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Sea Change
Publishers Weekly BEST Books for Summer 2016
"Sea Change is like a dip in cold Canadian waters: just step inside, and soon you're completely swept away, finding yourself overwhelmed and breathless, entranced by this whirlwind of a book. Bravo, Frank Viva. And glub, glub, glub." - Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events
"Truly heartbreaking! Viva ingeniously weaves words and pictures to evoke that strange, wonderful moment - when the very worst experience of your life somehow becomes the very best." - Chip Kidd, author of Only What's Necessary: Charles M. Schulz and the Art of Peanuts
One summer can change your whole life. As soon as school lets out, Eliot's parents send him to the very edge of the world: a fishing village in a remote part of Nova Scotia. And what does the small town of Point Aconi have to offer? Maggots, bullies and grumpy old men. But along the way, Eliot discovers much more—a hidden library, starry nights and a mysterious girl named Mary Beth. See Point Aconi through Eliot's eyes, as he finds that this place he never wanted to visit is becoming a home he doesn't want to leave.
120 pages, Hardcover
First published May 12, 2016
13 people are currently reading
759 people want to read
About the author
Frank Viva
20 books50 followersFrank Viva is an illustrator and designer who lives in Toronto, Canada. He is a cover artist for The New Yorker and sits on two college advisory boards. He is passionate about cooking, eating, and his daily bike ride to the office.
His first picture book, Along a Long Road, received wide critical acclaim and was chosen by the New York Times as one of the Ten Best Illustrated Books of 2011. A Trip to The Bottom of the World with Mouse is based on Frank’s experiences aboard a Russian research vessel during a trip to the Antarctic Peninsula.
His first picture book, Along a Long Road, received wide critical acclaim and was chosen by the New York Times as one of the Ten Best Illustrated Books of 2011. A Trip to The Bottom of the World with Mouse is based on Frank’s experiences aboard a Russian research vessel during a trip to the Antarctic Peninsula.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
June 7, 2016
I bought "Sea Change" written and illustrated by Frank Viva
this past week-end when I was in Berkeley at the Bay Area Book Festival. I had seen it on Netgally....was interested, but didn't request it because I had a hunch it would prefer the physical hardcover.
The 'physical hardcover' is lovely. Silky to touch. The illustrations are unique - they draw you in with human expressions - designs and color choices ( charcoal gray, pink, and buttercup yellow). It's really a beautiful artistic delightful book.
Frank is an award-winning artist and designer who lives in Toronto with his family.
Many decades ago he spent his summers in Point Aconi, Nova Scotia --while this story
is entirely fictional, Frank's memories of the place inspired it.
Eliot Dionist, is twelve years old, small for his age. He lives in Lakefield, Ontario.
He wishes more than anything to hang out with his two best friends Mike and Teddy during summer break.
However, his parents are sending him to Nova Scotia for the summer.
Eliot is not a happy. He doesn't want to spend his time with wrinkly old relatives who smelled like fish.
Eliot considers his mother the meanest mother in the world -- and it doesn't help that the new beach towel she bought him has a girly pink mermaid on it. He's cranky as can be about his life from the start....( yet I thought he was charming from the get-go).
When Eliot first arrives ..his fears are confirmed. Point Aconi is a small fishing village....
( it smells like fish). The first meal he is offered to eat is a tongue sandwich.
Eliot thought he die...and managed to be allowed a grilled cheese sandwich instead.
However, his Uncle Earl...gave him a first-meal-pass ....but his uncle is determined to teach him how to eat like a man....among other 'manly' things.
Eliot is a fish out of water...
It's not easy for him to fit in. He's worried that he doesn't know how to swim. There is
dried fish hanging from a clothesline at his grandmothers and Uncles house.
His uncle puts him to work filling buckets of half-rotten fish and maggots ....( for their fishing bait). He doesn't know how to fish, and there are teen bullies in town.
BUT....there is Mary Beth. They become friends. She doesn't make fun of his limitations, shyness, or awkwardness. She likes him.....actually likes him the way he is.
In time - over the summer Eliot is growing up- becoming more confident. He learns to fish, swim, eat lobster, expand compassion for others. Mary Beth is a side help too.
This is a charming coming of age book. It's 115 pages long. It's not really a graphic book...(yet the graphics are wonderful). It's small print typing --a little longer than most 'children's books of this type.
