Review of “The Great Wide Sea” by M. H. Herlong

“The Great Wide Sea” by M. H. Herlong is an epic survival story about three children lost at sea in a forty foot sailboat.

Two months after a tragic accident that killed his mother, Ben and his family are still recovering. But then Ben’s father suddenly announces that he has sold the house so that they can depart on a one year sailing trip through the Florida Keys. Ben and his two younger brothers Dylan and Gerry do not want to go, but they have little choice, because their father has already made the decision.

With the house sold and the family possessions all packed away in storage, Ben and his family set off in the Chrysalis, a forty foot sailboat that will be their home for a whole year. Life on board the small boat is packed with stress and anger. Ben resents his father for taking them on this trip without even asking their opinion. Even Gerry, his youngest brother is afraid of the water because he can’t even swim. As the trip through the Florida Keys progresses the three boys want to stop at islands to relax, but their father seems driven by a constant urge to keep going. The family tension and tight quarters are turning the voyage into a nightmare.

Then one morning when Ben and his brothers wake up they find that their father is gone. Whether he fell overboard by accident or jumped on purpose they do not know, but Ben suspects suicide when he finds a poem tucked away in one of his father’s books. But all that matters now is that their father is gone, the sailboat is halfway between Bermuda and the Bahamas, and a storm is coming over the horizon.

“The Great Wide Sea” is a rather stressful book. I think that M. H. Herlong did a good job of showing the aftermath of a tragic death in the family. He depicts strained human emotions very well. The survival plot is suspenseful without becoming ridiculous. However, the constant stress between Ben and his father becomes a little tiring. I think that M. H. Herlong did a good job in writing this debut novel. “The Great Wide Sea” has a few shortcomings but overall it is a good reading experience.

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