
Ros Harding is head librarian and archivist at the King’s School, Chester
Pupil reviews: ‘It didn’t grip me’
Only the Ocean is OK. I would have liked it a bit more if it was my type of genre/book. It was a bit of this and then a bit of that because lots of things were “crammed” into a small number of pages. I think the author could have spread the book out more and made it a better read. Also, the ending felt a bit rushed because at one point they were on the island and then they were back on the mainland getting healed; Rose’s leg was fixed in less than a day by some random people, and then they just walk away together promising to never go on the sea again, which was a bit weird.
Harry Weetch, Year 8
When I first picked up this book I thought I was going to love it, as the cover was so eye-catching and intriguing. Sadly, this book was a disappointment. I think the cover did not reflect the storyline well and misled the reader. It was really slow to get going in terms of the action and I didn’t connect with any of the characters. On the plus side, the book did have lovely imagery, and showed bravery and heart. It also had a very interesting concept - the main idea was an original one. The ending pulled the plot together and was a fitting end to the story. But I would not recommend this book, as it didn’t grip me and I had to push myself to keep reading to the end. The main premise was a clever idea, but I didn’t engage enough with the characters to make this a page-turner of a book.
Beth Aldridge, Year 9
When first handed the book I was immediately captivated by the artistic, vibrant cover: various shades of blue waves wash around a silhouette of a girl on a boat. However, starting to read the story, I was presented with different images than the one on the cover and, overall, I think that the story contrasts with the front of the book and the cover can be quite misleading. This book was a very powerful and fierce read, and the plot stands out from other books I have read. But I feel the intriguing storyline was blanketed with the heavy use of descriptive prose, which, although very beautiful to read, distanced me from the characters; I therefore found it more challenging to connect with the storyline. I think the concept of the story was wonderful, but the style of the book affected my overall interest and enjoyment of the book.
Nithikka Senthil Kumar, Year 9
Kel and Rose’s story is intense, full of surprising turns, and well developed. Carthew manages to give each character a story that you sympathise with. However, Carthew does not evenly spread out her story and details. The book starts off slow with only a few key points of the story developed with plenty of detail, then towards the end of the book, she doesn’t give the same attention to detail that she did before. I felt that she crammed the end of the story - if she had spread her work out, I definitely would have loved it a lot more.
Vibha Shetty, Year 9
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