Yet, absolutely wonderful. I think 11 and 12 year olds might enjoy reading it....
I'm sure adults will appreciate the creative art and story.
It's heartwarming and enjoyable!
SWEET!
this past week-end when I was in Berkeley at the Bay Area Book Festival. I had seen it on Netgally....was interested, but didn't request it because I had a hunch it would prefer the physical hardcover.
The 'physical hardcover' is lovely. Silky to touch. The illustrations are unique - they draw you in with human expressions - designs and color choices ( charcoal gray, pink, and buttercup yellow). It's really a beautiful artistic delightful book.
Frank is an award-winning artist and designer who lives in Toronto with his family.
Many decades ago he spent his summers in Point Aconi, Nova Scotia --while this story
is entirely fictional, Frank's memories of the place inspired it.
Eliot Dionist, is twelve years old, small for his age. He lives in Lakefield, Ontario.
He wishes more than anything to hang out with his two best friends Mike and Teddy during summer break.
However, his parents are sending him to Nova Scotia for the summer.
Eliot is not a happy. He doesn't want to spend his time with wrinkly old relatives who smelled like fish.
Eliot considers his mother the meanest mother in the world -- and it doesn't help that the new beach towel she bought him has a girly pink mermaid on it. He's cranky as can be about his life from the start....( yet I thought he was charming from the get-go).
When Eliot first arrives ..his fears are confirmed. Point Aconi is a small fishing village....
( it smells like fish). The first meal he is offered to eat is a tongue sandwich.
Eliot thought he die...and managed to be allowed a grilled cheese sandwich instead.
However, his Uncle Earl...gave him a first-meal-pass ....but his uncle is determined to teach him how to eat like a man....among other 'manly' things.
Eliot is a fish out of water...
It's not easy for him to fit in. He's worried that he doesn't know how to swim. There is
dried fish hanging from a clothesline at his grandmothers and Uncles house.
His uncle puts him to work filling buckets of half-rotten fish and maggots ....( for their fishing bait). He doesn't know how to fish, and there are teen bullies in town.
BUT....there is Mary Beth. They become friends. She doesn't make fun of his limitations, shyness, or awkwardness. She likes him.....actually likes him the way he is.
In time - over the summer Eliot is growing up- becoming more confident. He learns to fish, swim, eat lobster, expand compassion for others. Mary Beth is a side help too.
This is a charming coming of age book. It's 115 pages long. It's not really a graphic book...(yet the graphics are wonderful). It's small print typing --a little longer than most 'children's books of this type.
Yet, absolutely wonderful. I think 11 and 12 year olds might enjoy reading it....
I'm sure adults will appreciate the creative art and story.
It's heartwarming and enjoyable!
SWEET!
November 18, 2016
3.5 stars for the story and 4 stars for the illustrations!!
Short book with a lot of message. Deals with alcoholism and child abuse, along with childhood memories and new traditions.
I needed a book with an authors surname starting with a "V". Not a lot of time to read, so I chose this small book. To my surprise I picked a gem.
Eliot was sent to an old fishing village in Nova Scotia, by his parents, to experience a different type of summer vacation. He hated to go! But once there, met new friends, learned to fish, and found out that secrets are not always best kept.
Wonderful illustrations, great story content - should be read by all preteens.
Short book with a lot of message. Deals with alcoholism and child abuse, along with childhood memories and new traditions.
I needed a book with an authors surname starting with a "V". Not a lot of time to read, so I chose this small book. To my surprise I picked a gem.
Eliot was sent to an old fishing village in Nova Scotia, by his parents, to experience a different type of summer vacation. He hated to go! But once there, met new friends, learned to fish, and found out that secrets are not always best kept.
Wonderful illustrations, great story content - should be read by all preteens.
April 28, 2017
A touching and timeless coming-of-age story, with an Eastern Canada [lobster?] flavor!
I loved this story of Eliot, who reluctantly spends his summer break with his great uncle on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Eliot's has an authentic voice throughout the novel; Viva captured that awkward 12/13-year-old age span with all its sensitivity, awkwardness, and growing self-awareness. I appreciated that Viva brought in larger themes of social justice and awareness too - not only is Eliot learning more about himself, but he learns about family secrets and histories, exploitation and degradation of land, and relationships of trust. It's a social awakening for him.
AND THE ART!
