The Kraken Sea by E. Catherine Tobler

Available June 21, 2016

Goodreads

Publisher: Apex Book Company

Reviewer: Dani Hoots

Fifteen year old Jackson is different from the other children at the foundling hospital. Scales sometimes cover his arms. Tentacles coil just below his skin. Despite this Jackson tries to fit in with the other children. He tries to be normal for Sister Jerome Grace and the priests. But when a woman asks for a boy like him, all that changes. His name is pinned to his jacket and an orphan train whisks him across the country to Macquarie’s.

At Macquarie’s, Jackson finds a home unlike any he could have imagined. The bronze lions outside the doors eat whomever they deem unfit to enter, the hallways and rooms shift and change at will, and Cressida – the woman who adopted him – assures him he no longer has to hide what he is. But new freedoms hide dark secrets. There are territories, allegiances, and a kraken in the basement that eats shadows.

As Jackson learns more about the new world he’s living in and about who he is, he has to decide who he will stand with: Cressida, the woman who gave him a home and a purpose, or Mae, the black-eyed lion tamer with a past as enigmatic as his own. The Kraken Sea is a fast paced adventure full of mystery, Fates, and writhing tentacles just below the surface, and in the middle of it all is a boy searching for himself.

*Review copy received from Apex Book Company*

An interesting novel that is like no other. Jackson just wants to fit in for his sister, but instead is sent off where he can use his uniqueness to his advantage. This story is full of suspense, surprise, and adventure.

I really liked Jackson and he seemed to me as a normal boy who just has to deal with being mutant-like. It reminded me a bit of X-Men, as there were people with mutant-like problems, groups, and it was set in San Fransisco.

There are some parts that are a bit slow but the payoff was worth it. I was a little confused, also, for the parts that had to do with strings, and wished that was a bit clearer. Other than that though, I found this novel to be quite fascinated and wanted to learn more about this world.

I give this book a 4/5 and can’t wait to read more by the author.

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