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Overview
In a seaside town of sandy beaches and ocean breezes, Sapphy has never felt so far from the sea. The crowded shore at St. Pirans is nothing like the cove at Sapphy's old home, where she first found her way into the underwater world of Ingo.
But Ingo's pull is strong, and it always finds a way. Soon Sapphy and her brother, Conor, are swimming beneath the waves again, riding the currents and teasing their Mer friend Faro. As Sapphy goes deeper into Ingo, she learns to feel more at home in the sea—even as she begins to be aware of its dangers.
There's the danger of going in too deep, and breaking the delicate balance between Sapphy's life on land and her life in Ingo. There's the mysterious disappearance of Sapphy's father, an experienced sailor who should never have drowned. And then there's Ingo itself—a restless power as old as the world, as strong as the tides, and more dangerous than anything Sapphy has ever known.
Synopsis
In a seaside town of sandy beaches and ocean breezes, Sapphy has never felt so far from the sea. The crowded shore at St. Pirans is nothing like the cove at Sapphy's old home, where she first found her way into the underwater world of Ingo.
But Ingo's pull is strong, and it always finds a way. Soon Sapphy and her brother, Conor, are swimming beneath the waves again, riding the currents and teasing their Mer friend Faro. As Sapphy goes deeper into Ingo, she learns to feel more at home in the sea—even as she begins to be aware of its dangers.
There's the danger of going in too deep, and breaking the delicate balance between Sapphy's life on land and her life in Ingo. There's the mysterious disappearance of Sapphy's father, an experienced sailor who should never have drowned. And then there's Ingo itself—a restless power as old as the world, as strong as the tides, and more dangerous than anything Sapphy has ever known.
Children's Literature
The Tide Knot, gives the term dysfunctional family a new twist. What happens when the ocean takes Sapphire's father and leaves her family torn between land and ocean? Now Sapphire and her brother Connor must find out the answer to their father's disappearance and at the same time save themselves from complete destruction. While Connor still wants to be more on land then water, the ocean tempts Sapphire and pulls her to the underwater place of Ingo. Here she learns of her father's fate and how she must choose to belong to either the land or the ocean. She struggles with the right answer because each place has people that she loves. While our heroine makes a decision, her town finds itself flooded and now Connor and Sapphire have to make things right even if it means someone must die. The author, Helen Dunmore, gives her reader a new look at how the family is changing in our society. I could smell the fresh sea air and I could visualize what the village would have looked like underwater. Sometimes I struggled with Sapphire's motivation and why she keeps being drawn to her father and yet never really reaches him. That circle never seems to complete itself. This is the second book in the series, while Ingo was the first. Reviewer: Julia Beiker
Editorials
Children's Literature -
The Tide Knot, gives the term dysfunctional family a new twist. What happens when the ocean takes Sapphire's father and leaves her family torn between land and ocean? Now Sapphire and her brother Connor must find out the answer to their father's disappearance and at the same time save themselves from complete destruction. While Connor still wants to be more on land then water, the ocean tempts Sapphire and pulls her to the underwater place of Ingo. Here she learns of her father's fate and how she must choose to belong to either the land or the ocean. She struggles with the right answer because each place has people that she loves. While our heroine makes a decision, her town finds itself flooded and now Connor and Sapphire have to make things right even if it means someone must die. The author, Helen Dunmore, gives her reader a new look at how the family is changing in our society. I could smell the fresh sea air and I could visualize what the village would have looked like underwater. Sometimes I struggled with Sapphire's motivation and why she keeps being drawn to her father and yet never really reaches him. That circle never seems to complete itself. This is the second book in the series, while Ingo was the first. Reviewer: Julia BeikerKLIATT -
Many "hear the call of the sea," but few hear it as well as Sapphire and her brother, Conor. They are among the select humans to have entered Ingo--the underwater dimension that complements Air/Earth--and its intoxication is not easily forgotten. Even though the siblings have befriended merfolk Faro and Elvira, Ingo is still a dangerous playground: the sea resents mankind's continual efforts to reclaim land, and the unrest is eroding Ingo's magical boundaries. More perilous to Sapphire, though, is Ingo's allure; her father succumbed to it last year and disappeared at sea, and Sapphire realizes she too will have to choose between her human family and her merblood. Dunmore's greatest triumph is her characters. Sapphire is both admirable and attainable, the merfolk are suitably--almost chillingly--alien, and even ponderous whales who tell bad jokes come across as ethereal rather than cartoonish. Amidst the stunning imagery, however, is a story that builds marvelously but falters somewhat in its resolution. Those accustomed to intricate conclusions may not be completely satisfied with the murky and somewhat convenient ending, but for most, The Tide Knot will introduce a wonderful, enthralling world the reader can dive into again and again. Age Range: Ages 12 to 18. REVIEWER: Cara Chancellor (Vol. 42, No. 1)School Library Journal
Gr 5-8- Sapphire and Conor recently discovered a magnificent underwater world in Ingo (HarperCollins, 2006), and now their part-mermaid or "Mer" blood is calling them back again. Having recently lost their father to the irresistible call of the sea, Sapphire is desperate to establish contact with him, wherever he is. When her transformed Mer father does at last appear to her, he warns of an impending danger to the humans on the land. Now the siblings must find a way to turn back the tide on the Cornish coast of England before the uncontrollable oceans destroy everything they know and love. Dunmore offers a more mature and thoughtful view of mermaids and their culture than most of the other fantasy series for kids. Strong characters and a consistently enticing plot make this a cut above the rest. The book also presents a neat parable of adolescence: not feeling comfortable in your own skin coupled with the desire to test boundaries. Sapphire's inner struggle over where she belongs, on the land or in the sea, remains unresolved and will undoubtedly leave readers anxious for the final book in the trilogy.-Elizabeth Bird, New York Public Library
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