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Summary
Summary
Fishing. This is it, the big time. Mikey's 13, a deckhand working on a charter boat in Hawaii. Working for the best skipper anywhere, his stepdad, Bill. Before Bill came along, it was just Mikey and his mom. Now they're a real family, and Mikey has a little brother. He can't believe how lucky he is. And now he's learning from the best, even though he's only 13. Because Bill believes in him. And Mikey won't let him down. He loves fishing and being out on the boat. But some seas, some fish, and some charter clients are a lot tougher to handle than Mikey ever imagined. Take Ernie and Cal-they chartered Bill's boat for three days and they're out for the adventure of their lives. Now it's up to Mikey and Bill to deliver it. From the Hardcover Library Binding edition.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
As in his previous books (Shark Bait; Jungle Dogs), Salisbury navigates familiar waters those surrounding the Hawaiian Islands for a diverting and dramatic coming-of-age tale. Thirteen-year-old Mikey Donovan still can't believe he's the new deckhand on his stepfather Bill's charter boat, the Crystal-C. Mikey calls Bill "Lord of the Deep" because he believes Bill is "the best deep-sea charter-fishing skipper there was." In addition to learning fishing secrets from a master, Mikey gets to spend quality time with his mother and his younger half-brother. The idyllic working situation hits a snag, however, when two loutish adventurers hire the Crystal-C for a three-day fishing excursion to bag an impressive marlin. When a big catch suddenly becomes a possibility, Mikey faces a moral dilemma that shakes him to the core. Salisbury frames his tale within the rhythms of Mikey's island routines, carefully describing the preparations and maintenance required for a successful fishing operation and unfolding events in the span of little more than a day. He also puts readers in the middle of some thrilling sports action as the anglers try to land their prey. A subplot about Mikey's biological father is never clearly resolved, but brilliant depictions of water and sky and a number of tender moments that reveal more about Mikey, Bill and their close relationship further strengthen the story. Ages 10-up. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Middle School) Set in and around Hawaii's coastal waters, Lord of the Deep reveals the perilous undercurrents that can lie beneath even the best of human relationships. At thirteen, Mikey works as a deckhand on the Crystal-C, the charter fishing boat owned and operated by his stepfather. Bill is an expert sailor, a devoted father to Mikey's blind half-brother, and a loving, responsible mentor to Mikey, who regards his stepfather as a hero of almost Shane-like proportions (the novel's conclusion even contains echoes of Jack Schaefer's classic work). Exceptionally supple prose follows the duo through a twenty-four-hour period in which Bill's boat is chartered by brothers Cal and Ernie, a pair of boorish sportsmen who are accompanied by Cal's sixteen-year-old daughter Alison. Initially, this seems to be a slice-of-life story about Mikey's experiences as a deckhand-guiding the boat, diving under the vessel to free tangled fishing lines, assisting (in a grippingly dramatic, brilliantly described scene) in the capture of a record-breaking mahimahi. What it becomes is a remarkable examination of the various relationships aboard the Crystal-C: the condescending way Bill is treated by the brothers, the ambivalent rapport between Alison and her father, the intense friendship that forms, despite the difference in their ages, between Alison and Mikey. When the brothers insist that Bill lie about the circumstances of their big catch, and Bill accedes, Mikey confronts his fallen idol in a harangue that reveals how deeply betrayed the young man feels. In many ways, the novel will serve as a barometer of the reader's emotional maturity. Younger readers will identify with Mikey's raw anger, but older readers may understand Bill's actions and his rueful awareness that right and wrong are not absolutes: ""there is an in-between."" This multilayered novel is a masterpiece of subtlety, clearly showing both perspectives yet capturing the exact moment Mikey finds himself on the precipice of adult understanding. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr. 6-8. A Hawaiian teenager takes a step past blind hero worship in this ethical conundrum posed by the author of Shark Bait (1997). Mikey, who adores his stepfather, Bill, captain-owner of the charter fishing boat Crystal C, is thrilled that Bill has asked him to help out aboard. In Mikey's eyes, Bill is just about perfect: strong, savvy, devoted to both Mikey's mother and his blind little brother, and patient enough to bear even the arrogance and crude jokes of the two tourists who have hired the boat to go after marlin. When Mikey helps bring in a record-breaking catch, one of the men offers Bill triple the fee for sole credit. Mikey expects Bill to explode, but to Mikey's profound shock, Bill quietly agrees. Salisbury vividly conveys the pace and dangers of sport fishing, but the real game here is the shifting, complex relationship between Mikey and Bill. Readers persuaded to care about that will be relieved when Mikey finds the maturity to understand and forgive without compromising himself. --John Peters
