The Great Wide Sea

by M.H. Herlong

Book Overview

Ben, Dylan, and Gerry are still mourning their mother's death when their dad decides to buy a boat and take them on a year-long sailing trip. Tensions flare between Ben and his father, but they gradually learn to live together in close quarters. Then one morning the boys wake up to discover their father has disappeared--and they are lost. What happened to him? Where are they? And what will they do when a terrible storm looms on the horizon?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142416703
• ISBN13: 9780142416709
• Release Date: May 2010
• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

A Mirror for Dads

The spectacular achievement of this book is that it shows dads what they look like to their teenage sons. It holds the mirror of your son's eyes right up close, where all the unflattering things show. Then it shows us that our sons love us anyway. I finished the book, wiped a way a tear -- something I almost never need to do -- and hugged my sons. It is definitely a terrific sea yarn. Like all great books, it builds in some wise observations about life without being the least bit preachy. Perhaps that is because the wisdom comes through the voice of a fifteen-year old who, after struggling with dad, becomes the father figure through chance, or maybe through a choice (a question you will have to answer for yourself, Dad). There are also some sly allusions to Hemingway sea tales and to Hurricane Katrina (the author is from New Orleans), but maybe I just made that up. Read the two-page prologue and you will be hooked. Give it to your son. Give it to your Dad. Read it with your son, or for your husband, or your brother. Sail in your son's boat (or your father, husband, or brother's boat) for a while.

Adventure at sea

This book captures the imagination both as a beautiful and harrowing adventure story and a drama of family loss. The aftermath of his mother's death challenges the narrator's relationship with his father. But when Ben confronts a life and death struggle at sea his bond to his young brothers becomes the focus of this gripping tale.

Keep reading!

As a fifth grade teacher, I find it difficult to find books that appeal to everyone in my class. I either please the girls, or the boys, and usually it's just the girls. Finally, I have found a book that all of my students enjoy. In fact, for the first time, both boys and girls are begging, "Don't stop. Please keep reading." I even have students begging to take it home so that they can find out what happens next. The Great Wide Sea, by M. H. Herlong, is spell-binding, (even for the adults)!

a teachable treasure

suspenseful adventure...insightful characterizations...powerful language...what a gift Madaline Herlong has given to young adult readers and classroom teachers! J. Danos

Simply wonderful

I received this book Friday and read it in one sitting on Sunday. It is excellent in so many dimensions. Young readers will love the gripping plot in the fascinating nautical setting, as well as how the boys, with only themselves to rely on, manage to survive. Older readers will appreciate the near-poetic quality of the prose. Having said that, I have to confess that I was so enthralled by the plot that I hardly had time to appreciate the marvelous language. I may just have to read the book again, slower!!