The Islanders never meant to come to the Second World. But come they did, and now they live peacefully alongside the Raftworlders. But the leader of the Raftworlders has a secret, one he hopes will open the portal between the worlds and bring his people home. Enter Pip and Kinchen, brother and sister Islanders. When the Raft King kidnaps Pip, desperate for Pip's gift of talking to fish, to lead him to the portal, Kinchen sets out to rescue him. Bouwman's novel is thus thrust onto the high seas! Along with Pip and Kinchen, we meet Venus and her twin brother, Swimmer gical twins who escaped a slave ship bound for Jamaica in 1871. There's also Thanh and Sang, a brother and sister fleeing war-torn Vietnam. Despite the novel's magical elements (like sea krakens and time travel), Bouwman weaves together these stories of freedom and escape with a deep sense of respect and emotion, bringing the reader directly into each family's search for a safety that transcends both time and space.

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In the "second world" dwell people who did not arrive of their own volition. But in that world exist communities and harmony, between and among the Raftworlders (with dark brown skin and tightly curled hair) and the Islanders (with lighter-brown skin and straight hair). Access to the second world is gained through a portal, which cannot be mapped, tracked, or predicted. This novel relates the stories of three different sets of relatives, whose stories intertwine. First up are Islanders Pip and Kinchen. Pip has the gift of talking to fishes, a gift the Raft King-ruler of Raftworld-is dangerously desperate to use so that he and his people can find the portal and leave the second world. There are also Venus and her twin brother, Swimmer-enslaved people held on a ship headed for Jamaica in 1781. They escape lives of bondage and heartbreaking cruelty via the portal to the second world. Finally, readers meet Thanh and Sang, a brother and sister trying to escape war-torn Vietnam on a small boat, when a violent storm and a brutal pirate attack threaten their survival. Bouwman takes these disparate stories and fits the pieces of her puzzle together in pleasantly surprising ways, down to the very end. Shimizu's black-and-white illustrations are lovely and vital to picturing the different worlds and moments conjured by the author. This novel touches on sensitive and tragic moments in history and gives them fantastical remediation for a provocative, immersive read. (afterword, bibliography) (Fantasy. 10-14)

The Middle Passage and the fall of Saigon: two terrible events, separated by centuries, with seemingly nothing in common. But for Bouwman (The Remarkable & Very True Story of Lucy & Snowcap) anything is possible, including the existence of a second world. It-s 1978 there: 12-year-old Kinchen leaves her island home to save her younger brother, Pip, after he is taken to Raftworld, the vividly described floating nation of descendants of enslaved Africans brought there 200 years prior via the aquatic magic of a girl named Venus and her brother, Swimmer. On Earth, meanwhile, Thanh and his older sister, Sang, are on a motorized rowboat in the South China Sea, having escaped South Vietnam only to travel through a magical doorway to the second world-the same door the Raft King kidnapped Pip in order to find. Through the captivating interwoven tales of these three sibling pairs-and with assistance from Shimizu-s powerful ink illustrations-Bouwman crafts a moving narrative about family, magic, morality, the power of storytelling, and the cyclical nature of history. Ages 10-up. Author-s agent: Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary. (Jan.)

Gr 5 Up-This engaging and wistful novel reimagines the outcome of tragic events from the past with a magical bent through three sibling-centered stories. First, readers meet Pip and his sister Kinchen, who live in the "second world" on one of the few pieces of viable land, the island of Tathenn. The rest of the population live on a giant community of rafts bound together, called Raftworld, ruled by the Raft King. Select people in this world are born with giftsstorytelling, the capacity to walk on water, and, in Pip's case, the ability to communicate with fish and other sea creatures. Next, readers are introduced to Venus and Swimmer, twins who, after being captured by a "first world" slave ship in 1781, eventually lead their people to freedom by going through a crack in the sea to the second world. Finally, there's Thanh, his sister Sang, and several relatives, who flee war-torn Vietnam in 1976 in search of a better life. A difficult journey, including a violent encounter with Thai pirates, leaves them desperate and hungry in the middle of the ocean. Though the plot is complicated and fantastical, Bouwman's world is never difficult to understand, and the three sibling tales eventually interweave beautifully. Shimizu's black-and-white illustrations enhance the narrative's progression. An afterword and further reading list provide insight and ideas for readers interested in the terrible true account of the Zong slave ship, which inspired the author. VERDICT Fans of Grace Lin will love this wholly original book that reads like a fairy tale. A moving and thought-provoking choice for library collections. Kristy Pasquariello, Wellesley Free Library, MA