Rachel Gedies 74White Dolphin I would give the book White Dolphin by Gill Lewis a five star rating because this was a well written, powerful story about a young girl named Kara who shows fierce bravery, and courage when faced with the disappearance of her mother. Kara’s mother has disappeared on a dolphin expedition, but Kara’s determination helps her to discover the truth about her mom and help her protect the nearby reef, and the dolphins, her mother fought so hard to save. Kara and her father live in a small fishing village. Their lives revolve around the sea. Kara believes the white dolphin she discovers off shore is a sign that her mother is still with her, somewhere. “Mum is still with us dad,” I say. “I know she is.”(pg. 40) Kara is bullied by two school boys, Ethan and Jake who tease her about her mother’s disappearance. They mockingly brag that they will continue to fish by dredging the bay, something Kara’s mother fought hard to stop. Their teasing only makes Kara more determined to stop the dredging and learn more about her mother’s disappearance. Kara, with the help of her new friend Felix, starts a campaign encouraging a voluntary dredging ban to protect the reef and local sea life. After the campaign, Felix tells Kara, “We’ve done it… The petition was signed by more than six hundred people in less than two hours.”(pg.253) Kara’s bravery allowed her to succeed in promoting the dredging ban, and her determination enables her to continue on her quest. While walking along the beach one afternoon, Kara and her friend Felix discover the white dolphin lying on the shore, injured and frail. It had been badly cut by fishing nets and was close to death. Together, they worked with the local vets to save her. Kara and Felix checked in on the white dolphin daily, to make sure she was safe and healing, until she was strong enough to be reunited with her mom. Saving the young dolphin helped to build Kara’s confidence and enabled her to face the facts about her mother’s whereabouts. Kara, determined to know the truth, was finally able to view pictures discovered on her mother’s dolphin shaped memory stick. Those pictures confirmed her mother’s disappearance and she was now able to accept that her mother would never return, “If she had lived, she would have found a way back. She’d be here with us now. She’d be here, because above everything else, she loved us.”(pg.336) This story revealed how a young girl’s bravery, courage, and determination created positive change in her community and for those she cared for. Kara whose father has to sell his sailboat because they can not afford to keep it. Her mother disappeared a year before that. The coastal town they live in is suffering because fishing is no longer what it used to be. They want to dredge the coral reef. The girl finds a white dolphin who was caught in fishing nets and wounded. The mother dolphin is also wounded. They band together to save the dolphin. The story also touches on bullying, lonliness, friendship and not giving up!
What do You think about One White Dolphin (2012)?
This is a good book. If you like dolphine tale then you will like this.
—tilMoko
Very well written. In my top 30 definitely.
—Bookquest
