Sharks!

Stine, R.L. Shark Night

July 2, 2024 by Blackstone Publishing

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Liam's mother makes documentary television programs and wants to put together one for the Danger Channel. When executives don't like her "Pool Party" idea (invite people to a luxury pool and surprise them by letting killer sharks loose in it), she spitballs a different idea. What about putting a KID in a tank with a shark. The network loves the idea, but Liam makes his mother promise that HE won't be the kid in the tank. She does, and a swimmer and actor named Swan is hired for the show. WHen Liam accidentally causes Swan to break his ankle, he finds himself being put into the tank. Not only that, but when the shark is lowered in, it's not the old, toothless hammerhead his mother promised, but a bull shark, the most dangerous type of shark in the world. Not only that, but the tank he is in explodes, and he is washed out to sea. Luckily, he comes across two sailors, Sully and Ernie, whose trained dolphin has rescued him. They say they are "gathering sharks"... and want to use Liam for bait. He'll be safe, in a cage, and they just need to nick him a LITTLE to draw blood. Panicked, he jumps off the boat, and the dolphin takes him to an island where there is a resort. He meets his sister, Rosa, there. There's no good explanation why she is there, and why Liam's mother isn't looking for him, but he is determined to get in to the resort and find someone with a phone to let him call. The staff is suspicious and say that no phones are allowed, but the two find a kid named Derek who says he will help... but then calls the security guards. Liam finally calls home, but his mother denies she has children. Liam ends up in a lagoon with pirahnas, and Swan shows up to save him. What about his broken ankle? Something is clearly not right. What is going on in Liam's worl?
Strengths: This was fast paced, a little goofy, and didn't have a dull moment. Liam is a reasonable character who finds himself in difficult circumstances but manages to survive in a resilient manner. Rosa was slightly evil, the way most siblings in Stine's work are. The mother was somewhat enigmatic, but this also makes sense given the circumstances. There are enough shark details to keep future marine biologists happy, and the cover is fantastic. 
Weaknesses: I knew exactly what was happening and who was responsible about two pages after Liam got washed out to sea. Of course, I have read everything Stine has written in the last twenty years, so I grok his style. Young readers will just love the fact that bad things are constantly happening and Liam is surviving it all! 
What I really think: Middle school students LOVE Shark Week, and there aren't a whole lot of books about sharks. This is a bit goofy, but have it swim along with Monniger's Dragged From Under series, Northrop's Surrounded by Sharks, or Spradlin's Menace From the Deep.

Crumpton, Nick and Scott, Gavin (illus.)

Everything You Know About Sharks in Wrong!

May 7, 2024 by Nosy Crow

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Here's the perfect book for Shark Week from the team that brought you Everything You Know About Dinosaurs is Wrong! Tween shark aficionados will tell you that sharks are misunderstood, but they need this book to provide the ammunition needed to disabuse those who don't understand sharks of their misconceptions! In the process of addressing various wrongly held ideas, each two page rebuttal to commonly held beliefs (sharks eat people!) offers a lot of information about things that are true about sharks. Where they live, different types, what they eat, and even statistics on various deadly creatures add to the general knowledge about sharks and amuse avid readers. There's a great glossary at the back of the book, as well as a much needed index. 

Not only does this book have a wealth of printed information, but the illustrations also provide a lot of helpful material. I love that there is so much blue in the backgrounds; it makes the pictures of sharks look like they are swimming. It also makes it a little harder to read the smaller fonts on the pages, but younger readers won't notice this as much as I did. 

I can't say that I was all that frightened of sharks, since they are about as unlikely to show up in my yard as I am to show up on the beach, but now I am a little concerned about cows, who apparently killed 22 people in 2021! 

Readers who like sharks often swim towards nonfiction books like Littleboy's How It Works: Sharks or Silen's Can't Get Enough Shark Stuff, but I love to pair nonfiction with fiction books on the same topic. This is perfect for readers who are enjoying Márquez's Swimming With Sharks, Monninger's The Great White Shark, Spradlin's Into the Killing Seas or Northrop's Surrounded by Sharks!