Decorating the stern of the ship is a row of great wooden men. Great in that they are almost life-height and full-bearded. Great, too, in that they wear long robes.

Storytelling is woven into The Night Ship in various ways, including through folklore and family histories. What do you think the author is trying to achieve with these layers of storytelling? Mayken has a father she’s never met. Her father is a merchant who lives in a distant land where the midday sun is fierce enough to melt a Dutch child.We follow Mayken’s adventures on this months-long journey across the world. But we know from the beginning that the ship will not complete its trip. In 1989, a boy mourning the death of his beloved mother, called Gil, with a dark past, is placed in the care of his solitary grandfather on a tiny fishing island off the Australian coast. anything 3 star and above is still a positive review. I consider a three star review to be more of a positive-neutral review. Inspired by real events (the sinking of a Dutch merchant ship, The Batavia off the coast of Australia in 1628), the story unfolded slowly … knowingly … teasingly … deliciously. "Someone polish my barnacles!" I shouted. "This has five stars written all over it!"A special shout out to the sour-faced tortoise Enkidu, who always made me smile even while reading some of the horrors that Mayken and Gil had to cope with! My concern was all for naught, though. Now don’t get me wrong: Kidd has done her historical research, and she’s done it well. But to my delight, still incorporated within the history of the story is her unique brand of magic and the supernatural, allowing for ghosts and a mythical sea monster to be weaved into the narrative. Mayken loves the sailors instantly. The daring of them, their speed along the ropes, the heights they climb to! The predikant is pointing out the Dutch East India Company cadets and officials gathering at the top of the stern castle. Look, there is the upper-merchant in his red coat and plumed hat. Flanked by the under-merchant, also well hatted, and the stout old skipper, hatless. Three men entrusted by the Company with a cargo richer than the treasuries of many kingdoms, the lives of hundreds of innocent souls and this wonderful ship, newly built – her maiden voyage! Imke nods as though she’s interested. Mrs Predikant stares ahead with her mouth turned down, trout-like, abiding. Mayken hangs over the side of the bunk to see Imke’s reaction but the old woman is asleep. Pelgrom extracts his hand from Imke’s and wipes it on the blanket. He glances up at Mayken. “What?” Q: You created such a varied cast of characters. Was there one character who was your favorite to write about? If so, why?

Kidd has based her latest novel on the historical sinking of the BATAVIA off the west coast of Australia in 1629.Given that this book is based on real-life events that took place during the voyage of the Batavia (as we are reminded in the epilogue), what do you think we should take away from Mayken’s story? Mayken’s nursemaid looks on with satisfaction. Imke revels in the trials of others with a pure and shameless joy. Rounding the ship’s flank, they see gunports painted red. The predikant points them out to the cherub. Historical Fiction with touches of Magical Realism is the spark that led to requesting this ARC and my first experience reading one of Jess Kidd's books. If I were to briefly describe this story, I would say it is 'very full'. Full of history and imagination, survival and tragedy, life and death, darkness and light, and everything in-between.

While Mayken and Gil are entirely fictional, Kidd has populated her story with many of the actual people who were on the Batavia. The presence of those historical personages gives the events that take place in the novel even greater heft. The kids are very nicely drawn, and will engage your interest and sympathy. Both characters are riveting. Mayken is impish and fascinated with the world of the boat and the characters who inhabit it. Gil is awkward, lonely, a little weird, and terrified of the world. His only friend is a 900-year-old tortoise named Enkidu. Pelgrom looks closely at Mayken with his mouth pursed and his eyes narrowed. The exact same way Imke would regard a salmon held up by a Haarlem fishmonger. Mayken tries to look bright-eyed and fresh. With her trademark “thrilling, mysterious, twisted, but more than anything, beautifully written” (Graham Norton, New York Times bestselling author) storytelling, Jess Kidd weaves an unputdownable and charming tale of friendship and sacrifice, brutality and forgiveness. Mayken rolls her eyes. “ Lucretia Jansdochter is giving out to Zwaantie Hendricx on account of the maidservant giving encouragement to sailors old and young.”

More from The Author

Gulls are nervously testing the yardarm, clumsy-footed compared to the sailors who are all over the rigging: climbing, dangling, rolling, lashing, hollering, and cursing.

While he is encouraged by another of the islanders he befriends, when this predilection is discovered, it puts him at odds with the conservative fishing community. In 1629, nine-year-old Mayken, now motherless, is traveling via the ship Batavia's maiden voyage, to live with the wealthy father she has never met. She is joined on her journey by her nursemaid, Imke, to whom she is deeply attached. A: I hope that readers will feel that I’ve brought the story alive and created an immersive world for them. This is what I love to get from a book when I read. I’m also hoping that they will go on to discover the Batavia’s incredible story for themselves, as there are so many fascinating resources out there. Mayken must not say a word about the baby because it shouldn’t have been up there in the first place. She has practiced with her nursemaid.The best thing about Imke is her missing finger tops. Mayken gets a thrill just looking at them. Second and third fingers, right hand, nubbed joints smoothed over where nails ought to be. Imke will not tell how she lost her finger tops. Mayken never tires of guessing. The stories unfold in alternate chapters, linked by repeated phrases, talismans and the myth of a terrifying sea monster. With a nod to the Australian horror film The Babadook, Gil finds an old storybook of his mother’s behind a cabinet, telling the tale of a bunyip, an eel-like shapeshifter that preys on children. As with the Babadook, the creature (whose legend originates with the indigenous people) is a projection of fear. “How do you describe dread, Gil?” asks Birgit, one of the scientists. “That’s what the bunyip is: an attempt to give fear a shape.” The great-bellied ship looms above. One, two, three masts—rising up through a web of rope. The pennant flags snap and stream against a sky of lowering clouds. year-old Mayken, a dutch girl from an affluent family, boards the Batavia for a months-long journey to her new home in the Dutch East Indies. What she finds aboard is a world of wonder, not only begging for exploration but also a world that puts her life in danger. Pelgrom shrugs. Mayken tries to scratch under her cap, only her sleeves are too long. Pelgrom rolls them up. His smile is charming.