The Ocean Squid Explorers' Club

The Explorers' Club #4

by Alex Bell

In this fourth explorers adventure we meet Ursula, a part mermaid girl who is determined to follow in Stella's footsteps and help her to defeat the Collector!

Ursula knew the submarine wasn't designed to go this deep, but what choice did they have? No one wanted to get swallowed up by a colossal sneezing jellyfish!

In a distant watery corner of the Explorers Kingdom, a submarine engineer, Ursula, is determined to become an explorer. Unfortunately, she hides an extraordinary secret, which makes her the sworn enemy of the Ocean Squid Explorers' Club were they ever to find out . . . But when The Collector threatens the Club, Ursula throws caution to the wind and leads an expedition through treacherous waters, filled with gremlins, aboard the Blowfish submarine - and joined by her friends Max, Genie and Jai - and even her idol Stella!

Thrilling, heart-pounding adventure with exquisite detail throughout. Alex Bell's world-building is second to none.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Adventure, Childrens, Fiction, Magic, Audiobook

375 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2020

About the author

Alex Bell signed her first book deal at nineteen and, since then, has written multiple books for both adults and young people. After completing a law degree, she now works for a legal advice charity. Alex lives in Hampshire with her husband, sons and Sphynx cats. She also writes as Alexandra Bell.

Reviews

[Gavin Hetherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the world of the Polar Bear Explorers' Club, we follow Ursula who is part of the Ocean Squid Explorers' Club. Stella, from the original series, has paved the way for girls to be allowed to join explorer clubs, but not everyone is on board with the new rules. Explorer clubs are being trapped by the Collector and it's up to Ursula and 3 of her friends from the Ocean Squid Explorers' Club to find out what's going on.

Fans of the original series are going to love being back in this world. The fun and imaginative writing is carried over into this new outing and it really does feel like being back home with this one. I loved the exploration of the sea and the introduction of various new sea creatures and worlds. There's humour in this, as well as some smaller scary moments.

My only gripe is the ending, as it kinda made the entire book's adventure a little redundant, but I don't think it will take away any of the enjoyment beforehand for new readers. I loved the nods to the Polar Bear Explorers' Club and I feel like readers who haven't read the original series will still be able to enjoy this too.

[Belles Middle Grade Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Another great adventure, w/just as amazing characters as Polar Bears Club. Can’t say a lot about the plot, b/c certain things will ruin events for you from the 1st trilogy. But our MC is Ursula. She’s part mermaid, part human. She keeps this a secret, b/c she knows of the fear, hatred, & prejudice against mermaids. She doesn’t want to be imprisoned or killed. She’s a submarine engineer, & she’s also longed to be a member of the Ocean Squid Explorers Club. Her idol is Stella(from the 1st trilogy). Well, something terrible happens at the club, & she finds herself on a submarine w/3 other kids. One junior member(Jai), his sister(Genie,who also longs to be a club member & is a whisperer like Shay-but w/her own unique creature lol), & a junior club member(Max)who just got expelled. It’s up to them to save the day. So they set out on a thrilling adventure, full of unknown dangers, in places yet to be explored. They see all sorts of amazing(the disco starfish were epic lol) & dangerous(colossal sneezing jellyfish?? Yikes!) things. Another atmospheric, hugely imaginative world, w/everything beautifully & vividly described. Bess has my heart, & Genie & Ursula do as well-such great characters! I flew through this. I can’t wait for book 2! Tomislav Tomić did another beautiful job on this cover, & there are, again, stunning full page illustrations sprinkled throughout the book too. Highly recommend. All these books have become 1 of my new favorite series of all time, & Alex Bell a new favorite author.💜

[Pris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3,5 stars! Not as fun als the polar bear explorers club, but I guess I just prefer a more wintery setting. The adults in these books are the biggest idiots I’ve ever seen 🤣

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trop bien : des krakens, des poulpes, des calmars, des sirènes... et de l'aventure ! Et rempli d'imagination comme j'aime...

[Aleshanee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nachdem wir in den drei Vorbänden Stella und ihre Freunde in den eisigen Norden begleitet haben, geht es jetzt unter Wasser und in den Ozean.
Protagonistin ist dieses Mal Ursula. Ein junges Mädchen, das nur zu gerne ebenso wie Stella in den Explorers´ Club aufgenommen werden würde, aber der Vorsitzende des Ocean Squid Club ist gar nicht überzeugt, den anderen nachzueifern und Frauen und erst recht keine Mädchen zuzulassen.

