Customer Reviews

My Sister Sif

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My Sister Sif by Ruth Park (Playing Beatie Bow) tells the tale of Rikoriko and her sister Sif. Orphaned after their father died, the girls are sent to live with their aunt in Australia. After growing up on the tropical paradise of Rongo, their new home Sydney, with its mad rush and choking pollution, is absolute torture, and Riko (known as Erika in the city) hatches a plot to escape.

Riko's idyllic summer on Rongo turns sour with the arrival of an American scientist, Henry Jacka, who's falling in love with Sif. Riko is bitter and upset, lashing out at those closest to her. She escapes up into the hills to vent to her friend Pig, a ground-dwelling Stone Age dwarf with an intense fear of fire.

The book inserts a dizzying blend of science fiction (telepathy, space age materials, mermaids, dwarves) and heavy-handed environmental warnings (mankind will destroy the earth!) into a relatively slim story; the main focus is on Riko's intense jealousy of Henry attempting to take Sif away from her. The climax felt forced and the sacrifice trivial; the ending fared better. This was originally written in 1986, and its age clearly shows in the descriptions of the "near future": rather than space-age technology, we get environmental disasters such as underwater dead zones, active volcanoes, tornadoes and floods, resulting in the death of butterflies (not quite yet!) and bees (much closer to reality). It's still an engaging read, especially for fans of mermaid- and dolphin-centered novels such as A Ring of Endless Light: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 4 and Emily Windsnap: Three Swishy Mermaid Tales: Books 1-3, but is much more serious in tone than other books in this genre.

I read this book when I was really young and loved it, it was intelligent and captured my imagination. I ended up reading it more than once

I truly love this book. It was one of those books that held my interest the whole way through and was definitely worth the time. This story includes fantasy, adventure, a bit of romance, and a whole new way to look at mermaids. I really recommend it to anyone who loves reading!

I wasn't very impressed by this book. It was colorful and fairly well written, yet somehow, it seemed as lifeless as an artificial flower. It wasn't easy to get into and I lost interest before I'd even got halfway through. The story itself was bizarre, and for the most part, torpid; the casual indifference and bluntness to which we're treated to the sudden appearance of mermen, telepathic dolphins and even dwarves(!) only seemed to make it worse. After fifty or so pages, I skipped straight to the end, only to find more of the same. Heck, I only paid 99 cents for my copy and I still feel ripped off.

There was a great cast of characters. I enjoyed the futuristic fantasy. I'm in seventh grade and found this book very intresting.