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Here
you can read extracts from reviews of the books and interviews with
Kelly:
Reviews
of Ocean Without End
"This exciting pirate
adventure ... introduces a fiesty young heroine called Lily Swann...
Ocean Without End is a rollicking, action packed yarn sure
to captivate young readers... Everyone who reads this book will be delighted
to learn that the second title in this trilogy, The Pirate's Revenge,
will be published later this year."
- Dorothy Vinicombe, NZ Herald.
"This lively adventure story, the
first in a trilogy, follows the seagoing career of 12-year-old Lily
Swann ... The characters are colourfully larger than life ... Lily doesn't
gloss over the violence but the violence is kept to a minimum... Kelly
Gardiner writes fast-moving, lively prose and Lily's indomitable spirit
makes her an engaging pirate."
- Trevor Agnew, Magpies Journal (Source/online).
"A great read! 10/10. "
- Erik Steller (aged 10), Chatterbooks Kids' Bookclub newsletter.
"Lily Swann's transformation from
slave to pirate princess as she searches for her father ... is surprisingly
believable. Set off Santa Lucia, near Malta, the swashbuckling story
also carries a palatable dose of history."
- Ann Packer, Dominion Post
"...A good narrative for either
sex to get their teeth into. It is well-assembled in a young person's
(not to say children's) sense, with sentences and paragraphs structured
to meet the target audience.
But an Enid Blyton tale this is not... There's a bit of everything thrown
in - drama, violence, escape - as is required with a young person's
read, but the yarn will keep them up to finish it. And then they'll
want the next in the series. A good stimulus to get them reading.
If you give OWE to your offspring, remember to set the alarm
on school mornings."
- Christine Jordan, Greymouth Star.
"Captain de Diablo is bad enough,
but he's being controlled by a mysterious man called Hussein Reis, an
Irishman turned Turkish pirate. There are battles and adventures galore,
resulting in Lily becoming navigator on a small ship crewed by likeable
rogues. Lily is rather too mature and confident for her age - but hey,
it's a pirate story. Young female readers will probably love a heroine
who bosses grown men around."
- Lorraine Orman, Story-go-round
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"Fast-moving and fun, and exactly
what many a twelve year old secretly dreams."
- Lois Huston, Storylines All At Sea Booklist
"All the romance of the exotic,
in the great Victorian tradition of swashbuckling adventure, is here
writ large... There must still be room in a curriculum where often literature
is bent to pedagogic and ideological ends, to revel in an adventure
of 'otherness', to weave a tale about an exotic past replete with characters
both eccentric and mysterious."
- John McKenzie, Talespinner(NZ)/Reading Time (Aust)
"Readers will be captivated by
the story and will look forward to the release of the second exciting
novel."
- Tomorrow's Schools Today
"I enjoyed the part where Lily
gets sent down to work with the cook, because the cook is the only one
at the beginning who is nice to Lily... I look forward to reading the
rest of the series."
- Laura Rogers (aged 12), Timaru Herald
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"This book is a really good read."
- Marlborough Express
"Kelly Gardiner doesn't avoid the
violence and death of the pirate world - Lily has to help the cook treat
the wounded and dying in battle - but she has also created a fast-paced,
swashbuckling story... the first of what promises to be a very lively
series."
- The Press
"It's an exciting introduction
to a time in history that rarely appears in history for children."
- Rayma Turton, Magpies Journal
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