A family held together by a promise (and love)

A book for those who enjoy reading about the north. And about unusual vacations. And about complex family relationships. And also about science.

Julia and her parents arrive for the summer on a Scottish island; her dad, an engineer, will be writing a program for the lighthouse, and her mom, a marine biologist, will be searching for a Greenland shark. Julia wants to follow in her mom’s footsteps in the future, so she really hopes to participate in the search with her, but her mom keeps brushing her off. In general, she acts strangely: one moment she’s jumping for joy and dancing, the next she looks as though all the sorrows of the world have fallen upon her. At first, Julia thinks her mom is upset about the shark, but she gradually learns that everything is much more complicated: her mom has a mental illness...
Starting off as an adventure, this story gradually turns into a psychological one. The shark hunt is the framework upon which the family’s everyday financial problems, sad past, and foggy future are strung. For this entire structure not to collapse, an adhesive of mutual love and support is necessary. But one must first learn how to mix it...

"Julia and the Shark" by contemporary British author Kiran Millwood Hargrave for middle school age.