Curse of the Dearmad by Emma Mylrea is a middle-grade book about adventure, friendship, and the love one share for family.
Blurb:
Living in the ordinary world is anything but ordinary for twins Percy and Nell Shearwater. After all, Percy is not like most eleven-year-old boys. Most eleven-year-old boys don’t have gills.
When the grip of death tightens its hold on the twins’ mother, Percy resolves to do whatever it takes to find a cure. But what if that means embarking on a secret and treacherous journey through uncharted waters, to the island of Doona... an island which some say doesn’t even exist?
While Percy confronts the perils of the sea to save his dying mother, Nell will need to rely on her own mysterious gift if she is to have any chance of seeing her brother again. There’s just one thing that lies in her way: the Curse of Dearmad
Review:
This is a great adventurous middle-grade fantasy book that I enjoyed reading.
Talking about the characters, I enjoyed Nell's character the most. She is a strong, fearless girl, who would do anything to protect the ones she loves. Even though she was always jealous of Percy for being "The gifted One", she had the strength to accept that. And even though she didn't like Connor (because he was a gilly and he stole her twin), she still did everything she could to save him. Connor is a character that I have no positive or negative things to say about. He did a few things wrong but he also grew as a character.
The character that I didn't like at all was the granny, Marrie. She was a strong character up until the cave of Dearmad came into the picture. I didn't like how she stopped Nell from going back into the cave to save Connor. She simply told her that they will save Connor on their journey back from Doona. Although she knew from the start that she will never return from Doona. No matter how much Nell cried that the cave is sucking in Connor way too fast and that the poor boy may go mad if left any longer, the good old granny only cared about her grandson and finding a way to reach Doona. She simply lied and let the time decide the fate of Connor. By the end of the book, I really wondered if the only reason she let the story of Doona slip in front of Percy was to push him to find a way to the island, so she can finally be with her husband.
Percy himself was a bit self-centered character. Throughout the book, he looked down on people, pretending to be a bit more special than he is. He called Connor weak even though Connor made it to the cave by himself. He helped them through and through within the water, and even up until the very end, Percy never appreciated his strength and courage. Not only Connor, but Percy was also mean to his own twin sister too. Although Nell (being a non-gilly), found her way to Percy and saved him from the curse of Dearmad through her special gift, Percy never appreciated her. He even commented on their journey back that even if she has this magical power, she isn't that powerful. Even though Percy was a gilly who could find the island of Doona, I believe it was Nell who actually saved everyone.
Otto was a nice character, who you would love to hug. He will always make you smile.
The storyline was interesting and kept me hooked. The mystical elements about the cave, the island, and the water were captivating.
The book was beautifully illustrated at the beginning of each chapter that really helped visualize the whole scene. Also, I loved the whimsical chapter name like "Cave 1, Connor 0". It was really funny!
The writing was flawless (No doubt I read the whole thing in 2-sittings). Except for the 2 main characters (which are supposed to be lovely), I really enjoyed the book.