Little M's Review - Dolphin Song

Dolphin Song by Lauren St John

PS. As this is the second book in Lauren St John's White Giraffe series, there might be spoilers for that book in this review.

Dolphin Song by Lauren St John

This book is about an eleven year old girl called Martine who lives near Cape Town in South Africa. Martine was chosen by the white giraffe to ride him. And only one person can do that. That person is given the power to heal an animal if touched. So Martine has this power.

Her class is going to follow the sardine run on a boat. It will take ten days. But whilst on the boat, a terrible storm happens and the railing on the boat falls off.  And seven of her classmates fall into the water, including Martine. She and her fellow classmates have to survive and try to save the dolphins. I’m not going into too much detail because it will spoil the story.

I really enjoyed this book.  It had some surprises that I didn’t guess. I’ve never really read a good castaway book before. It took me on an adventure that is heart-stopping because I thought they were going to die.

Some confusing bits in the book could be some African words like koeksisters (“twists of deep fried batter drenched in syrup”), rooibos (redbush tea), ja (it means ‘yes’) and rand (the South African currency). I got all excited when the book said Cape Town because I’ve been there. Koeksisters, believe me – best eaten when frozen because of the stickiness!

Some things in the book that are similar to other books I’ve read are that there is an orphan, castaways, bad guys, and animals that help them. Martine was my favourite character because she was the main character and you got to know her the most.

I’d recommend this book for people who have read Lauren St John’s Laura Marlin mysteries, animal lovers, people who like a good adventure, and probably age 9-12 and maybe a bit older.

Publication details:

Orion Children’s Books, 2008, London, paperback

Copy: mine, bought from British Heart Foundation charity shop.