Een boek met een ontzettende mooie boodschap ❤️ Ook een realistische kijk op het leven m.b.t. mental health issues en wat dit allemaal voor impact kan hebben binnen één gezin. This was a gorgeous story of mental health, friendship, family and realising for the first time that your parents aren’t as unbreakable as you once thought. Writing about topics such as mental health and depression for children is not easy feat but I think Kiran Millwood Hargrave executed it with grace, sensitivity and a brilliant balance of honesty and whimsy.

From the local bully with a painful secret to the hidden beauty in the night sky, Julia learns over her summer on the island that everyone has their own story to tell – and that it takes kindness and understanding to hear them. Tom de Freston's stunning illustrations perfectly complement the poetry of Kiran Millwood Hargrave's story - Cressida CowellThe best parts for me would be the little facts and the amazing descriptions about what it is like to be out there exploring the oceans, the wildlife and that too with your family. It felt so good and I really wish it was me with my family there. Snel was voor mij wel duidelijk dat psychische problematiek een rol speelt in dit boek. Julia denkt na over de buien van haar moeder, haar zorgen en schuldgevoel groeien. Uiteindelijk krijgen de afwisselende vrolijke en verdrietige buien een verklaring: een bipolaire stoornis. Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars. A classic from cover to cover. - Eoin Colfer

I fell in love with the tale itself, the setting (I do love a lighthouse!), the characters and the little details - it's a beautiful, forceful storm of a book - Emma Carroll, author of Letters from the LighthouseTekst en illustraties zijn één verhaal en ondersteunen elkaar precies goed. De illustraties zijn soms heel duidelijk, soms lijkt het een vlek maar is er meer te zien als je beter kijkt. Even' beginnen aan dit boek is best lastig, want dat even breidt zich uit naar 'even+even+even'. Je merkt snel dat het leest, zowel door de zinnen van de auteur als door de vertaling van Maria Postema. Niet goed uit te leggen, maar je merkt dat de woorden allemaal bij elkaar passen en de sfeer dus overkomt op de lezer. It's clear early on that Julia's fun, energetic scientist mother with an obsession with finding a shark is actually mentally ill, and I correctly guessed bipolar early on. The story is just that - Julia's life in the new village and lighthouse her family are staying in, as her mum sinks further into despair as she tries to find the elusive shark. As Julia settles into their summer, her mother’s search for the shark becomes more and more frantic - she’s running out of time before they have to go home, but her obsession with the creature is beginning to pull her family apart. When Julia decides to save her family, she embarks on a journey through darkness and hope to find her mother again.

Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments Kiran Millwood Hargrave is an award-winning poet, playwright, and bestselling author. Her debut The Girl of Ink & Starswon the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2017 and the British Book Award's Children's Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for numerous awards including the Jhalak Prize, the Branford Boase Award and the Little Rebels Prize. Julia and the Shark is a stunning middle-grade novel about family, friendship, compassion, and coming of age, and the ripples of a chronic mental health condition throughout all of it. A gorgeous (both visually and content-wise), heart-rending story. Think this is my favourite middle grade novel I have read so far. The topic of mental health is discussed in such a realistic, open way and although this straightforwardness made the story feel very intense, I think the fact that there is no sugarcoating or stigmatisation of mental health is going to be helpful to any child (and even adults) reading this story. Julia is 9, but talks like a 15 year old and is more intelligent and knows more facts than the average adult. But then, her relationship with her parents is very much the kind of relationship a 9 year old would have with her parents.The second half broke me. It’s going to be a while while Julia and I are going to grieve about someone we love. What starts out as an adventure and a few quirky weeks of living in a lighthouse soon turns dark. Why? Well, I don't want to spoil too much but her mother's obsession with the shark and mental health issues take center stage here. Though science and the importance of nature for us humans are also explored in a very nice (non-preachy) way.

Award-winning Kiran Millwood Hargrave tells a story of great power and significance with incredible sensitivity and writerly skill. By drawing on both, Julia and the Shark is magical, imaginative and mysterious while also dealing with complex emotions and situations. Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer – her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother’s obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope… I've heard that this is a middle-grade book and can honestly say that it will probably allure to many middle graders and explain complicated topics to them brilliantly. However, the author's writing style as well as the narrative itself are of the kind that can't really be placed in a box and labelled so this will definitely be fantastic for old(er) readers as well. As a matter of fact, if I had to categorize it, I'd put it up there with A Monster Calls though what exactly happens to the children is quite different. Es war düsterer, die Themen heftiger als ich erwartet hatte, aber es war auch so ein wichtiges Thema. My name is Julia. This is the story of the summer I lost my mum, and found a shark older than trees. Don't worry though, that doesn't spoil the ending."Ik heb geen flauw idee of kinderen vanaf 10 jaar dit ook echt lezen, de beter lezer dan, of dat dit vooral een boek is dat de volwassenen mooi vinden. Terecht overigens, maar niet de oorspronkelijke doelgroep. Als volwassene vond ik het in ieder geval goed en mooi. Er wordt gespeeld met taal, Julia's vader is meer van de getallen en haar moeder een beetje van allebei, het gevoel van Julia komt erg goed naar voren. Iemand met ziekte/stoornis in het gezin treft niet alleen de persoon zelf, maar ook de gezinsleden. Julia zou daarom, net als heel veel andere kinderen, gezien kunnen worden als KOPP-kind (Kinderen van Ouders met Psychische Problemen). Although the themes are very different, this reminded me a little about one of my all-time favourite books A Monster Calls, with its honest and heartwrenching exploration of a difficult theme through the eyes of a child, coupled with hauntingly beautiful illustrations. That comparison alone is some of the highest praise I can give a book, if you know my feelings on the former. Extra credit goes to Tom de Freston, who's credited as the secondary author, but whose illustrations add an integral level of depth to the story. So so lovely. This is the first middle-grade book I've read showing the moment a child realises their parents are just people with struggles and flaws of their own. Honestly a gorgeous book that doesn't shy away from mental health representation and yet is sensitive, appropriate for children, warm and hopeful. I love Julia's voice throughout, and the way she sees the world. Her journey to finding and defining herself as separate from her mum who she adores is refreshing. The illustrations are of course gorgeous too, although I do wish Julia was drawn as the chubby heroine Milwood Hargrave implies her to be!