Shark Beneath the Reef [Paperback]

Jean Craighead George (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1991

Like his father and grandfather before him, 14-year-old Tomás Torres dreams of catching a great shark in the Sea of Cortez -- and he will catch it, although there are other things he should be thinking about. With an education, her could someday become a marine biologist. Tomás's family want him to stay in school. But Tomás knows he will be more help to them if he leaves school now to become a fisherman.
Should he drop out?
The choice is Tomás alone -- a difficult one for a boy just becoming a man. It is only underwear, in a confrontation with the fisherman's greatest prize and worst enemy, that Tomás finds the strength to make his decision.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tomas, 14, must decide whether to continue his education or leave school to become a fisherman; PW praised George's "sensitive portrayal of social change and its effect on a young person's dreams" as "among her most suspenseful." Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up-- In the United States of the 21st century, 69% of the adult population is alcoholic, and a chain of government-regulated rehabilitation centers called Soberlife is flourishing. It is the law that minors can commit their parents to a Soberlife facility, as 14-year-old Sam has had to do with his mother in the hope of shielding his younger brother Ollie from her disease. The control which Sam exerts over the lives around him is monumental but has left him with no life of his own. In the end he finds that controlling others is only an illusion, and that Ollie has not been shielded but deeply wounded by his family's deception. The final note of this depressing scenario, however, is a hopeful one. Sam and his mother reveal themselves to each other for the first time and bond together in love and acceptance. The plot has many messages but is not overburdened. The characters of Sam, Ollie, and their mother are vivid, and the sense of foreboding surrounding Ollie's actions carries readers as the point of view shifts with each chapter. A strong story that delivers the chilling realization that the future which Brooks portrays is not very distant. --Nancy Curtin, Port Washington Public Library, N.Y.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (April 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064403084
• ISBN-13: 978-0064403085
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,138,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( G ) > George, Jean Craighead

More About the Author

Jean Craighead George was born in a family of naturalists. Her father, mother, brothers, aunts and uncles were students of nature. On weekends they camped in the woods near their Washington, D.C. home, climbed trees to study owls, gathered edible plants and made fish hooks from twigs. Her first pet was a turkey vulture. In third grade she began writing and hasn't stopped yet. She has written over 100 books.Her book, Julie of the Wolves won the prestigious Newbery Medal, the American Library Association's award for the most distinguished contribution to literature for children, l973. My Side of the Mountain, the story of a boy and a falcon surviving on a mountain together, was a 1960 Newbery Honor Book. She has also received 20 other awards.She attended Penn State University graduating with a degree in Science and Literature. In the 1940s she was a reporter for The Washington Post and a member of the White House Press Corps. After her children were born she returned to her love of nature and brought owls, robins, mink, sea gulls, tarantulas - 173 wild animals into their home and backyard. These became characters in her books and, although always free to go, they would stay with the family until the sun changed their behavior and they migrated or went off to seek partners of their own kind.When her children, Twig, Craig and Luke, were old enough to carry their own backpacks, they all went to the animals. They climbed mountains, canoed rivers, hiked deserts. Her children learned about nature and Jean came home and to write books. Craig and Luke are now environmental scientists and Twig writes children's books, too.One summer Jean learned that the wolves were friendly, lived in a well-run society and communicated with each other in wolf talk -- sound, sight, posture, scent and coloration. Excited to learn more, she took Luke and went to the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory in Barrow, Alaska, where scientists were studying this remarkable animal. She even talked to the wolves in their own language. With that Julie of the Wolves was born. A little girl walking on the vast lonesome tundra outside Barrow, and a magnificent alpha male wolf, leader of a pack in Denali National Park were the inspiration for the characters in the book. Years later, after many requests from her readers, she wrote the sequels, Julie and Julie's Wolf Pack.She is still traveling and coming home to write. In the last decade she has added two beautiful new dimensions to her words beautiful full-color picture book art by Wendell Minor and others and - music. Jean is collaborating with award-winning composer, Chris Kubie to bring the sounds of nature to her words.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Adventures of Tomas, January 8, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Shark Beneath the Reef (Paperback)

