Why a Booktrail?
2000s: A story of survival, and courage in the midst of darkness
Only the Ocean
What you need to know before your trail
The two girls sat at opposite ends of the boat and Kel dug and stretched the oars into the ocean like her life depended upon it because it did.
‘Just so you know,’ said Rose, ‘everything, and I mean everything, is your fault.’
Kel Crow lives in a dead-end swamp with her deadbeat family and a damaged heart. But she has a plan to escape. It’s a one-two-three fortune story that goes: stow away on the ship, kidnap the girl, swap the girl to pay for passage to America and a life-saving operation.
But the ocean is an untameable force, and wrecks ships and plans alike .
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Cornwall
The story starts off in Falmouth and at the harbour where the themes of shipping and stowaways are prominent. This is a story of escape and of the sea and so what better place to have the story take place here?
The sea itself plays a huge role in the story and is vividly evoked throughout the novel almost taking on the role of a character itself. It’s lyrical, ethereal even and is to play a significant role in the plans of the characters. It’s an escape route of course. But it reads like a palette of watercolours ( just like the cover) and the odd dark splash of anger:
“The smudge thing melting in – out above the waves was land, and it was growing in size. Kel stumbled to her feet and she shouted for Rose to wake. She watched the smudge stretch and circle them like prey and all the time she kept up with the shouting, until the last blow filtered from her lungs.”
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Only the Ocean
Destination: Cornwall, Atlantic Ocean Author/guide: Natasha Carthew Departure Time: 2000s
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