{"id":36698,"date":"2022-02-17T23:39:54","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T03:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36698"},"modified":"2022-02-17T23:40:35","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T03:40:35","slug":"review-of-the-line-tender-by-kate-allen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36698","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Line Tender, by Kate Allen"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Line Tender<\/em><\/p>\n

by Kate Allen<\/p>\n

Dutton Children\u2019s Books, 2019. 373 pages.
\nReview written August 28, 2019, from a library book<\/p>\n

Fair warning: The Line Tender<\/em> is very sad.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d heard that about it, and I thought it was because Lucy\u2019s mother died five years before the book starts. Lucy\u2019s mother was a biologist who loved to swim with sharks, and swimming with sharks wasn\u2019t what killed her. Lucy\u2019s reminded of her mother when one of their friends, a fisherman, has a great white shark swim into his net and brings it to the shore. <\/p>\n

Lucy and her friend Fred get a good look at the shark. They\u2019re going to put it into the Field Guide they are doing this summer for extra credit. Fred wants to be a biologist. He writes the words for the Field Guide. Lucy is an artist, she draws the pictures. She needs to get understand that shark in order to draw it well.<\/p>\n

Lucy\u2019s father is a diver for the police department and often works to rescue people. When a team is diving to search and rescue someone, the line tender holds the line above the surface and directs the search.<\/p>\n

The great white shark disappears in the night, during a storm. So Fred and Lucy use her mother\u2019s books to get more information about sharks.<\/p>\n

All this happens, and then something terribly sad happens, too.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s all handled well and written well. And the sadness is acknowledged, and people struggle with coping and healing. And there are setbacks and there is progress. It is realistic but hopeful, showing how people can continue on with resilience.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all a beautiful book \u2013 and might be especially enjoyable for someone interested in marine biology and sharks \u2013 but I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019d ever want to recommend it to a child. I admit that I closed the book with a smile. But I would warn any reader \u2013 don\u2019t read this book unless you\u2019re prepared to be sad. <\/p>\n

penguin.com\/middle-grade<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

This review is only on the blog.<\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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