Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This charming middle grade novel touches on mental health issues as we watch young Julia spend the summer at her parents’ lighthouse on a quest to find the elusive Greenland shark. What starts out as light and whimsical fun turns to obsession as we watch Julia’s mother battle her mental health. This novel is great for younger kids and written beautifully but also easily appeals to adults as well. It was an excellent story and one that could easily help explain mental health to the younger crowd in not so technical terms.

A middle grade book that is just as important for adults.

Julia is the daughter of two loving, smart parents. Her mother, a marine biologist has a hyper focus on tracking down a shark for a research cause near to her heart while the family will be staying at a lighthouse for the Summer. During this summer break Julia will meet new friends, learn new lessons and come to some hard realizations of her own family unit.

Julia and the Shark tackles many important issues in a lyrical way with illustrations accompanying the story. Family, bullying and mental illness or some of this beautiful book’s largest themes.

I truly enjoy reading middle-grade books and this fought hard for the top of my faves. What pushed it over the top was – the family stayed in a lighthouse! Dream come true! The book is chock full of information about the Greenland shark, something I knew nothing about. The illustrations are straight-up beautiful. The author did a fantastic job weaving the story together to not only put you into the scenes but to feel them too. (insert grab tissues)

The story is about relationships; the good, the bad, and the not-so-great parts. It deals with mental health, a tough subject for middle graders. Please make sure they are mature enough to handle it. By no means am I trying to warn you off, quite the opposite in fact. I will read this book again and have no doubt I will find more in the depths of these words. I almost forgot to add – but I’m sure you can figure this out by yourself – the cover is amazing!

A gorgeous book overall. Such beautiful illustrations and stunning, heartbreaking prose. This book tells the story of a family struggling with mental health issues in regards to Julia's mother. Readers experience Julia and her family's love of the environment and spirit of adventure. This book put me in my feels and it will do so for anyone else who reads it. I can't wait to read it again.

Lyrical and poignant, this book handles the topic of mental health with grace and honesty. The story is engaging, with gorgeous illustrations throughout. This is an important book for kids and families to start conversations about mental health and care. Highly recommended. I will definitely be purchasing a copy for my library. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This story was phenomenal! Julia, her parents, and their Cat, Noodle, take a looonnngg journey to a lighthouse for the summer. The intention is that her dad will get the light working and her mother, a marine biologist, can begin her research involving the Greenland Shark. A

This shark can live up to 400 years old! Yes, you read that right….400 YEARS! There’s potentially a Greenland Shark out there that was alive when Beethoven and Mozart began composing…when George Washington became president…close to the time of The First Thanksgiving. Yeah. Wrap your brain around that!

Anyway, the summer in the lighthouse is quite eventful. Julia makes a friend, Kin, and meets a bully, Adrian. Tension between Julia, Kin, and Adrian builds, and at the same time Julia’s mom begins acting erratically…she’s definitely not herself; the fun, loving mother Julia knows. It seems that the research of this shark is having a toll on her physically and mentally.

When a traumatic incident occurs, putting Julia’s mom in the hospital, Julia decides to find the shark for her mother and sets out on the open ocean alone…well, Noodle is there for support. Despite warnings for an oncoming storm, Julia insists on continuing her journey to find the shark and save her mom.

Will she find the great Greenland Shark? Or has she just sealed her fate with the rage of the ocean storm?

Highly recommend this book! Not only is the book full of the love and respect of nature, but it also touches on mental health in families as well. The illustrations are gorgeous! And I love how Julia’s dreams are told in a poetic fashion. My only qualm with the book, if you can even call it that, is that Julia comes across older than 10 years old. She acts, thinks, and speaks more like a teenager…maybe 12 or 13…but it’s not something that ruins the story at all 😁

“Julia and the Shark” is a middle grade novel written by Kiran Millwood Hargrave.

I received an eARC from NetGalley and Union Square Kids.

This book is about family, friends, life goals, and mental health. This book isn’t easy at times to read- yet it is necessary. The illustrations by Tom de Freston are simply incredible.

I would recommend this book for upper elementary into middle school.

An earnest MG read on mental health and the feelings and emotions that comes with it, as a child with a parent suffering from one. Julia has followed her parents way out to some remote area where her mom, a marine biologist, is intent on finding the Greenland shark. What seems like an adventure is laced with uncertainties and her mom's obsession with this shark sighting, might be drowning the whole family.

Julia starts off her story by saying that this is the tale where she almost lost her mom. Seeing it is an adventure story, readers will assume it is that her mom nearly got killed. But it is so much more than that. This is a tale about coping and understanding a parent who has mental illness. The support everyone renders to each other, holding on for each other, being strong. Poignant, a relationship between mom and daughter. So so beautiful.

It is a moving story about a girl living with a mother suffering from depression. The writing is exquisite. There are parts that are sad. I don't know if it makes sense or not, but the story kind of felt like the sea when I read it: calm at first, then a few tides and then a crushing wave before it settles back down.

