Hostage [Hardcover]

Theodore Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

Fourteen-year-old Jamie has second thoughts about harboring a killer whale that his father and he captured off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia and plan to sell to a sea amusement park.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fishing off the coast of British Columbia is a difficult and often dangerous way to earn a living. When Jamie Tidd and his father capture a giant killer whale, they can't believe their good lucka marine park in California has offered $100,000 for just such a whale. Jamie's family could really use the money; this may be their only chance to leave the isolated settlement of Lumber Landing and start a new, easier life somewhere else. But Jamie grows to admire the whale and he can't help wondering if it is right to keep the big mammal in captivityeven if his family needs the money. Then various environmental groups use the media to make the Tidd family look greedy and cruel. Peopled with believable characters, this fast-paced novel will leave readers with much to ponder; it's a fascinating depiction of an unusual way of life. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9 Jamie Tidd, 14, knows that his family is caught in an economic bind that keeps them penned in a small fish ing camp in British Columbia, rather than living in a ``real'' town with schools, shops, and electricity. So a chance to trap a huge bull Orca in a cove and sell him to a new marine park for $100,000 cannot be passed by. Once the whale is trapped, problems erupt. Jamie's girlfriend cuts all emotional stops trying to get him to cut the nets. Television news teams, Greenpeace, and other environmentalists are screaming for the Orca's release, call ing him a hostage and painting the Tidds as arch-villains. As the environ mentalists carry the day in the outside world, Perry Tidd and his son cut the nets. While Taylor is didactic here, he does give more than one side to the problem of marine mammal capture. All anthropomorphizing is done by the characters in the novel, as they attempt to understand their captive. All Orca behaviors described are accurate, hav ing been observed in nature. Jamie's budding relationship with Angie is sure to strike chords with many young read ers, and killer whales are of interest (and awe) to all. Patricia Manning, Eastchester Public Library, N.Y.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; First edition (February 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385295766
• ISBN-13: 978-0385295765
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,333,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Theodore Taylor has written several award-winning books. The Cay won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award and was also made into a movie.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Friendship and Freedom, September 30, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Hostage (Hardcover)

How would you like a chance to win $100,000? A lot of people would like this but it's not always as great as you think. The Hostage by Theodore Taylor is a book just about this. It takes place during the 1980's at Lumber Landing, a small fishing town near Vancouver. This story is fiction but it could really happen.

Jamie Tidd is the main character of this story. He is a fourteen year old who is in a fishing camp for the summer with his dad. They live on their boat called the Dawn Girl. They catch fish and take them to market. Jamie and his dad like to fish and get along well. Jamie's best friend is Angie. She works with her dad on another boat. Zach Cooke is a man who works for a Sea World type place that is being built. Doc Greenlee is a man who works for Zach Cooke.

Zack Cooke put out an add for a twenty-five foot killer whale in good condition. The reward is one hundred thousand dollars. He wants it to be an attraction at a new water park. Jamie and his Dad are fishing one day and a killer whale gets into a small cove. They remember the add and trap the whale with nets. They then send out a call to another boat that they know to see if they can buy some fish from them. They get the fish and feed the whale.

Jamie's dad calls Zack Cooke and tells him that they have a whale. Zack Cooke doesn't believe it at first. He sends Doc Greenlee to check out the whale. You will want to find out how this opportunity to make one hundred thousand dollars affects everyone.

There is a lot in this book about being a good friend. The book is also about making important decisions. I recommend this book because it is more than just an animal story.

5.0 out of 5 stars Hostage review c, January 21, 2008

By 

NBCT2000 "nbct2000" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hostage (Hardcover)

I think the book is really good and i want to read it over and over again!