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Salisbury's latest novel is a winning combination of riveting deep-sea fishing action, a sensitive depiction of family relationships, and an intriguing exploration of the fine line between lying and telling the truth. Mikey Donovan, 13, trusts and admires his stepdad; he even calls Bill "Lord of the Deep" because he's the best deep-sea charter-fishing skipper off the Kona Coast. But Bill has financial worries; Mikey's frail three-year-old half brother is blind, and his mother has left work to stay home with him. To economize, Bill has taken on Mikey as his deckhand, and the boy is unprepared to deal with two obnoxious customers, brothers Cal and Ernie, who charter the boat for several days. In an edge-of-your-seat scene, Ernie hooks a majestic bull mahimahi, but allows Bill to complete the difficult catch, thereby officially disqualifying himself from taking credit for the fish. To Mikey's disbelief and anger, Bill lies and signs the form certifying that Ernie brought the fish in alone. Like a skilled fisherman, Salisbury plays the intricacies of Bill's motivation and Mikey's reaction back and forth. While not providing readers with facile answers, he offers enough information about Bill's character and situation to account for his falsifying the record. Though Ernie and Cal seem too awful to be true, they serve a legitimate purpose in the plot. Cal's sensitive, artistic daughter acts as both a counterbalance to her father and uncle, and as a first romantic encounter for Mikey. With its vivid Hawaiian setting, this fine novel is a natural for book-discussion groups that enjoy pondering moral ambiguity. Its action-packed scenes will also lure in reluctant readers.-Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Hero-worship comes face to face with human reality in this coming-of-age tale set in Hawaii. Thirteen-year-old Mikey's father ran out on him before he was even born, so when his stepfather Bill came along five years ago, he was more than ready for a father. There is nothing he wants more than to grow up to be just like Bill, so when Bill is forced to let the deckhand on his charter fishing boat go, Mikey jumps at the opportunity to help out. A day on the water with two loutish tourists and a beautiful 16-year-old girl changes everything. Salisbury (Jungle Dogs, 1998, etc.) effectively takes the reader to the scene, presenting a tiny, temporary microculture in which the power relationships among the characters are laid out starkly against the sparkling blue tropical sea. Bad fishing luck, Mikey's critical mistake in fouling the line when a marlin is hooked, and a series of humiliations at the hands of the boat's clients culminate in Bill's betrayal of the sport fishing code-and the revelation of his feet of clay to Mikey. The language couldn't be more evocative: "The ocean rushed into his ears, his nose, the warm watery pressure of a billion miles of sea pressing in on every inch of his body." The rhythm of the text parallels the fishing trip-reflective and almost somnolent in between bites, punctuated by heart-stopping action when a fish is on the line. The tightly-focused narration allows Mikey's emotions full play but hinders the full development of the secondary characters-in particular Alison, the daughter of one of the louts, who acts mostly as a sounding board for Mikey but whose own emotions and motivations remain somewhat enigmatic. This is a small quibble; as an exploration of one boy's conflicted feelings about fatherhood and his own impending manhood, this novel delivers beautifully. (Fiction. 10-14)
Excerpts
Excerpts
The island slept. Goats, pigs, dogs, chickens, mongooses. Even the roaches and lizards. Everything and everyone except Mikey Donovan, who was antsy as a rat to get up and get on down to the boat. He was thirteen years old and the youngest full-time deckhand ever to fish the deep waters of Hawaii's Kona coast. But Bill believed he could do the job. Mikey'd been working for three weeks now. And he couldn't get enough of it. He lay with his eyes open. His sheet was a twisted mass around his feet. The air inside his room was stuffy and humid, even in the high country where they lived. Nothing moved but a single tendril of sweat, creeping from his hairline to his ear. He swiped it away with the palm of his hand. This is crazy, he thought. He picked up his clock. Almost five. Just get up. Bill would thump on his door to wake him soon, anyway. He rubbed his eyes and stood and peered out