WhaleSnark Reviews: Tentacle and Wing by Sarah Porter

   Tentacle and Wing by Sarah Porter

This book first caught my eye on the shelf at my local library because it was purple. I really liked the cover because it has some really cool imagery of animal limbs. It made me curious as to what this book was actually about, and the cover ended up giving me lots of insight into what kid of a story I would be reading. I think children's fiction cover does an especially good job of portraying a book's themes before you even read the tag line or blurbs. Teen and adult fiction often skip this format in favor or showing a vague image of something that may or may not be remotely connected to the book, like a girl in a dress, or a random foggy nature scene. This may be a great representation of the book, but it's often a way to shield the reader from any surprises in the book. Remaining as visually opaque as possible seems to be the name of the game in other genres, but not children's middle-grade fiction. I love it. I love finding the ways that a middle-grade book can make you find a theme in the cover before you even open it. 

So, this book was a must for me after I examined the cover. The main character, Ada, is a Chimera, or Kime, someone who was born with the DNA of another animal. Sometimes this means children are born with stingers, deer legs, dragonfly eyes, or with fur and flippers. In Ada's case, she has a different kind of eyesight than most people and can see through objects and view colors no one else is able to see. She is able to pass as full human, even as other kimes are taken from their homes and sent to a contained area so their "disease" doesn't spread to more people. No one knows why children started being born with other animal traits, but these kimes are feared and detested by the common people as a threat to their humanity. 

Ada is eventually found out and sent to the containment area, where she meets a host of other kimes that become her friends and allies, though danger is never far from her. This is a science fiction piece that I would read a primer to The Strange Island of Dr. Moreau. It's a really well told story of segregation and hardship being different. 

I hope you are able to pick it up! If you love science fiction and a good mystery, this is a great book to read on a summer evening. 

That's all for now,

WhaleSnark