Singing Home the Whale

New Zealand author Mandy Hager opens this book with the voice of the Chronicle, the now-old orca of the title, telling of his beginnings and the joy he found before he lost his innocence at the hands of the Hungry Ones - humans.

Each chapter is prefaced by the orca's view of events. It's a device that works well enough, although I found the alliteration used by the author to give the orca's thoughts distracting.

But what of the overall story? You would be hard-hearted not to warm to this tale of a very young orphaned orca who has also lost his extended family, his pod.

Orca are highly social animals who sing to keep contact with each other and he is deeply distressed.
Will Jackson, a traumatised young man seeking only anonymity, finds the orca in one of the sounds of Marlborough, but how can he connect with it?

Ages 15+.

Rene Nol