An amazing journey for two young children 300 years apart

 

 ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑  It's been a topsy turvy year for books but The Night Ship is a thoroughly stellar yarn. Two story lines run in parallel - Mayken, a 9-year-old orphaned Dutch girl on Batavia, a ship bound for the East Indies in 1629 and Gil, a 9-year-old orphaned boy sent to his grandfather in Western Australia in 1989. Both are peculiar children and both will steal your heart. Mayken, especially, a precocious adventuresome spirit roaming the ship looking for monsters is a real charmer. Gil, on the other hand, is an awkward, lonesome boy who doesn't fit in anywhere.

I could not put this book down. I was transfixed by the writing, the journey of both children and the apprehensive pull of the closing chapters, wanting to know what happened and dreading it at the same time. Be warned, Mayken's story is based on real events onboard Batavia so it is some fraught reading. Not easy at all and heartbreaking as the tension ratchets up to the close.

This is the type of book that leaves a mark on readers long after the final sentence. I catch myself pondering it, marvelling at the cruelty of people, the mental toughness of survivors and the power of hope and love. The Night Ship is a wonderful reading experience, though bittersweet. Highly recommended.