This book is hard to categorize as a graphic novel or comic. It has more text, with several beautiful drawings in muted colors tones (pink, dark green, and the yellow as you see on the cover) in the margins, or set inside of the text. The text is designed and configured in many different patterns, including swirls, staircases, circles, and diagonally down the page. Viva artistically renders the words as beautifully as he sketches a visual scene.
I loved this story of Eliot, who reluctantly spends his summer break with his great uncle on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Eliot's has an authentic voice throughout the novel; Viva captured that awkward 12/13-year-old age span with all its sensitivity, awkwardness, and growing self-awareness. I appreciated that Viva brought in larger themes of social justice and awareness too - not only is Eliot learning more about himself, but he learns about family secrets and histories, exploitation and degradation of land, and relationships of trust. It's a social awakening for him.
AND THE ART!
This book is hard to categorize as a graphic novel or comic. It has more text, with several beautiful drawings in muted colors tones (pink, dark green, and the yellow as you see on the cover) in the margins, or set inside of the text. The text is designed and configured in many different patterns, including swirls, staircases, circles, and diagonally down the page. Viva artistically renders the words as beautifully as he sketches a visual scene.
November 24, 2016
I finished Sea Change in one brief sitting. It tops out at around 120 pages, which makes such an endeavor entirely appropriate and practical.
In Sea Change, Eliot packs his flimsy and unreliable suitcase with enough clothes and resentment to last the summer in Point Aconi, Nova Scotia, with his crotchety living ancestors and their small fishing community. Eliot begrudgingly wakes before the sun to join his uncle on his fishing boat, where he must quickly learn the ropes - literally - for life both on the sea and on the land in the small rural town. Eliot longs for his return to his Canadian city, but he soon finds his preconceptions challenged by a growing empathy for the residents he comes to know and love.
Frank Viva's Sea Change is a case study in coming-of-age. For the record, bildungsromans are my favorite type of story. Sea Change is unique in that it operates synecdochically: Eliot's brief summer spent in Point Aconi, encapsulated in just those 120 short pages, represents to us his entire maturation and loss of innocence. These themes are beautifully explored without naming them, which I truly appreciate and adored. The illustrations added gorgeously and playfully to the text, which kept me engaged, absorbed, and enthralled.
Personally, I feel Frank Viva's only misstep would be allowing his publisher to market this as a middle grade novel. It does not read as such; it reads more as a graphic novel, and would be more warmly welcomed by an audience already familiar with the pace and structure of such a text. For my students, particularly, the slang language and way of life of Point Aconi would be challenging to the point of frustrating and alienating. This is no fault of Viva's writing, it just does not align, to me, with a target audience of 10-12 year olds. I'd be interested to hear from children who have read it who could offer some insight on this judgment! Additionally, some of the events seem a little unbelievable for the narrator's experience (Eliot's romance, especially), but Viva drew on his own experience when crafting the novel, so I attempted to suspend my disbelief in this respect.
I'd highly recommend this short text to anyone who is a fan of prose-heavy graphic novels, such as Jane, the Fox, and Me; Hyperbole and a Half; and the novels of Brian Selznick.
In Sea Change, Eliot packs his flimsy and unreliable suitcase with enough clothes and resentment to last the summer in Point Aconi, Nova Scotia, with his crotchety living ancestors and their small fishing community. Eliot begrudgingly wakes before the sun to join his uncle on his fishing boat, where he must quickly learn the ropes - literally - for life both on the sea and on the land in the small rural town. Eliot longs for his return to his Canadian city, but he soon finds his preconceptions challenged by a growing empathy for the residents he comes to know and love.
Frank Viva's Sea Change is a case study in coming-of-age. For the record, bildungsromans are my favorite type of story. Sea Change is unique in that it operates synecdochically: Eliot's brief summer spent in Point Aconi, encapsulated in just those 120 short pages, represents to us his entire maturation and loss of innocence. These themes are beautifully explored without naming them, which I truly appreciate and adored. The illustrations added gorgeously and playfully to the text, which kept me engaged, absorbed, and enthralled.
