Kerr Thomson

I loved this book! Set in Scotland by a Scots author, it grabbed me with that only. There is plenty of Scottish flavor and setting, but not enough to bog down the pace of the story. The friction between Fraser and Hayley felt real. Yes, some of the things that Fraser did were over the top - things a boy his age wouldn't normally do, such as defying all the adults in his life and getting away with it, even if it was for a good reason. I loved his younger brother, Dunny, an autistic mute who knew much more than anyone believed. He used shells as "tells" to give messages to people, though most people discarded them without reading, especially Fraser. The author created a new mythology for Dunny: named him a "gairmie" one who converses with whales. In the past, gairmies had been used to lure whales to whaling ships, and they had mostly died out. But Dunny was a throwback to this art, in a much better way, to protect the whales. The story also brings to light human trafficking, in this instance from Africa.
I've always had difficult trying to describe the smell of the sea. Kerr Thomson's metaphor starts to reach my feeling: "The air was warm, filled with the aroma of salt and seaweed. It was more than a scent; it was a memory, as if he had indeed crawled from the sea a billion years before." Scent does often bring the strongest memories.… (més)

Fantastic read that had me hooked right from the start; I can totally endorse that it deserves the TIMES CHILDREN”S FICTION PRIZE 2014. The story is set on a Scottish isle of Nin. Fraser Dunbar and his mute brother Dunny live on the isle; Fraser is desperate for adventure; while Dunny spends his days staring out to sea. He hasn't said a word in years. Hayley Risso is there because her mother (a journalist) is escaping the bitterness of a broken marriage as well as investigating a human trafficking lead. Hayley is fed up she's even at this desolate island away from her friends and technology.
The story opens with Fraser and Ben nearly being shipwrecked in a storm off the coast and Fraser afraid that his days of assisting Ben will be over as well as afraid of what his parents may say or feel. Ben is a scientist who studies whales, but as the story progresses it turns out that he has other income streams. During the storm Fraser swears he hears a call for help from the open ocean. Ben won’t seek the call and tells Fraser that he is imagining things.
But everything changes with the discovery of two bodies on the beach: a whale and a man who has had his gut slit open. The adventure packed story unfolds from here and is hard to put down. And in the end, it will take someone who listens to the sea and communicates with the whales to put it right.… (més)