Stellas Abenteuer aus dem Vorband haben jedoch Auswirkungen, die plötzlich eine Entscheidung fordern, die die vier Jugendlichen Jai, Genie, Max und Ursula in eine Situation bringen, die sofortiges Handeln erfordern.
Die kleine Gruppe ist wieder mit interessanten Figuren gefüllt. Zum einen natürlich Ursula, ein super sympathisches, neugieriges Mädchen, das ein Geheimnis in sich trägt.
Dann den unbedarften Max, der alles locker nimmt und vor nichts Respekt hat - aber ein untrüglichen Erfindergeist für helfende Roboter hat.
Und die Geschwister Jai und Genie, die in ihrem Ehrgeiz und Ausübung der Pflichten bzw. Einhaltung der Regeln etwas unterschiedliche Auffassungen haben :)

Die Autorin hat wieder wunderschön gezeigt, wie sich die verschiedenen Charaktere zusammenraufen können, Vorurteile überwinden und ihre Stärken ausspielen, um gemeinsam etwas schaffen zu können. Der erste Eindruck kann oft täuschen und oft kann man ein Verhalten erst einschätzen, wenn man die Hintergründe und Motive kennt.

Ein schwieriges Unterfangen für den bunt gemischten Haufen, der in den Weiten des Ozeans natürlich auf viele Hindernisse stößt und Bekanntschaften macht, die ihn zum einen aufhält oder aber auch Hilfe bereithält. Dabei werden Inseln entdeckt, Geheimnisse aufgestöbert und gleichzeitig dem Wettkampf gegen die Zeit getrotzt, denn eine mächtige Gegenspielerin droht die Macht an sich zu reißen!

Ich hab das Abenteuer wieder sehr gerne mitverfolgt, denn tief im Ozean gibt es natürlich auch viele geheimnisvolle magische Wesen zu entdecken und das unerforschte Gebiet zu erkunden, von dem es noch keine Aufzeichnungen oder Karten gibt. Natürlich gibt´s spannende Überraschungen und gefährliche Begegnungen, so dass die vier alle ihre Talente verbinden müssen, um ihrem Ziel näherzukommen.

Tief im Meer kommt auch an manchen Stellen kleine Hinweise über die Natur und die Umwelteinflüsse zu Wort. Der Kreislauf, der alles zusammenhält, ist so wichtig und sollte endlich auch in die Köpfe der Erwachsenen dringen.

Wie schon in den Vorbänden untermalen die tollen Zeichnungen und Bilder von Tomislav Tomic die Geschichte auf sehr stimmungsvolle Weise!

Weltenwanderer

[Meg Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all once again the details and characters and creature details are fantastic and I’ve spent most the afternoon reading it but what happened to the plot they set off on a mission then there was the individual mission none of which were completed I know it’s a series and cliffhangers all that but I forgot where they were going I got lost in shark hat and purple streaks
But overall fantastic but this one there was too much going on

[Dreximgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books! I adored the Polar Bear explorers club books and this one was just as good. I love Ursula, she is a brilliant main character and her group of friends is simply wonderful. The story is great, I love how its connected to the previous trilogy but can stand on its own as well.

Looking forward to the next one!

[ghostly_bookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

CAWPILE 7.00

I love this series so much, can't believe I haven't gotten to #4 earlier. Straight into #5!

[ana anaiscvu · Rating 4 out of 5]

je viens de capter que j'avais enregistré le mauvais livre sur gr donc bon je remets a jour et j'ai trop hâte de lire le club de l'ours polaire

[Sharlene Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this for my birthday and it sadly took me a little while to get to it, as I always have too many books to read! I do love this series however, so I was excited when I finally did pick it up.

The Explorers' Club series had left off with Stella winning the day at Black Ice Bridge but the Collector disappearing off to fight another day. This part of the series picks up with new characters (though we do see glimpses of our previous heroes) in the Ocean Squid Explorers' Club. Our heroine is Ursula, a half mermaid who is terrified of being discovered by the club.

When the club is stolen by the Collector, she is left with one submarine, three allies and a mission to defeat the Collector. I particularly like Genie's hats and Max's robots.

We get to see some great underwater parts of the Explorers' Club universe, from Mermaid ice cream to submarines and sea horses. I really enjoyed getting more world building, as this really is a fantastic universe.

