I've never been so terrified and fascinated by a book in my life. "Whalefall" is a wild, visceral ride inside the belly of a sperm whale, but it's also a poignant exploration of grief, father-son relationships, and the darkness that lurks within us all. Kraus's writing is so vivid, I felt the cold seawater closing in around me, tasted the metallic tang of fear. It's a heart-pounding survival story that will stay with me long after I turned the last page. Thanks to Daniel Kraus, NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I believe this book has a deeper meaning and intention than what's on the surface and I enjoyed those deeper themes. I felt this book overall progressed slowly and I think that took away some of the value of the lessons being taught; make no mistake this is about processing grief!

The factual details are great with this one, and that's why I'd round up to 3.5 stars.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Whalefall is a story on the surface that is about a boy who goes diving to find his father's remains and gets swallowed by a sperm whale and has to survive and escape. But the story has so much more going on, ecology, coming of age, facing your demons, man vs nature. A short but powerful read.

Such a fun beat-the-clock, will-he-survive, father/son story.

Is it believable that Jay gets swallowed by a whale? Not necessarily, but what a fun ride of a book. As a high school librarian, I can see this book appealing to lots of adventure seeking boys.

A teen is swallowed by a whale and only has an hour to escape before his oxygen tank runs out. WHALEFALL sounded absolutely bonkers and wildly entertaining -- and it was! Haunted houses, possessed dolls, I put those shows on at bedtime. What truly terrifies me is the ocean. Reading this book, watching at each chapter is titled, not with a number, but with decreasing numbers as Jay's oxygen tank slowly runs out, had my anxiety skyrocketing like no other.

While the subject matter is not the least bit beach-friendly, WHALEFALL is a perfect summer read, can't-put-it-down intense with a rapid-fire pace!

Not for me. DNF around 40%. This book was heavily about the main character’s relationship with his dad (which was bad) and scuba diving. I struggled a lot to care about him and was ultimately too bored to continue. The audio was read by Kirby Heybourne of Mormon Lore, and honestly I did not enjoy it either, but could be fun for people who are fans of him.

I flew through this beautiful masterpiece in under 5 hours.
I was already expecting it to be good, but this was so much more. My biggest fear is whales. They truly terrify me, and although there were parts of this that were exhilarating, tense and anxiety-producing.... I had tears in my eyes through so much of it.
I love how well-researched this was with so many in-depth details. It is almost poetic.
The back story follow Jay and Mitt, sending us through flashbacks of their father/son relationship. Through Jay's eyes we see a hard, unloving father who pushed him in the same sea-loving footsteps (pretty forcefully).
However as the main plot unfolds, we see more of Mitt's heart and his viewpoint of their relationship.
The ocean, and the whale specifically serve as a spiritual figure for Jay connecting him with his family and the world around him, and that is really what pulls so many emotions out of me.
With these soft emotions, you also get the panic and fear while we watch Jay's PSI level drop as he slowly loses oxygen trying to escape this nightmare. I felt like Jay was living through days and days when the course of this book was basically an hour.
Overall. Daniel has now written one of my favorite books ive ever read. I can not wait to purchase a physical copy.
Thank you to the publishers for sending me this!

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus did not disappoint! A gripping story that had me holding my breath! Krause wrote a fantastically suspenseful and heart breaking tale. I look forward to see what he publishes next

A breathtaking, heartbreaking story about reconciling broken love and legacy. Stifling and claustrophobic, but at the same time warm and hopeful.

The comps are The Martian and 127 hours, and I understand why they’d say that but i think it’s important to know going in that this is not a thriller. There are certainly some tense moments- but much more than that, it’s about a young man dealing with the anger he has toward his father after his death.

This is scientifically accurate suspense about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.

Jay Gardiner is the protagonist and he has given himself a fool’s errand—to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastary Beach, which has been called the most dangerous beach in California

Jay knows it’s a long shot, but he’s dealing with a lot of anger and guilt, and feels like finding his remains will help alleviate the guilt he’s been carrying since his dad’s death by suicide the previous year.

