This was a very sweet story. The ending wasn't perfect, but very appropriate. ( )

This book will appeal to young teens, especially if they are animal lovers. However, for me, I found Kara very annoying. The way she spoke to people she disagreed with was disrespectful and her tendency to skip school when it suited her frustrated me. I did like the ending, though, it was quite dramatic, and everyone lived happily-ever-after. ( )

Life has been very painful for Kara lately. Her mother, a scientist dedicated to saving the dolphins, disappeared without a trace a year ago while on a mission trip. Her father's job doesn't bring in enough money, and Kara gets teased at school. But like her mother she loves and is willing to fight for the sea and the creatures that live in it. Along with her new friend Felix, she manages to save a badly injured young dolphin and get most of the community behind a desperately needed ban on dredging the harbor -- except for the biggest fisherman, who refused to see the harm he was doing.

This brings up a lot of timely environmental issues with a highly sympathetic heroine at its core. ( )

Kara Wood loves the sea and her sailboat, "Moana." Yet she is troubled for a number of reasons. Her marine biologist mother disappeared on an environmental mission a year ago, her father will lose his job at the end of the summer, and a contingent of local fisherman are hoping to dredge the reef to increase their incomes. When she finds a young albino dolphin injured by old netting on the beach, she believes it is a both a message from her mother and symbol that the dredging will not happen.

Felix Anderson is an angry young man with muscular dystrophy. His wealthy father has just moved him away from his friends and life in London to live in this podunk village. But when he goes sailing one day on "Moana" (Kara's Dad needs to sell his boat for money), he discovers a passion that he can do well.

Together, Kara and Felix work to help the white dolphin and save the reef. Both are strong characters with points to prove to each other, the town and themselves. Some of the most beautiful scenes are when they're sailing and snorkeling on the reef. I didn't realize there were reefs off the coast of England. One day, they see red cuttlefish on the reef. Cuttlefish are mollusks related to octopus and squid. They can change color to camouflage themselves or communicate with other cuttlefish.

I enjoyed this story, but I liked Wild Wings more. Her first story, centered around an osprey, was more spiritual to me, more luminous in some ways. Still, it provides a timely message on the environment that is important for both children and adults to know. ( )

(3.5)