Why the Whales Came by Micheal Morpurgo
Why the Whales Came (brilliant title by the way), is a story of two children who befriend the island outcast and find themselves entangled in an ancient curse. Though it can come as a surprise after hearing that plot summary, the story had a very low information density, or in other words, it was packed with filler.
An Eagle in the Snow by Micheal Morpurgo
First off, this book’s title is really frustrating. I think someone has to tell Morpurgo that all his books don’t have to feature an animal, especially when the story has nothing to do with and they are simply shoehorned in at the end. An Eagle in the snow is about a mother and son who meet a stranger on a broken train, who tells them a heartfelt story about a soldier in World War One. I really liked the reveal about who the stranger actually was (It’s OK, no spoilers), for which details towards the truth are plotted throughout the story. I think Morpurgo has been very creative using a true story and filling in any unfilled gaps it had with his own creative genius. I complain quite a lot about books beings unnecessarily long, and this one is straight to the plot with no pointless filler. Only one real complaint. How could he know his wife’s name just by looking at her eyes?
Gingerjumble 