I can't wait to see what happens next! 4.5 stars.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to see a different club. But I didn't enjoy the story or gang as much as the Polar Bears.

[Caitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the Polar Bear Explorers' Club series so I was very much looking forward to reading this book. This is definitely the start of a new trilogy (at least I assume it's a trilogy) in the Explorers' Club world. You could start reading this book without having read the previous trilogy as all the information you need is summed up in the first few chapters. However, it does contain some spoilers for what happens at the end of the Polar Bear Explorers' Club books and there are some cameos from familiar faces in that series, so it's probably better to read them first.

In this book, we follow Ursula a young engineer at the Ocean Squid Explorers' Club. She longs to become a member of the club and given recent events at other Explorers' Clubs, this dream now seems like it might have the potential to become reality. However, it's not just being a girl that might prevent Ursula from joining the Club. She is keeping a secret about her mysterious past and if people find out, she's sure they will never want her in their club. Meanwhile, the Collector is still pursuing their mission of capturing and keeping valuable places around the world. When the Ocean Squid Explorers' Club itself it threatened, Ursula and crew of unlikely heros are the only ones who might be able to stop the Collector before it is too late.

Alex Bell has such a gift when it comes to writing stories like these. I fell in love with Ursula instantly and became invested in her struggle for acceptance and recognition. These books work best when the children find themselves in dangerous situations, that normally, no adult would let them get into. Once again, the author finds an interesting and believable way to temporarily remove the adults from the situation. Alex Bell is also excellent at crafting found families. The dynamics created amongst this crew and their individual fears and talents make them instantly likeable. I still haven't found anyone I love as much as Beanie, but it'd be hard to top him! It was great to visit more of this world. I absolutely adored the magical underwater creations of this story - I would love to visit a mermaid ice-cream parlour!

The main plot I found very interesting. I liked the way it built on what had happened in the previous books, but also gave this crew a new challenge for them to face. There were some twists in the plot that I only realised just before they happened and I am intrigued to see where the next book will go. There are definitely some interesting discussions to be had about who is in the right. This book is also excellent for prompting discussions around conservation and the welfare of sea creatures.

I would recommend this book to readers aged 9+ especially those who have read and enjoyed the Polar Bear Explorers' Club books.

[Amy (Golden Books Girl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a fan of this series since I picked up Stella Starflake Pearl's first adventure back in 2017, so I was absolutely thrilled when I was offered this new release, which continues the story arc of the first three books, but mainly follows a new group of explorers from the Ocean Squid Explorers' Club rather than Stella and her friends, although they do make some delightful cameos throughout the adventure, which I absolutely loved.

Our new main character is Ursula Jellyfin, who is a trainee engineer at the club who happens to be half human and half mermaid, a secret which she has to guard very closely given that mermaids are viewed as an enemy of the club. She's such a fantastic heroine and I loved her instantly, particularly because her friendships with Joe and Minty the dolphin that we see at the beginning are so lovely, and because it's so deeply unjust that she isn't able to achieve her dream of becoming an explorer just because she's a girl, even though she's an excellent engineer and hates being confined to the club. My love for her only grew when she was on her expedition to return the Lost City of Pacifica, as she proved once and for all that she was a fantastic explorer, who demonstrates kindness to pretty much everyone she comes across (except the evil ones, obviously) and shows so much ingenuity in solving problems as she makes her journey through the sea.

Obviously, no explorer can undertake an expedition on their own, and the crew Ursula travels with are equally wonderful as she is. I had a particular soft spot for clever, sunny, optimistic Genie, who is a whisperer who can speak with a very unusual animal (I loved Bess too, for that matter!), but her more serious, officious brother Jai was amazing as well and I thought troublemaker Max added lots of humour and fun to the book, and I loved learning more about him as the book went on.

I've said this in pretty much every review I've written about this series I think, but I honestly don't think I'll ever have had enough of this world and I'm absolutely delighted that this seems to be the start of a new arc within the series, hopefully for at least the length of a trilogy. The world in these books is just incredible, and I love getting to follow the explorers to fascinating new places with such interesting new people every time I pick one up.

[Lauren Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ursula, who is part mermaid joins with Jai, Genie and Max to reduce the Ocean Squid Explorers Club, from the Collector, who is out for revenge. Ursula must keep the secret that she is part mermaid, as many explorers believe mermaids to be the cause of numerous deaths. However, all Ursula wants to be is an Ocean Squid Explorer, like her father.

