The Eternal Sea

December 1, 2011

Gr 7 Up- The Eternal Sea is the sequel to Everlasting (Scholastic, 2010), but this is not information shared by the publisher so new readers are sure to have a difficult time figuring out what's going on. It does take several chapters to catch on to the basic plot and characters, and many more to discover that this is a pretty good book. Camille Rowan is the 17-year-old daughter of a sea captain. She has discovered a magic stone that she believes gives her one chance to resurrect from the dead the person she loves most. In action occurring in the previous novel, she uses the stone not to resurrect her father, but her love interest, Oscar Kildare. But returning him to life is not the end of its power, and there is another stone that Camille, her friends, and a band of ghoulish villains must recover to bring the first stone to its full potential. Frazier has evoked sea stories (one character is named Starbuck) and romance novels (Oscar Kildare). Readers who enjoy sea romances won't go wrong with the two books.-Nina Sachs, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook, ME

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2011
Grades 6-10 Surviving a shipwreck in the Tasman Sea that killed her sea captain father, Camille drifts about uneasily at her mother's home in Port Adelaide. Mysterious and fantastical elements abound. The house holds the fabled Umandu, a magical stone of the immortals that can bring back someone from the dead. Intuiting Camille's deepest desire, it has brought back Oscar, the first mate with whom she had fallen in love before he perished in the wreck. Had she wanted Oscar back more than her father? The guilt racks her. But waitOscar has not really returned. He inhabits a sort of undead existence. She longs for her lost love and, meanwhile, has to confront the ardent overtures of another suitor. Evil forces vie to get the stone and its companion death stone, which resides in the Underworld. Joining the two would bring their owner true power to revive the human race. Frazier spins a high-action fantasy romance in this journey tale, particularly in the vivid descriptions of the Underworld and the epic battle to retrieve the second stone.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)