Shark Beneath the Reef: A Coming-of-Age Adventure About Family, Fishing, and Finding Your Future for Kids

by Jean Craighead George

Like his father and grandfather before him, 14-year-old Tomás Torres dreams of catching a great shark in the Sea of Cortez -- and he will catch it, although there are other things he should be thinking about. With an education, her could someday become a marine biologist. Tomás's family want him to stay in school. But Tomás knows he will be more help to them if he leaves school now to become a fisherman.

Should he drop out?

The choice is Tomás alone -- a difficult one for a boy just becoming a man. It is only underwater, in a confrontation with the fisherman's greatest prize and worst enemy, that Tomás finds the strength to make his decision.

Genres: Adventure, Childrens, Animals

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Jean Craighead George wrote over eighty popular books for young adults, including the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves and the Newbery Honor book My Side of the Mountain. Most of her books deal with topics related to the environment and the natural world. While she mostly wrote children's fiction, she also wrote at least two guides to cooking with wild foods, and an autobiography, Journey Inward.

The mother of three children, (Twig C. George, Craig, and T. Luke George) Jean George was a grandmother who joyfully read to her grandchildren since the time they were born. Over the years Jean George kept one hundred and seventy-three pets, not including dogs and cats, in her home in Chappaqua, New York. "Most of these wild animals depart in autumn when the sun changes their behaviour and they feel the urge to migrate or go off alone. While they are with us, however, they become characters in my books, articles, and stories."

Reviews

[Britt, Book Habitue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely would have enjoyed this more as a kid. Harder to suspend disbelief as an adult.

[Etta Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are criticisms and praises for this book to be made. I have read other reviews on Goodreads and I agree that the author did not stick to factual details in his book. For something classified as a “scientific” book for youth this is sorely disappointing. However, with the vivid descriptions I feel it does a fine job in sparking young readers’ interest in science, specifically marine biology. I found it was better suited for the social sciences. It does a great job at exemplifying the daily life of a common boy in a fishing village in Baja California, atleast I assume it does. Perhaps the author did not do her thorough research on this either. But it continually talks about the history, culture, and religion of the Mexican people. The way they integrate the new religion of Christianity and the old religion of the Aztecs was fascinating to me.
Yet, as I would use this as a resource in my classroom would not be for any of these reasons. I am simply going to be a high school agriscience teacher. I know this is for grades 6 to 8, but in my classroom I will have students on all grading levels. I will have the intelligent as well as the challenged. It is more beneficial to have a book on the easier side so all my students can benefit from this easy read. It is the overall message that struck me as a educating tool. So many people think that a job in agriculture is farming, and science is dealing with test tubes in a lab. It is my job as a teacher to show my students the numerous options they do have in the agricultural community, including science based ones. As I wish to teach in small rural communities, my students will face a choice much like young Tomas. Do they stay and help farm the land their family has built over generations? Do they leave the community, way of life, and culture they have spent their whole life knowing? There are no universities close- to-hand in most rural communities and students have to leave their homes to study. Some must leave just for jobs. As my students face these decisions, I would seek to use this book as an example that it is possible to have both worlds.

[Spencer Hutchinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the author did a very good job of keeping you wanting to read. There is always something to occupy you in the book. Whenever Tomas Torres (the main character) gives up at any point in time he tries something new. For example, the time when he let go of the whale shark almost right after a new hammerhead shark would come into their area. Tomas faces some adversity in the book, such as the time when he has to decide whether to be a fisherman or to go on to high school to be a marine biologist. I would recommend this book for people who like books that make you want to keep reading.

[Shanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tomas is torn between following his family tradition of fishing or to continue his education.

I went back and forth on how much I liked this book. At first, it was hard for me to get into. Then, it got going a bit, but I became annoyed with the roles of the women. Then I cared more about Tomas, and the action picked up. Finally, I was won over with the ending- not just the way it ended- but how it ended up that way.

[witt · Rating 1 out of 5]

genuinely the worst book i ever read

[Dallin · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main character in the book is a 14-year old boy who has hallucinations of him killing and carrying a whale shark over his head. Truth be told, not even a grown man could do that. I've seen one and whale sharks look like you can't carry them except if you have a huge crane.
Furthermore, the author does not take an educational approach to the story. The author mentions that the ancestors of sharks evolved 150 million years ago. Let's be honest. Sharks evolved 400 million years ago. There is also a moment in the book where the main character has a fight with a hammerhead shark. The book is always mentioning that hammerheads are dangerous and should steer clear of them. Let's face it. Hammerhead sharks are not dangerous. It's just the heads that freak people out. Hammerheads only eat plankton and have weird head gear.

All in all, this book was probably the worst one I have ever read.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A low key story about life forms in the Sea of Cortez, the culture of a small fishing village in Mexico, and a 14 yo boy named Tomas Torres. (Yes, this is a coming-of-age story.) Fishing is the way of life he knows and loves, but times are changing and his teacher wants him to stay in school and eventually go to college. There's quite a bit of description, which may not appeal to young readers unless they have an interest in Mexico and/or marine life.

Sharks must keep swimming to stay alive. ... They have no air bladders and no gill covers to pump the aerated water over their gills. The shark is doomed to eternally swim forward to force water through its gill clefts. Because sharks must move, shark fishermen do not have to fight the dangerous fist. Their nets hold them still, and the sharks drown.

[Liaken · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gleh. I had a hard time with this book for two reasons. First, it's rather preachy. Second, there are lots of descriptions about being watched by sharks. And I've got a phobia of sharks. I didn't make it through this book very well. I skimmed a lot. Like anytime there was water around.

But if you like scary sharks, you might like this book.

[Dylan Patel]

Tomas is a 14 year old boy that like his grandfather and father wishes to catch a great white shark. Because of his dreams, all Tomas wants to do is skip school but his parents don't let him. The authors do a great job describing Tomas adventures

[Lea Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has beautiful descriptions of the Sea of Cortez and life in a Mexican fishing village. Unfortunately, the plot moves so slowly that reading this aloud to a group of Jr. High kids was excruciating. If you want a fast-paced adventure, look somewhere else.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

i read it at school and it was boring

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am rereading a lot of my favorites from childhood.

[Cws]

JAR5-Geo

[Micky Parise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice storyline, characters and flow. Enjoyed the little education on the tradition and sea life and birds. Did not enjoy the ending.

[Nicholas Damico · Rating 1 out of 5]

it is not a good book. do not read it.