The Fires Beneath the Sea

Starred review from April 15, 2011

Nature and science in a vivid Cape Cod setting create layers of meaning as 13-year-old Cara and her brothers confront the puzzle of their mother's disappearance.

Mom vanished two months ago, and summer's ending. While swimming in the ocean, Cara spots a sea otter—but sea otters don't belong on Atlantic beaches. Cara reaches out her fingertips, and the otter streams words into Cara's mind: "TAKE CARE OF THEM FOR ME." The next morning, on a bayside beach (across the Cape from the ocean beach), she sees the otter again—or another one—and Cara's dog picks up a piece of driftwood inscribed "CARA. CONSULT THE LEATHERBACK." Ten-year-old brother Jax, a genius with odd ESP gifts, communes with the aquarium's leatherback turtle; 16-year-old brother Max, a skeptic, needs coaxing but joins the mission too. A man stalks them, water flowing continuously out of his face; he arrives, horribly, through faucets and lawn sprinklers. In a stunning and luminescent scene, Cara and Jax confront the Pouring Man on the ocean floor. Their quest has three levels: a personal level about their missing mother, an ecological level about ocean acidification and an epic level about good and evil that the kids don't understand yet. Millet's prose is lyrically evocative ("the rhythmic scoop and splash of their paddles").

A lush and intelligent opener for a topical eco-fantasy series. (Fantasy. 9-13)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

August 1, 2011

Gr 4-6-In her first novel for children, Millet introduces readers to 13-year-old Cara; her brilliant 10-year-old brother, Jackson; her popular 16-year-old brother, Max; and her history professor father, who live on Cape Cod. Her mother, a well-known marine biologist, disappeared a few months earlier. The family is grieving yet still hopeful for her return. While swimming in the ocean, Cara meets a sea otter that mysteriously communicates with her, giving her the following message: "Take care of them for me." Cara is both frightened and thrilled as she is sure this animal is somehow linked to her mother. In subsequent chapters, there is an increase in odd happenings and terrifying encounters with the Pouring Man, a deadly creature that takes different forms, including becoming the children's doubles to gain entry into their house, and is seemingly intent on destroying Cara's family. An intriguing mix of everyday activities and the otherworldly, The Fires Beneath the Sea pulls readers in. Cara is a likable character who has been put in the uncomfortable position of trying to save her family and help her mother with a mission way beyond the ability of most tweens. Her bravery and fierce love will cause readers to long for her to succeed. A well-done beginning, with some riveting moments and frightening escapes, to what should prove to be a popular series.-Kathy Kirchoefer, Prince Georges County Memorial Library System, New Carrollton, MD

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