This was a great continuation in the world and although we are not following the main characters from the first trilogy, we still see them and interact with them in this one. Once again the story is so engrossing that you feel like you are on the submarine, or in the Mermaids Ice Cream shop.

My only issue is how easy it seemed at the end that, they just need the coordinates for the Collector’s new HQ and all of a sudden it falls out of thin air. But still this did not detract from the wonder and magic of this world.

[Garance J. Bonadonna (The Nerdy Artivist) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je fais ma critique en français vu que j'ai lu la traduction.

Une pépite. Pourquoi cette série n'a pas la reconnaissance d'Harry Potter? Pourquoi on nous fait chier avec les Gardiens des Cités Perdues alors que cette série incroyable existe.

De ses personnages uniques, avec leurs qualités et leurs défauts, et leurs relations pas toujours simples. On voyage dans un univers avec une imagination sans fin, une créativité à faire pâlir Harry Potter. Une sorte de simplicité, de légèreté, de mélange entre l'aventure et le fantastique, de l'héroïsme mais aussi des erreurs, ce livre me fait battre le coeur plus fort. Je suis complètement jalouse parce que c'est la recette parfaite du genre de livres que je veux écrire.

À découvrir absolument!

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all the books in this series so far! They are fast-paced, exciting and filled with magic and adventure. I like how in this book, they change the main characters but still stick with the characters from the books before, it expanded my mind about the explorer world. The four children who are left over from the Ocean Squid Explorers Club aren’t a proper team when they first start their mission, but I love how they join together and use their individual abilities to pursue their mission so then in the end they really are a proper team. I can’t wait to continue reading with the next book in the series ( Explorers on Pirate Island )!

I would recommend this series for readers 9+.

[Richard Skolek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Děj knihy navazuje na předchozí díly, setkáváme se ale se čtyřmi zcela novými hlavními postavami a naši staří známí se v příběhu objeví jen na chvíli. Noví hrdinové jsou stejně zajímaví jako ti předchozí a dynamika této skupiny je opět velmi poutavá, ale přiznávám, že mi chyběl věčně nenaložený Ethan, který byl vždycky nejvtipnější. Změna prostředí každopádně pomohla a autorka i tentokrát hýří nápady – je tu zmrzlina, která umožňuje dýchat pod vodou, nebezpečné kýchající medúzy nebo ultralepivý žvýkačkový korál.
Jsem zvědavý na další díly.

[UnseeliExcalibur]

Wow I just go this book today. The polar bear explorer club books could never disappoint me. I’m already quite far in. I was quite shocked to see the new characters. I love it but I can’t lie and say that I miss the books about the original team. I hope we get another book that is about them again because I really miss seeing their friendship especially Stella and shay’s because it’s adorable. But like I said this book is great so far great job!

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure about this one. I'm confused as to why the story is suddenly revolving around four characters we were never introduced to in the previous three (!) books. Book 3 had such an open ending that Stella's story arch being cut short in Book 4 has made me wonder whether the writer simply couldn't figure out how to continue. There's also something about the writing style that stops the story from ever fully popping off the pages. It's all quite ... pedestrian.

[Darcey Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I had already read the other books in the polar series once I found out this had been published it was a ‘must buy’ moment. You can easily read this book without having read the other books in series beforehand. It is easy to follow along with, and is a good sized book for anyone looking for medium sized fiction adventure book.

[Paula Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 4 in this series is exciting and packed with adventure. It starts quickly with the crew members having to trust each other in order to make decisions. Will they make it? One of the best series out there I would not hesitate to order these books, Alex Bell is an excellent writer.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good fourth installment in the series. It felt like it wasn't quite a full book though. The other books were complete stories in themselves; this was just the set up. It also felt that Alex Bell's writing was not quite up to par with this one, however, it was still a fun, fast paced read.

[Alice Fay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Minouschka · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the most cozy reads ever! Cant wait for more!

[Andy Grabia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely love this series.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are always such fun

[Tammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read- March 2022
-I think this was written a bit more juvenile than the previos books but I still had quite a good time reading it.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun being back in the explorer world and Ursula is a great new main character.

[Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good.
Slightly crazy, there are some very imaginative creatures and places.
Nice, simple, easy read. Very enjoyable.