Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) - , reviewed on 2/28/2015 + 569 more book reviews

Lauren Tarshis takes a series of horrifying incidents a series of shark attacks in New Jersey in the summer of 1916 and uses them as the basis for a short YA novel. The novel stays pretty close to the facts of the case the 4 fatalities are taken directly from the historical record. The 5th victim, the only survivor, has been fictionalized to act as the protagonist of the piece.
I was disappointed at first to find out that this was NOT a non-fiction account. However, my disappointment was short-lived; the author makes no secret of the adaptation, does a great job of the story, and includes a few pages at the end to review the actual events of 1916. Furthermore, Ms. Tarshis includes a humanities lesson in getting along with your peers, intermixed with one on trust.

This is one of over a dozen (and growing) books in a series called I Survived; I'll reserve judgment on the entire series BUT I think that this book the second in the series shows a lot of promise.

RATING: 4.5 stars. Rounding to 5 stars when fractions of stars are not permitted.

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