This week's blog post will not be like my last couple of blog posts. Unfortunately, the book that I chose to read this week for my 20 Book Challenge was not exactly my cup of tea. This was a book that I found at my parents' house from my childhood, and I vividly remember not being very interested in the book when I was younger. After beginning the book this time, I quickly remembered why I did not enjoy it. The idea of a story about a girl raised by dolphins transforming into a human was a good thought, but the story plot did not make this book very interesting. It was rather dry.
The Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse is a children's fiction book recommended for grades 6-12. Mila, a teenage girl, was discovered in the ocean by rescuers. Many years prior, Mila, along with her mother and brother, had been on a plane that crashed in this very ocean. Once the rescuers found her, they took her to a hospital where she began to be observed by a few doctors, mainly Dr. Beck and Sandy. They came to realize that Mila was a feral child who had been raised by dolphins. They try to transform Mila into a human by teaching her English, having her listen to music, and helping her develop survival skills so she can live on land. In return, Dr. Beck wishes to learn dolphin language. Mila tries her best to learn about the human way of life, and she does to a degree, but in the end, she returns to missing her dolphin family.
One thing I did like about this story is how the author differentiated the language and font between when Mila could only speak dolphin to when she was relatively fluent in English, much like a human. At the beginning, when Mila still longs for her dolphin family, the language is very broken English and the font size is large. As the book progresses and Mila becomes more fluent in English and accustomed to human life, the font size gradually decreases and becomes complete sentences. At the end, when she again wishes to return to her dolphin family and is tired of human life, the font becomes large again, also returning to broken English. This was a neat way to be able to establish where Mila was in her progress of adapting to human life.
Another aspect that I liked about the book was the fact that it emphasized the same theme as Ralph S. Mouse did in last week's post - Your family will always be there through thick and thin. "They will not leave, they will not turn. I know them. They are my family." This quote stood out to me the most as the theme of the book. Even though I disliked the book, I feel that the author did a good job at showing how no matter where life takes us, there will be no place like home and no people like our family.
Maybe this book seems interesting to you, maybe not? Though I expressed that I did not like this book, I tried not to be overly biased in telling you about this story. If you choose to read this book, let me know what you think!
Have a great week,
Ashton Schimmelpfennig
One of the reasons that I enjoy reading your blog is that you are always so passionate with reading and giving an honest review. Even though you didn't enjoy a book, you still give the reader an opportunity to still like the book. I agree that the book doesn't sound like it's a good read. I can see where you wouldn't care too fondly for it. I like that you found the theme of family and "there's no place like home" in this book despite it having a bad plot line.
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