the window. The moon was bright white and low in the sky. A silver sheen illuminated the black sea beneath it. In the bathroom he turned on the light and stood squinting at himself in the filmy, toothpaste-speckled mirror. Yeah, he thought, studying his practiced squint and darkening skin. Finally starting to look like a fisherman. Thump! Mikey jumped at the sound. Bill, waking him. He brushed his teeth quickly and ran a wet comb through his hair, then dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a T-shirt that read crystal-c in a blue arc across the front, with a picture of a leaping marlin under it and deep-sea charter fishing under that. And below, in smaller print, bill monks, skipper. Mikey turned off the light and went out to the kitchen. The light was on, but no one was there. He peeked out the screen door. Bill was over in the carport pouring oil into the outboard engine. Mikey eased the door back quietly. He got a glass of orange juice and a bowl of Shredded Wheat and sat at the kitchen table, wondering where his mom was. She was almost always awake by now. The screen door squeaked open. Mikey glanced up. "Morning," Bill said. He closed the door gently so it wouldn't slap shut. "Sleep well?" "Yes sir." Bill nodded and went over and got the coffeemaker going, then poured himself a glass of juice and sat across from Mikey. He broke three Shredded Wheat biscuits into a bowl. Before Bill, Mikey'd eaten nothing but sugary cereal. His mom didn't like it, but she'd never said no. Bill wouldn't touch the stuff. Rot your teeth, he said. Weaken your body. So Mikey stopped eating it. They ate in silence, both studying separate spots on the tabletop. "Where's Mom?" Mikey said. Bill gulped his orange juice, his Adam's apple bobbing. He set the glass on the table. "Billy-Jay had a bad night. She was up with him." "Is he all right?" Bill hesitated. Mikey could tell he was concerned. "I think so. Your mom's taking him to the doctor today, just to be safe." Bill got up and took his bowl and glass to the sink. He rinsed them and wiped his hands on his shorts. "Want to peek in on him?" "Yeah." Mikey pushed his chair back and followed Bill through the dark house. Billy-Jay was Mikey's three-year-old brother. Half brother, really, but Mikey didn't like to think of him that way. The bedroom door was ajar. Bill put a finger to his lips and eased it open. Billy-Jay really was a miracle, Mikey thought. You'd have to be if you were only three pounds when you were born. He could fit into Mikey's hand like a mango--if Billy-Jay had been strong enough to be held, anyway. At first he lived in a warm, clear plastic box, wired up with needles stuck into veins the size of a hair. Bill about wore himself out, sitting there for hours and hours in the hospital next to that box. Mikey could still remember him leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his fingers laced together, worry lines carved deep into his forehead. Mikey'd seen those lines a lot in the past three years. Moonlight brushed the walls of Billy-Jay's room. He slept with his blue blanket crumpled in his arms. It looked gray in the dim light. He's all Bill, Mikey thought. They looked so much alike it was weird. Billy-Jay twitched once, but didn't wake. His breathing sounded a little raspy, but not too bad. Bill tapped Mikey's shoulder and they left. Back in the kitchen, Bill filled his dented silver Thermos with coffee for the boat and took it to the jeep. Mikey followed him out, matching Bill's stride. The air was crisp and smelled of mint, which grew wild along the edges of the yard. The sharp call of a distant rooster sliced the dark, jungled landscape. Mikey glanced at the sky behind the mountain. Black turning purple. This was a time of day he liked, this dark stillness before dawn, when it was peaceful. But Billy-Jay was still on his mind. His breathing had been raspy when he was born. And he'd coughed a lot. Mom said he'd be fine, in time. But now he needed a lot of care. Mom had to quit her job. And though Bill could hardly work the boat alone, he finally had to let Frenchy, his deckhand, go because their health insurance didn't cover all the medical bills. That was what Mom said. It was Mikey's idea to help on the boat. He'd been working up to it, anyway, learning things here and there from Bill, especially on the days Bill had no charter. "I'm thirteen now," Mikey said after Bill lost Frenchy. "I'm big enough and I already know the boat. And you don't have to pay me. I'll do it for tips. I can do the work, you know I can." Bill said, "Think so?" "Yes sir, I do." Bill thought a moment, rubbing a hand over his mouth. Then he grinned and ruffled Mikey's hair. "Maybe you can, big guy, maybe you can. But it's hard work, you know. It's not just a boat ride." "Yes sir, I know that." "All right, then. Let's give it a shot." Today was day fourteen. Excerpted from Lord of the Deep by Graham Salisbury All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