Personally, I feel Frank Viva's only misstep would be allowing his publisher to market this as a middle grade novel. It does not read as such; it reads more as a graphic novel, and would be more warmly welcomed by an audience already familiar with the pace and structure of such a text. For my students, particularly, the slang language and way of life of Point Aconi would be challenging to the point of frustrating and alienating. This is no fault of Viva's writing, it just does not align, to me, with a target audience of 10-12 year olds. I'd be interested to hear from children who have read it who could offer some insight on this judgment! Additionally, some of the events seem a little unbelievable for the narrator's experience (Eliot's romance, especially), but Viva drew on his own experience when crafting the novel, so I attempted to suspend my disbelief in this respect.
I'd highly recommend this short text to anyone who is a fan of prose-heavy graphic novels, such as Jane, the Fox, and Me; Hyperbole and a Half; and the novels of Brian Selznick.
February 15, 2017
Sea Change could have been a fine book. The writing is strong, the illustrations and word art are fun, and most of the characters have potential. But Sea Change is really a forgettable book because the story is so lightly told and the characters are so soon abandoned by the author. The book isn't so much superficial as unfinished. I wish Frank Viva had used this as a draft, a treatment, and then gone on to write the book this could have been, one that makes the reader laugh and cry and care.
April 16, 2017
Entre 3 et 4 mon cœur balance...
Un bel album/roman, au design étonnant, où le graphisme du texte s'adapte à l'atmosphère du livre. Eliot a 12 ans et ses parents l'envoient pour les vacances en Nouvelle-Écosse, dans un tout petit village de pêcheurs au bord de la côte, où vit son grand-oncle. Sa mère a des souvenirs émus de ses vacances. Eliot, lui, se sent puni : il avait tout un été devant lui, un été avec ses amis.
On ne réinvente rien ici. L'été comme toile de fond à la révélation du caractère et des qualités du personnage ; les nouveaux amis, intéressants et différents ; le jeune citadin, maladroit dans sa tentative de s'adapter à un milieu si éloigné du sien ; les ados peu recommandables du village qui lui font des misères... Ce que je trouve intéressant, c'est qu'au lieu de mettre toute son attention sur l'histoire, comme on voit parfois dans la littérature jeunesse, l'auteur réussir à créer une atmosphère très particulière, presque intériorisée, qui se réchauffe au fur et à mesure que l'on avance dans la lecture. La violence physique est un des thèmes abordés dans cet album qui a du coeur.
Pas encore traduit, mais ça ne saurait tarder.
Un bel album/roman, au design étonnant, où le graphisme du texte s'adapte à l'atmosphère du livre. Eliot a 12 ans et ses parents l'envoient pour les vacances en Nouvelle-Écosse, dans un tout petit village de pêcheurs au bord de la côte, où vit son grand-oncle. Sa mère a des souvenirs émus de ses vacances. Eliot, lui, se sent puni : il avait tout un été devant lui, un été avec ses amis.
On ne réinvente rien ici. L'été comme toile de fond à la révélation du caractère et des qualités du personnage ; les nouveaux amis, intéressants et différents ; le jeune citadin, maladroit dans sa tentative de s'adapter à un milieu si éloigné du sien ; les ados peu recommandables du village qui lui font des misères... Ce que je trouve intéressant, c'est qu'au lieu de mettre toute son attention sur l'histoire, comme on voit parfois dans la littérature jeunesse, l'auteur réussir à créer une atmosphère très particulière, presque intériorisée, qui se réchauffe au fur et à mesure que l'on avance dans la lecture. La violence physique est un des thèmes abordés dans cet album qui a du coeur.
Pas encore traduit, mais ça ne saurait tarder.
April 26, 2017
I LOVED THIS BOOK! What a lovely story of a lovely town and lovely people painted clearly and colorfully through Viva's prose. Eliot's voice is authentic and charming. I wouldn't have believed I would know and care so much about a character in a short 120 pages. Although I shelved this book in graphic novels, it has a lot of text and is mixed in with drawings and sketches, as well as shape words and such, so perhaps it is a buff graphic novel? This book will appeal to my middle school students.
Lauren's review is on target for me:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Lauren's review is on target for me:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
October 6, 2020
- Advance Review Copy
Now I have to track down Frank Viva's other books. Which is to say that I really enjoyed SEA CHANGE. The clever artistic things he does with text will appeal to younger readers: my enthusiasm comes from the story about Eliot.
Eliot, you see, is a city boy. And at school's end he is all prepared for a summer of fun with his buddies. Instead of that his mom drops a bomb on him and informs Eliot that he is being shipped off to the edge of the world.
