Shark Beneath the Reef

by Jean Craighead George

Book Overview

Like his father and grandfather before him, 14-year-old Tom?s Torres dreams of catching a great shark in the Sea of Cortez -- and he will catch it, although there are other things he should be... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0064403084
• ISBN13: 9780064403085
• Release Date: April 1991
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

a great book

Tomas Torres is a Mexican teenager who is forced to make the decision of whether or not to stay in school or go on to be a fisherman like his father and grandfather before him. Tomas wants to keep his fathers business alive, while his teacher is pushing him to stay in school and study marine biology. Opinions are split, things go wrong, read the book and find out what happens. A Shark Beneath The Reef is a wonderful book about a boy who is faced with the decision of school or fishing. His father was killed by a shark, and he has always wanted to continue his legacy. Tomas gains many different opinions on the topic before he decides. The marine police around his town are trying to shut down his fathers fishing business, and Tomas is caught up in the business of trying to save it, all while trying to make his decision. This was a very well written, well-researched book. The author uses great nature descriptions in the book, which really add to the book in many ways. I would recommend this to anyone looking for simply a good book. The first thing I liked about this book is the different settings and how well they are described. For example heres how the author chose to describe a morning on the beach: "The mountains stretched north and south from horizon to horizon , and in the low light they looked like a gargantuan cutout of a jaw of sharks teeth. Above them stars shone as bright as fire. The sun would not be up for another hour." Its sentences like these that bring life to this book. Another thing I liked about this book is the use of Mexican culture throughout the book. At the begging of the book it talks about the Mexican God Quetzalcoatl and the lady of Guadalupe. There is also a scene later in the book that describes a Mexican fiesta in which there is parades and dancing. This is a very neat and educational aspect to this book. The final thing that I liked about the book is that while it is a very detailed book, the plot is very simple and it is an easy to read book. The plot of this book doesn't shift around too much, its beasically all about Tomas and his decision. The author provides characters and detail to add volume and description to the story, but the plot is simple throughout. Overall, A Shark Beneath The Reef is a wonderful book with many delighting aspects that should be read and enjoyed by people of all ages.

Shark Beneath the Reef

Shark Beneath the Reef is an excellent book about a Mexican boy who lives near the Sea of Cortez. His family catches and sells sharks for a living. He heard about an enormous shark who lives under the coral shelf. He dreams of catching the shark and holding it above his head in the plaza as a hero. He is also making his mind on whether he is going to school or becoming a shark fisherman. Meanwhile, his family is suffering because the sharks have gone out of the area and they have very little to sell. The government officials also wants to begin taxing the fishermen because they are making the beach a tourist site. The family camp is on that beach, so they try to avoid the the officials as much as they can. I liked this book was because of the plot. It was action sometimes and drama at another. The positions of the plot sections were completely mixed up, but exactly in order. The moral was also astounding. I am still amazed at how the story ended out. I thought it would be a simple decision, but it turned out to be completely different. Absoluteley excellent literature. You have got to read it!

One of George's best

From Jean Craighead George, best-loved author of more than eighty nature books for young readers, comes another marvelous story about a complex culture, family importance, and the vast relationship between humans and the natural world. This is one of her best, along the same line as the provocative WATER SKY--the story of a young man who learns about the whales of Arctic Alaska--and THE TALKING EARTH, about a girl who rows through the Everglades, befriending animals along the way. Although Ms. George is best-known for her classics, MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN and the Newbery Medal-winning JULIE OF THE WOLVES, her other novels are great adventures, too. SHARK BENEATH THE REEF is the story of Tomas Torres, who, at fourteen, is learning about his changing home and trying to cope with the new decisions he must face, the most important being his choice to become a fisherman or a marine biologist. A great shark only complicates this decision, as Tomas's dream is to kill the shark and carry it into his small Mexican town above his head, with the bells of the mission tower ringing in praise. However, it is when Tomas comes face-to-face with the shark that he realizes how vital it is to his family's well-being, and he forgets his dream and thinks, more sensibly, like a man. The ending is one of the best parts about the story, when Tomas and his teacher discuss the varying faces of nature and how it cannot be controlled, although humans may think they'd like to and can. The entire story sparkles with details about the teeming life of the seaside environment, interesting, well-described characters, and the importance of legends and heroes to many cultures. Nature and animal lovers will enjoy reading about the different creatures and birds found in this part of the world, although not much is given to the shark to allay fears about its legendary ferocity.

The Adventures of Tomas

The book, Shark Beneath the Reef, by Jean Craighead George is a wonderfully intriguing story and a magic to read. The tale of an adolescent Mexican boy growing into manhood and his dreams of becoming a fisherman is all a wonderful story in itself. But put together with his family's downfall, the price of growing up, and best of all, his epic adventures in the reefs, it is phenomenal. It is a delightful and emotional way of getting a dose of a dream, let alone a truly wonderful work of art. It is a masterpiece. Shark Beneath the Reef is an excellent book to read, especially for young adults because it is very detailed and full of adventure. It is detailed and has the reader turning pages constantly. The amount of detail is so great that it gives the reader an idea of what it is like to live in another world, whether an improvement or not from the average American teen's life today. For instance, Tomás, the main character's adventures in the coral reefs make you feel like you are really there. The detail leads you to wonder what the main character's mind tells him to do, and what he will do with his unusual talents. Besides containing great detail, the book is just plain capturing! Risking lives, a family's struggle, and strong friendships spice up the story and conclude the book making you hungry for more each time. For example, when Tomás is in a life-threatening situation with a huge shark, you can feel what he must be thinking, facing the shark. This book is a wonderful way of spending your reading time. Although this book is incredibly fun and inspiring to read, there was one part of it that might not appeal to everyone. The majority of the book is to the point and a wonderful experience, but the beginning of it is just a little bit vague and difficult to understand. It may not appeal to people who don't enjoy adventure stories or nature, but it will be a dream come true to those who do. It just requires patience because in the end the whole plot ties together. Don't let the beginning discourage you to finish the book, because you will be missing out on a wonderful tale of a boy who just wanted to dream, but whose dream became reality. Shark Beneath the Reef is a "must read" book.

ESCAPE FROM SUBURBIA AND GO TO A REMOTE ISLAND

REVIEWED BY BRENNAN SEELIE, AGE 10. Thomas Toraz is a 14 year old boy who lives with his grandparents off the coast of Baha California. Thomas has a grandpa named Ramone who owns the fishing camp that they live in. Thomas is a smart boy and has a chance to become a marine biologist but he knows his family needs him more at home. At home he would become a shark fisherman and fulfill his family tradition. Then one day he finds something that decides for him. Thomas Toraz is faced with the conflict of whether to earn fast money or go to school and get a good education. If he goes to school he could become a marine biologist. One day he comes home and finds out that the officials are making his family pay rent on their own island. Thomas finds out that his family cannot pay the rent. He feels like he must help his family earn the money quickly. One day his uncle comes home and says there is a whale shark in the shallows. Thomas did not want to leave the island so he decided to catch the shark and pay the rent with it. Whale sharks bring high prices. He tries to catch this large dumb fish for a long time. Every time he messes up. When he finally gets close enough to it, things are not as they appear. In the tradition of Jean Craighead George, this story is filled with excitement, mystery, and the wonders of nature. The reader will feel like they're on the island. I recommend this book to all nature buffs.