The book, Shark Beneath the Reef, by Jean Craighead George is a wonderfully intriguing story and a magic to read. The tale of an adolescent Mexican boy growing into manhood and his dreams of becoming a fisherman is all a wonderful story in itself. But put together with his family's downfall, the price of growing up, and best of all, his epic adventures in the reefs, it is phenomenal. It is a delightful and emotional way of getting a dose of a dream, let alone a truly wonderful work of art. It is a masterpiece. Shark Beneath the Reef is an excellent book to read, especially for young adults because it is very detailed and full of adventure. It is detailed and has the reader turning pages constantly. The amount of detail is so great that it gives the reader an idea of what it is like to live in another world, whether an improvement or not from the average American teen's life today. For instance, Tomás, the main character's adventures in the coral reefs make you feel like you are really there. The detail leads you to wonder what the main character's mind tells him to do, and what he will do with his unusual talents. Besides containing great detail, the book is just plain capturing! Risking lives, a family's struggle, and strong friendships spice up the story and conclude the book making you hungry for more each time. For example, when Tomás is in a life-threatening situation with a huge shark, you can feel what he must be thinking, facing the shark. This book is a wonderful way of spending your reading time. Although this book is incredibly fun and inspiring to read, there was one part of it that might not appeal to everyone. The majority of the book is to the point and a wonderful experience, but the beginning of it is just a little bit vague and difficult to understand. It may not appeal to people who don't enjoy adventure stories or nature, but it will be a dream come true to those who do. It just requires patience because in the end the whole plot ties together. Don't let the beginning discourage you to finish the book, because you will be missing out on a wonderful tale of a boy who just wanted to dream, but whose dream became reality. Shark Beneath the Reef is a "must read" book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A better written review of Brennan Seelie's Review, November 7, 2000

By 

Jenna, 13 (richmond, kali) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shark Beneath the Reef (Paperback)

Thomas Toraz, fourteen year old boy, lives with his grandparents off the coast of Baja California. His grandpa, Ramone, owns the fishing camp that they live in. Thomas is a smart boy and has a chance to become a marine biologist if he stays is school. But he knows his family needs him more at home and could become a shark fisherman to fulfill his family tradition. He is faced with the conflict of whether to earn fast money or go to school and get a good education. He finds out that the officials are making his family pay rent on their own island but they aren't able to pay it and feels he needs to help and make money. His uncle says there is a whale shark in the shallows so he decided to try and catch the shark to pay the rent but messes up everytime. When he finally gets close enough to it, things are not as they appear.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great book, May 30, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Shark Beneath the Reef (Paperback)

Tomas Torres is a Mexican teenager who is forced to make the decision of whether or not to stay in school or go on to be a fisherman like his father and grandfather before him. Tomas wants to keep his fathers business alive, while his teacher is pushing him to stay in school and study marine biology. Opinions are split, things go wrong, read the book and find out what happens. A Shark Beneath The Reef is a wonderful book about a boy who is faced with the decision of school or fishing. His father was killed by a shark, and he has always wanted to continue his legacy. Tomas gains many different opinions on the topic before he decides. The marine police around his town are trying to shut down his fathers fishing business, and Tomas is caught up in the business of trying to save it, all while trying to make his decision. This was a very well written, well-researched book. The author uses great nature descriptions in the book, which really add to the book in many ways. I would recommend this to anyone looking for simply a good book.

The first thing I liked about this book is the different settings and how well they are described. For example heres how the author chose to describe a morning on the beach: "The mountains stretched north and south from horizon to horizon , and in the low light they looked like a gargantuan cutout of a jaw of sharks teeth. Above them stars shone as bright as fire. The sun would not be up for another hour." Its sentences like these that bring life to this book.

Another thing I liked about this book is the use of Mexican culture throughout the book. At the begging of the book it talks about the Mexican God Quetzalcoatl and the lady of Guadalupe. There is also a scene later in the book that describes a Mexican fiesta in which there is parades and dancing. This is a very neat and educational aspect to this book.

The final thing that I liked about the book is that while it is a very detailed book, the plot is very simple and it is an easy to read book. The plot of this book doesn't shift around too much, its beasically all about Tomas and his decision. The author provides characters and detail to add volume and description to the story, but the plot is simple throughout.

Overall, A Shark Beneath The Reef is a wonderful book with many delighting aspects that should be read and enjoyed by people of all ages.