He spirals downward. Point Aconi is a small fishing village. What the heck does he know about this obscure place filled with strangers. He throws up.
Of course, his guess is right. He is completely out of place in the small fishing village. And yet... and yet, by going to a small place Eliot learns more about the wider world and himself than anyone would have guessed. (Except perhaps his mom. Mom's can be pretty smart.)
SEA CHANGE is a GOOD read. I loved the story and the description of life in the small village of Point Aconi. There's hard work on the water but also play. I was drawn into the world where people make a living from the sea with their hands, and shared Eliot's disgust of cooked tongue.
Best of all to me was the fact that this story isn't trite. There are greater issues that are dealt with. And Viva brings alive exactly what it's like for boys today to be on the brink of manhood.
This book is suitable for middle graders on up. There is bullying and hinted at violence. It's at 4.7 Accelerated Reading level. The artwork is just icing on the cake.
You should also note that this is not a Graphic Novel. It is a novel with some art. Quick read.
Now I have to track down Frank Viva's other books. Which is to say that I really enjoyed SEA CHANGE. The clever artistic things he does with text will appeal to younger readers: my enthusiasm comes from the story about Eliot.
Eliot, you see, is a city boy. And at school's end he is all prepared for a summer of fun with his buddies. Instead of that his mom drops a bomb on him and informs Eliot that he is being shipped off to the edge of the world.
He spirals downward. Point Aconi is a small fishing village. What the heck does he know about this obscure place filled with strangers. He throws up.
Of course, his guess is right. He is completely out of place in the small fishing village. And yet... and yet, by going to a small place Eliot learns more about the wider world and himself than anyone would have guessed. (Except perhaps his mom. Mom's can be pretty smart.)
SEA CHANGE is a GOOD read. I loved the story and the description of life in the small village of Point Aconi. There's hard work on the water but also play. I was drawn into the world where people make a living from the sea with their hands, and shared Eliot's disgust of cooked tongue.
Best of all to me was the fact that this story isn't trite. There are greater issues that are dealt with. And Viva brings alive exactly what it's like for boys today to be on the brink of manhood.
This book is suitable for middle graders on up. There is bullying and hinted at violence. It's at 4.7 Accelerated Reading level. The artwork is just icing on the cake.
You should also note that this is not a Graphic Novel. It is a novel with some art. Quick read.
January 12, 2018
Another library pick-up but this is not a graphic novel despite the illustrations, which caught my attention. Instead, is is a coming of age story. What really makes it work is the voice of Elliot. He has the blend of arrogance, petulance and neediness that makes up the teenage years. He wants desperately to be cool and accepted but fears what that might cost. A little drama about alcoholism and abuse, plus the environmental message, wasn't too heavy handed but the characters and their perspectives overcome any didacticism.
February 14, 2020
The story is good if a little short. It's kind of a pastoral, I guess. Though with a definite rough side.
The warp and play of the text is very interesting. The pictures add character to the book even when the writing is fairly thin. However, I found the color palette to be really off putting. I read it specifically because it came up on a list of books that hadn't been checked out in a long time, and I get why. Unless someone gets a specific recommendation, they're unlikely to choose an ugly book like this one.
The warp and play of the text is very interesting. The pictures add character to the book even when the writing is fairly thin. However, I found the color palette to be really off putting. I read it specifically because it came up on a list of books that hadn't been checked out in a long time, and I get why. Unless someone gets a specific recommendation, they're unlikely to choose an ugly book like this one.
June 3, 2017
I am in love with what the author did with the text and its layout in this story about a 12-year-old and his transformative summer month with relatives in Nova Scotia. And I equally hate the actual Bevis and Butthead-esque illustrations. It's a beautiful story in a beautiful setting with interesting things the narrator is seeing for the first time - the illustrations don't do it justice.
April 4, 2017
A quick read, but quite absorbing. I particularly liked the layout of the book. The change from simple left to right paragraphs to sentences written in the round, across the page and ones written to reflect the content made it even more absorbing. Quite enjoyable.
April 10, 2017
Even though this was written for a much younger audience, I still really liked it! It was very uniquely written in that the illustrations were included in the words, and the words wee also sometimes used in the illustrations. You kind of have to see it to know what I mean.
October 17, 2022
A coming of age story about a young boy spending a rustic summer working in his great Uncle’s fishing boat and running around with the local kids. It gave me Captains Courageous vibes. There was a great character growth and a heartwarming story.
