Orphans of the Tide

Product Information

Any winner of the Bath Children's Novel Award is going to turn my head. The calibre of writers that are shortlisted for this award is staggering year upon year and so to win it must feel like the ultimate achievement. Energetic and inventive . . . and with some startling surprises, this is also touching about friendship, siblings, loss and courage Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times Struan Murray . . . effortlessly joins the ranks of the most skilled world-creators . . . Unpredictable, filled with plot twists and shades of moral grey, Orphans of the Tide is both gripping and original. Kitty Empire, The Observer

Gripping . . . with a touch of Frances Hardinge's bizarre brilliance -- Imogen Russell Williams - The Guardian The most original opening I've read in years and a plot twist that turns brilliantly - Abi Elphinstone, author of Sky Song Not if Ellie gets her chance to save the boy first; she is determined to prove that he is innocent. There must be something in one of her workshops, one of her inventions, that she can use to offer up proof. She doesn't have to tell everyone all of her secrets, as long as her inventions are there to protect her. The past cannot harm her if she won't speak it. Besides, she doesn't have time for friendship right now anyway. Saving the boy might be the only thing that can save the City from itself. I loved the first book in this series. Yes it was a Middle Grade, but it was also very dark. The Enemy really is evil, and very manipulative. The way he was written and the reveals we get throughout the book were just so superbly done. It is a very firm favourite of mine.The energetic steampunk vibe overlies a thoughtful fable about compassion and justice New Statesman

The plot of the book was predictable. As soon as you began to understand the world this is set in, it becomes quite easy to guess the outcome of everything. I don’t know how well the age group this is aimed at would guess the plot but as an adult reading this, I thought it was quite predictable. Objectives: Match key themes to book covers from the series; identify what makes the City an interesting and unusual setting for the story; write a descriptive paragraph about an imagined city.Unlike everyone else, Ellie is convinced that the boy, Seth, knows nothing of the Enemy and is innocent and so begins a race against time to clear his name. The journey that will take her to all corners of the city but no amount of running will stop the dangerous Inquisitors hunting Seth down. To clear Seth’s name Ellie may have to reveal her own dark secret. In saving Seth she will be forced to condemn herself… Ellie, an orphan, no longer lives in the orphanage but makes a living building steampunk type machines and repairing those made by her mother. She is tormented by the death of her brother plus being messy and good-hearted. Her best friend is Anna, still living in the orphanage and in charge of a motley crew of Baker Street irregulars. Seth, the boy pulled from the whale, is mysterious with no memory of his past other than his brothers and sisters are missing.

The City is a mishmash of the last surviving people, living on a jagged mountain that just about made it through the flood. But they all live in perpetual fear of The Enemy, who still very much exists and wishes to cause havoc. This book has it's own map of The City, which I loved but honestly didn't use all that often. The book carried itself perfectly without needing a map, but the map was definitely a nice touch. Only Ellie, a fearless young inventor living in a workshop crammed with curiosities, believes he's innocent. But the Enemy can take possession of any human body and the ruthless Inquisition are determined to destroy it forever. To save the boy, Ellie must prove who he really is - even if that means revealing her own dangerous secret . . . About This Edition ISBN: I loved it! Dark and thrilling. Great characters to root for. Perilous plot. Extraordinary, vivid world building . . . brilliant! - Eloise Williams, Children's Laureate Wales El worldbuilding, con su mundo inundado, el toque steampunk, la organización de la sociedad, y una trama así de emocionante, llena de acción, aventuras, y tantísimo misterio... No he podido separarme de esta novela desde que la abrí, por los secretos, por el peligro al que se enfrentan Ellie y Seth, y lo estupenda que es también Anna, la mejor amiga de Ellie, y la única capaz de poner orden entre tanta aventura descabellada y plan sinsentido.

As Kate marches north at the head of her army, panic infests the City as the Enemy's strength grows. For the parting of the seas has also uncovered the Eternity Engine, a dreadful machine from before the Drowning, with the power to remake the world - or destroy it forever . . . This is the third book in the Orphans of the Tide series, and an epic conclusion at that. This series revolves around the presence of the Enemy. The Enemy of a kind of God, who resides in a Vessel. He can fulfil wishes for the Vessel, but in return gains some power to do as he wishes. He can for example save someone for the Vessel, but then himself gets the power to also save, or kill, someone. And as his name suggests, he does not want to do nice things with those powers. The town is obviously terrified of this Enemy and has installed an Inquisition to find the Vessel. If you are thought to be a Vessel, you are very likely to be killed… because then the Enemy also disappears for 10 years. Orphans of the Tide is one of the best books I have read in 2020. Myth, legend and dark truths combine in this thrilling tale. Original and enticing, this is one of the best fantasy stories I have read for a long time. There’s a mix of peril and intrigue in all the right proportions, a strong female lead and a well-constructed fantasy world with its own haunting mythology that really does immerse the reader from the start. When you ask for a favor there is always a cost. The cost can be good or bad, but in "Orphans of the Tide" the cost is always bad.

I liked it, I guess what made it more MG than YA is "nicer" and not violent. Oh who knows. It would work for any age group. I loved the premise for this story. I liked the idea of The Enemy housed in a Vessel. I loved the interplay between Finn and Ellie. I did love how the ending came together and I was glad I made it to the end. I won’t say too much about it so that others can experience the story in their own way, but I will say this; the way Murray has written this book draws you right into the story, you experience everything alongside the characters. The language choices, the imagery, the people, everything, it all marries together to create a detailed and well woven story that keeps you gripped from start to finish. The changes in pace and tension have been crafted so wonderfully that it’s nearly impossible to find places at which you can put the book down.But this is also a story about ordinary people, ordinary conflict, and that's even more fascinating. This is a story about how good people can be led down bad paths, through fear, through hate, through manipulation. It's a story about individuals going astray, but also about whole populations being lied to, whipped up into a fanatical mob capable of terrible atrocities, or led to war against complete strangers because they've been taught to fear them. This is such a vital, powerful message and it is delivered in a captivating and enthralling plot with deep, complex, and ultimately likeable characters. Ellie and Seth makes a good team...eventually. Hiding, running, trying to figure who he is, and what the enemy is. When a mysterious boy washes in with the tide, the citizens believe he's the Enemy - the god who drowned the world - come again to cause untold chaos.