Title: The Chronicles of Egg, Deadweather and Sunrise
Author: Geoff Rodkey
Genre: Young Adult, Juvenile Fiction, Pirates
Publication: May 29th 2012, Putnam Juvenile
Pages: 295, paperback
Source: Thank you so much to Penguin Books South Africa for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review! :)
A stunning middle-grade debut--full of heart, humor, and nonstop actionIt's tough to be thirteen, especially when somebody's trying to kill you.Not that Egg's life was ever easy, growing up on sweaty, pirate-infested Deadweather Island with no company except an incompetent tutor and a pair of unusually violent siblings who hate his guts.But when Egg's father hustles their family off on a mysterious errand to fabulously wealthy Sunrise Island, then disappears with the siblings in a freak accident, Egg finds himself a long-term guest at the mansion of the glamorous Pembroke family and their beautiful, sharp-tongued daughter Millicent. Finally, life seems perfect.Until someone tries to throw him off a cliff.Suddenly, Egg's running for his life in a bewildering world of cutthroat pirates, villainous businessmen, and strange Native legends. The only people who can help him sort out the mystery of why he's been marked for death are Millicent and a one-handed, possibly deranged cabin boy.Come along for the ride. You'll be glad you did.Wow. I wasn't expecting that. At all. When I received this book for review I wasn't anticipating to love it as much as I did. In fact, I was kind of weary, because I was thinking: middle grade and pirates. How can this be the type of book I would enjoy. Well let me just tell you, I was wrong, dead wrong. I loved this book so much, I'm not sure how I can even give such a magnificent book justice, but I will try.
From the very first page of Deadweather and Sunrise, I was hooked, I'm not lying. The author paints such vivid imagery in your head, that you devour the words, sometimes reading them over and over until you have that beautiful, fixed image in your mind that he painted with words.The settings he created were so realistic, yet they had that hint of fantasy, pure genius.
The main character Egbert (later known as Egg) was incredible. He was the type of guy I would love to know. He was sensitive, caring and brave and they way he loved Millicent, it was stunning. What I also loved about Egg and Millie's romance, was that Egg was a real gentleman towards her, he didn't push anything and didn't say anything till he was sure she loved him back.
And Millie? I don't know who wouldn't love Millicent. Seriously. She is smart and will do what she thinks is right, she won't back down in a fight and will grab her rifle and aim, literally. She is a lovely character and has brilliant traits and charisma that a good heroine needs.
The other characters I also loved reading about. With some of the antagonists I was quivering at the knees, but our smart,resourceful, brave, fantastic, magnificent Egg managed to think of a way where he could rescue himself, Millie and his new loyal friend, Guts.
The plot also had many twists and turns, at parts in the story I was gobsmacked and my eyes were following the words furiously to find out what is going to happen next. Trust me, Deadweather and Sunrise has a LOT of surprises. There were quite a few characters who will really shock you and some of their actions I was not expecting at all.
I also wouldn't rank this book middle-grade, it has so much depth to it and feeling. If you are put off of this book because you think it is beneath you, think again. It has a lot of life lessons about family, trust and love and it contains a LOT of adventure!
Overall, Deadweather and Sunrise will not fail to surprise you. The characters are beautifully described and throughout the book you just get to know them better and better. Geoff Rodkey is a genius when it comes to writing, his writing is like a masterpiece, the images that you receive while reading the book stay in your mind for awhile.The words spring off the page and it's almost like you collect them and bottle them up because you want to keep them forever and treasure them. That's how I felt about it. So please, this book has been out for almost two months, if you haven't already read it, I suggest you do so. Soon.
I give it: 5 CUPCAKES!