December 23, 2023
I love how this story unfolds in Eliot’s sarcastic, idealistic, & imaginative 12 year old voice. Frank Viva’s creative text layouts and iconic illustrations made this 120 page book a treat to read. The small town Point Aconi characters are rich & real as are the heavy issues of corporate greed and domestic abuse that Eliot thinks about as he is learning to work a fishing boat with his cranky lovable uncle and hanging with the neighborhood kids who just enjoy the exploits and games of being kids. That was refreshing:-)
June 6, 2017
Cute story! The format of the writing in combination with the illustrations are what make this book so cool though!
February 13, 2025
...but she was pretty in a way that I never thought pretty could be.
A beautiful and heartwarming book!
A beautiful and heartwarming book!
July 2, 2016
Hmmm. What to say?
I picked this book up at my library yesterday because I was drawn to the illustration on the front and the title. I had no idea what to expect.
The book isn't particularly special in the the prose department, and I don't know that artwork brings a whole lot to the table.
But, OH. OH. THE STORY. It's entirely unique, but there's something so familiar about it. It's both comforting and incredibly unsettling at the same time. In a way it reminds me of Sharon Creech's LOVE THAT DOG. Both are stories about boys with one foot in childhood and the other foot moving towards teenagedom, so confident about their world and the way things work until one day everything is different. Both books are full of raw emotion and running from that emotion as quickly as you can until you can't anymore.
And the supporting characters! Uncle Earl has my heart, even if he can't make a grilled cheese sandwich. Miss Mabel is Anne-Shirley-if-she-never-met-Gilbert; a spinster teacher do-gooder. My hero. And Mary Beth and Timmy! And Jack and Eddie! ALL THE FEELINGS. ALL OF THEM.
So yeah, five stars.
I picked this book up at my library yesterday because I was drawn to the illustration on the front and the title. I had no idea what to expect.
The book isn't particularly special in the the prose department, and I don't know that artwork brings a whole lot to the table.
But, OH. OH. THE STORY. It's entirely unique, but there's something so familiar about it. It's both comforting and incredibly unsettling at the same time. In a way it reminds me of Sharon Creech's LOVE THAT DOG. Both are stories about boys with one foot in childhood and the other foot moving towards teenagedom, so confident about their world and the way things work until one day everything is different. Both books are full of raw emotion and running from that emotion as quickly as you can until you can't anymore.
And the supporting characters! Uncle Earl has my heart, even if he can't make a grilled cheese sandwich. Miss Mabel is Anne-Shirley-if-she-never-met-Gilbert; a spinster teacher do-gooder. My hero. And Mary Beth and Timmy! And Jack and Eddie! ALL THE FEELINGS. ALL OF THEM.
So yeah, five stars.
June 14, 2016
Elliot is not happy to be spending his summer in Point Aconi, Nova Scotia with his great uncle Earl. Earl is a fisherman and expects Elliot to go out on the boat with him every day. Elliot is a bit of a fish out of water as he tries to figure out his summer. He doesn't swim well, but everyone in Point Aconi seems to swim like fishes. Luckily Elliot makes friends very quickly and comes to really enjoy his time in Point Aconi. He even gets good at working on the fishing boat.
This is a beautifully illustrated book. I love how the artist/author Frank Viva has transformed some of the text into illustrations. This is a coming of age story as Elliot learns to be on his own a bit and enjoy his summer with Earl. He also has to deal with local bully Donnie and figure out what to do when he learns Mary Beth's father is hitting her. Excellent fast read.
This is a beautifully illustrated book. I love how the artist/author Frank Viva has transformed some of the text into illustrations. This is a coming of age story as Elliot learns to be on his own a bit and enjoy his summer with Earl. He also has to deal with local bully Donnie and figure out what to do when he learns Mary Beth's father is hitting her. Excellent fast read.
August 27, 2016
Poor Eliot. His parents are sending him off to Nova Scotia to stay with relatives for the summer when all he wants to do is piddle around his own town with his buddies. Is he ever surprised to find Nova Scotia is indeed an amazing place that, by summer's end, he doesn't want to leave?!
The charm of this book is the immediacy of seeing the world through the eyes of this smaller-than-average, snarky boy. You can't help but love him. And you will also adore Viva's graphic-artist touches throughout the story.