This is more a work of art than a novel. The illustrations luminously drip emotion from the pages, embracing the story in a poetic manner that thrills the soul. The story begins in an almost deceptively innocent premise of Julia, her mom, a marine biologist and her dad, who is working to repair and retire a lighthouse, move to a small town in order for her mother to find, tag, and study and elusive Greenland shark in hopes of furthering her health research that is based on the early passing of her own mother. The story becomes more complicated as Julia’s mom spirals into an almost manic bipolar depressive state of obsession that overcomes her close family bonds in an effort to achieve her goals, her dad struggles to maintain a balance in the family and the finances that are ever more sinking into the red, and Julia at a tender age has to watch the mother she knows become consumed with a mental illness, struggle to maintain a friendship with a local child who is also a bit of an outcast, keep her hope and faith in her mother and her mothers research alive, being bullied, and all while being nearly..haunted by the concept of this mysterious and beautiful shark that eludes detection at every turn yet hovers in her dreams like a mythical leviathan. All of it comes together and is sometimes lovely, sometimes heartbreaking. It culminates in ways you wouldn’t expect but it beyond well worth reading and then rereading because it is lyrical and enchanting and so so sad all at once. Amazing book, first rate, I would recommend this to any young adult or adult, especially those who know how it is to struggle with mental illness or have a loved one that does because this book radiates hope in the sleek and vibrant form of a shark.

Julia and the Shark is a lovely book that explores the emotions of a nine-year-old girl as she navigates the emotions of those around her. It’s a powerful, touching book with beautiful illustrations.

There are trigger warnings for this MG book: depression, over dose, bullying.

Thanks to the author and publisher for the review copy.

3.5
This was like nothing I have read before. The pictures add another layer to an already great story. We follow Julia through friendship,feuds and familial hardships.
Julia and her family move to a new town, where they are gonna live in the lighthouse her dad is fixing. While her dad I’d working, her mother is in search of the green shark, a rare animal that is hard to find.
A hard hitting and quiet sad middle grade, so be warned before picking this up.

Received E-Arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Julia and her parents travel from Cornwall to the Shetlands. Julia's father is going to work some magic on the local lighthouse, where the family will also stay for the summer. And Julia's mother, a marine biologist, wants to find a Greenland shark. Julia loves words and so it's no wonder she makes friends with Kin, another bookworm, whom she met at the local library.

From exploring the island, to astronomy, the biggest adventure awaits Julia when a Greenland shark has been seen and needs tagging.

Julia and the Shark is full of wonderful writing and illustrations. It's a middle-grade book that is perfect for all ages. A story about decisions and where they can lead us; a story about mental illness and getting the help you need.

Did I mention the wonderful illustrations? Most are in black and white and support the mood of the story perfectly. They are my reason for getting the print edition.

Charming yet sorrowful. Full of friendship and feuds. Focusing on matters of the heart and of grief. This was everything I anticipated from this author but, sadly, found it a little less full of magic and fantasy as I had been desiring and also led to believe from the front cover. Still a beautiful middle grade story, however, tackling real-world global and personal issues.

Julia and her family are going north because Mum wants to see if there is really a Greenland shark. When her Mum doesn’t get the funding she hopes will let her continue her looking for the shark,Julia begins to see many changes in her Mum. One day Julia finds out Mum is in the hospital. Before she can see her, the captain tells Julia give these coordinates to your Mum because the shark might have been spotted. On her own, Julia takes the small boat and her cat hoping she can see the shark. Just as Julia thinks she sees the shark, a storm is upon her and rocks her out of the boat. What happens next? Beautiful illustrations.

Julia and the Shark
Somewhere between the ocean waves and the lighthouse surprises, there’s home for me I felt while reading this short middle grade book.

There are so many quotable lines right from the first chapter. I was itching to spread some Kiran Millwood Hargrave magic lines but I was reading an advance reader copy so had to control myself.

This is the story of a little girl whose parents are the most adventurous ones, who are living their dreams at their best. Until the little girl tries to grow up and tries her best to live her mother’s unfinished search for a creature that’s rarer and older than the oldest trees!

The writing is purely lyrical and so beautiful. It got me dreaming at times about the beautiful nature during the read. I am so grateful for this! It’s been years I haven’t have been this invested, getting lost in my own head reading a good book.

The 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.

I appreciate the multicultural representation and I love the young characters so much. They seem so real! Their voices represent their actual ages quite accurately and I applaud the author for developing these characters so convincingly.

Love Neeta, Kin and Noodle too! They mean so much for Julia.

What would stand out when the physical copy comes out?
The pages! Every page with the prettiest tiny colourful details! And you will find pages with full page illustrations too!
The artist has done a great job. It makes the reading experience a different unique one.

You will be in for a surprise with a few pages with verses. I love them so much! And I cried reading them. You will know why…

The second half broke me. It’s going to be a while while Julia and I are going to grieve about someone we love.

Trigger warnings for suicide, losing a family member.

Thank you, Union Square Kids/ Sterling Publishing, for the advance reading copy.