The charm of this book is the immediacy of seeing the world through the eyes of this smaller-than-average, snarky boy. You can't help but love him. And you will also adore Viva's graphic-artist touches throughout the story.
December 13, 2016
This is a lovely book, both humorous, touching, and timeless. The illustrations and clever use of text manipulation make it as unique and quirky as Eliot's summer vacation. After I finished it, I wanted to see it made into a movie by Rob Reiner, a master of the coming-of-age genre, so everyone could see the Nova Scotia shore for themselves and experience the magic of this wonderful summer.
June 27, 2016
A wonderful coming-of-age story set in Nova Scotia, Canada. I love the kind of kids books that make you long for your own childhood summers. This book is beautifully designed and illustrated and deals with complex subjects in a positive way.
July 21, 2018
When I picked up this book, I was hoping (from the "truly heartbreaking" comment on the back) that I'd be getting a morose, deeply affecting book.
Hm.
The writing itself was pretty good. The story started off okay, and I was quickly pulled into the world of the small fishing village in Nova Scotia. (Although I never understood why his parents would send him that far, to relatives that they hardly knew....)
The story was supposed to show the change in Eliot, but I think that's where the book failed. While the reader is told that he sees the world differently, there's nothing to really show that Eliot is different. At the end, he tells the airplane attendant that he's a "whole other boy," but I really don't see enough contrast in him from beginning to end.
The plot and other characters were pretty predictable. I felt like the whole thing with Mary Beth getting beat was really out of place and seemed more tacked on that anything.
Oh, and the romance? No, it just didn't work. He practically just gets there and hardly even knows the girl, but they end up kissing? It didn't work for me.
Swearing: A couple of mild words that may be considered swearing for some, and one slightly harsher word.
Sexual content: None
Violence: Eliot finds out that Mary Beth's father sometimes beats her when he's drunk. / Some neighborhood bullies swear that they'll kill Eliot (they don't. The reader doesn't actually even see any more of the bullies in the book.)
Religious/spiritual/magical content: None
Hm.
The writing itself was pretty good. The story started off okay, and I was quickly pulled into the world of the small fishing village in Nova Scotia. (Although I never understood why his parents would send him that far, to relatives that they hardly knew....)
The story was supposed to show the change in Eliot, but I think that's where the book failed. While the reader is told that he sees the world differently, there's nothing to really show that Eliot is different. At the end, he tells the airplane attendant that he's a "whole other boy," but I really don't see enough contrast in him from beginning to end.
The plot and other characters were pretty predictable. I felt like the whole thing with Mary Beth getting beat was really out of place and seemed more tacked on that anything.
Oh, and the romance? No, it just didn't work. He practically just gets there and hardly even knows the girl, but they end up kissing? It didn't work for me.
Swearing: A couple of mild words that may be considered swearing for some, and one slightly harsher word.
Sexual content: None
Violence: Eliot finds out that Mary Beth's father sometimes beats her when he's drunk. / Some neighborhood bullies swear that they'll kill Eliot (they don't. The reader doesn't actually even see any more of the bullies in the book.)
Religious/spiritual/magical content: None
September 6, 2017
This title is nominated for the 2018 Hackmatack Award in the fiction category.
The story is very relatable - kid gets sent to stay with relatives in some strange place far away. In this instance, Eliot is sent from the big city (I imagined Toronto) to spend the summer with his Great-Uncle Earl in a small fishing village in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. There are all of the normal anxieties about being away from home. Eliot can't imagine how he will put in the time, but he quickly discovers that the rural way of life is not about sitting around and enjoying the scenery.
My favourite thing about this book is the way that the author uses actual words as illustrations - for example, mimicking the motion of a wave with words on the page. What an interesting way of interpreting the story! I also enjoyed the classical literature mentions, especially imagining Eliot and Timmy reading 'Treasure Island' in the attic library. While it isn't all sunshine and roses, important lesson of telling bad secrets to adults you trust (like Uncle Earl and Miss Mabel, two of my favourite characters). The ending is pretty bittersweet, probably not going to go over really well with kids who are more sensitive to delicate topics like physical abuse. I would recommend this one to more advanced readers, grade 5 and up.
The story is very relatable - kid gets sent to stay with relatives in some strange place far away. In this instance, Eliot is sent from the big city (I imagined Toronto) to spend the summer with his Great-Uncle Earl in a small fishing village in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. There are all of the normal anxieties about being away from home. Eliot can't imagine how he will put in the time, but he quickly discovers that the rural way of life is not about sitting around and enjoying the scenery.
My favourite thing about this book is the way that the author uses actual words as illustrations - for example, mimicking the motion of a wave with words on the page. What an interesting way of interpreting the story! I also enjoyed the classical literature mentions, especially imagining Eliot and Timmy reading 'Treasure Island' in the attic library. While it isn't all sunshine and roses, important lesson of telling bad secrets to adults you trust (like Uncle Earl and Miss Mabel, two of my favourite characters). The ending is pretty bittersweet, probably not going to go over really well with kids who are more sensitive to delicate topics like physical abuse. I would recommend this one to more advanced readers, grade 5 and up.
March 21, 2018
This was supposed to be for Parent-Son book club, but I decided it wasn’t age appropriate for my 9 year old. I loved the idea of the text interweaving with the pictures in this book, but that was the best part. The story was predictable and felt like it had been done so many times before. I think the author-illustrator should have stuck to the design and illustration, and teamed up with a better author for the writing. The main character was so extremely whiny and annoying that I really did struggle to bother to get into this. I almost returned it to the library after the first few chapters. Maybe that whininess got the point across but I felt like I didn’t want my kid reading the whiny tone of the brat, fearing he may pick up some of those “poor me” overtones, and miss the much more subtle “character improvement” towards the end. A good example of how “great books for kids” have gone downhill in modern times. Books for modern children are often a disappointment to me, even though I love older “children’s classics”.
November 14, 2017
I have a major soft spot for coming of age stories about preteen boys, I guess. After reading A Monster Calls, I wanted more of this type of story. Something not too long, something that very subtly deals with the emotions of growing up, and something with an artistic aspect to it. I found this at the library and knew it was just what I was looking for. With strange, but cool, illustrations through out the book. Even the words were arranged into different shapes and patterns to enhance the story. Eliot is a sweet kid who learns a lot during his summer stay in a small fishing town in Nova Scotia. It made me want to go eat lobster and crab on the beach cooked over a fire pit and pick wild blueberries.
January 13, 2018
Simultaneous tenderness and pain when Eliot is sent VERY reluctantly to spend the summer in a tiny coastal Nova Scotia town with a great-uncle he doesn't know. Even though the story is typical -- of COURSE he learns to admire this place, of COURSE he makes friends, and of COURSE he gains respect and love for his uncle -- the power is in the details. Readers experience Eliot's nausea when he has to fill three big buckets with maggots for lobster bait (every day) and Eliot's bliss when he eats fresh lobster for the first time. Lifelike characters and setting are enhanced by oddly colored graphic artwork (sort of Caleb Brown-ish). Short, touching and a bit odd little book worth diving into.
March 7, 2023
This book was a lovely, pleasant, quick read about a boy who grows a bit and discovers parts of himself during the summer in remote Point Aconi. Although the book itself does not have too much conflict, I still found myself liking it overall. I particularly enjoyed reading it at a coffee shop, with a hot chocolate in hand. Perhaps the best aspect of this book is its artistic nature: The illustrations scattered throughout the story are presented in a beautiful fashion, sometimes adding to the story itself. If you're looking for something short and relaxing to read, I would say go ahead and pick this one up.
March 22, 2017
I think the story was a great point view the story included good description the book had pictures that really makes you think about the story a little more since the author had put the time in to include them the book.The was emotional and deep the author wanted you to keep reading Eliots life was bad because of his parents and his dreadful sister and when he went to point Aconi he really didn't like it until he found his groove into the place with Mary Beth and the kids. his scheduled day would be fishing with uncle Earl in the morning eating and playing with Mary Beth then it would be dinner then bed when he found his groove their were also bumps, Donnie wanted to beat Eliot and mister Mcgillvery was the main bad guy in this story beating Mary Beth it was all a mess but it was a fantastic story and nothing should change.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2018
Viva captures the harsh beauty of Maritime life. Not only that, the format is fresh and the illustrations mesh well with the text, enhancing meaning in several places. Undertones of survival, abuse, and friendship shape the narrative. Eliot, the protagonist, forms deep connections as he begins to understand himself and the complexities of his surroundings and his roots. I was swept away by this one, to Eliot's island, as he transforms.
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