The dive begins well-Jay cant help but remember all of the tips his dad drilled into his head for years- until a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid’s tentacles and drawn into the whale’s mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run out—one hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly of a whale.

This book was so unique. It was much more literary than i was expecting but i ended up loving it. The chapters are short and the action scenes are broken up by flashbacks- at first i didnt like it b/c it felt like it was taking me out of the main story, but they did realy help me understand the character. I loved the scientific aspects of it- and i couldnt help but want to see Jay get out alive. He’s complicated and not always the most likable- but even though he’s this diver in a really dangerous situation- he’s also just a kid dealing with the loss of his emotionally abusive father. I think if you are dealing with the loss of a parent this could be really tough to read, so take care with that. This is a wholly unique emotionally resonant story about extreme sports, grief, our mark on the planet, nature, and parenthood, and it’s definitely worth adding to your TBR.

This was so great. I loved how this was really an exploration of grief at its core. I loved the ocean setting, the problem solving, and the fantastic way this book was resolved. I will definitely read more from this author!

Thank you Netgalley for giving me this to read and review.

I wanted to love this one so much more than I did. It dragged really bad in parts (which is part of why it took me so long to finish it, and my cat was sick and dying unfortunately and that took my attention far away as well) and everyone kept raving about it but I just don't see it. I also didn't really enjoy the fluctuating storylines, very disjointed.

The current popularity of grief horror is so much just for me. I can't wait until this is inevitably optioned for a movie or show, and I hope the flashback sequences of young Jay and his dad will be just as gutting as they are on the page. Whalefall handles the complicated emotions of losing a parent you weren't close to with such grace.

Whalefall is an atmospheric, chilling, and strange tale that blends the cold darkness of the deep with the internal endless feeling of grief. I really enjoyed this one! It's unique and explores many layers (literally and figuratively.) I was really looking forward to reading it and am so glad I did, worth every minute.

3.5 stars

This was....weird, for lack of a better term. The concept is interesting and it had a great execution. The underlying statement of grief definitely hits you in the feels. I don't think there was anything that would make this better, I just think it wasn't 100% for me.

This was a unique book and not what I was expecting at all. Full of scientific facts about the ocean and its creatures, it is also a family drama. When Jay Gardiner's father commits suicide by drowning himself in the ocean, his remains are never recovered. Jay decides to mend fences within his family by recovering at least some bones.

Instead, his time in the dive becomes a nightmare as he is swallowed by a sperm whale. He has to call on everything his father and sisters ever taught him in order to try to survive. Jay and his father had a very contentious relationship, but his time in the whale begins to show Jay how much his father really loved him.

The countdown of the chapters (the psi in Jay's tank) added to the drama of his struggles. Once again I find myself reading a book that jumps between the present (horror-filled) and the past (mostly introspection and memories). This isn't my favorite format, especially in an audiobook.

The narrator did a good job with the audiobook and kept my interest. I think it would have been better as a read book because of the extremely short chapters in some parts of the book.

There were some pretty poignant moments as Jay comes to terms with his death or possible future and realizes the true depth of a father's love.

Holy COW, that was intense. This book gripped me by the throat. I don't know what I was expecting, but this exceeded everything. What a unique storyline and brilliant writing. Thank you for the advanced copy.

It's still an emotional after just finishing it. The entire book had all every human emotion in it to me. Jay and his torment with his father. His father's choices haunted him until his last breath. Lessons literally learned and used by his father, whom he really loathed. An unlucky chain of events involving a giant squid and a sperm whale. Such a ride from beginning to end.

Then there's the philosophical part of it. There are so many metaphors, and just I can't put it into words. It was amazing, from beginning to end. It doesn't matter what genre you prefer. Read this book, please. You won't regret it. And if you do, I apologize.

Intense real time survival story with emotional backstory told via flashbacks. Claustrophobic and yet emotionally expansive. Highly recommended.

Huh. I don't know what to say about this. I had been putting it off for a while because I wasn't sure about it. And now that I'm finished, I'm still not really sure about it. To be fair, it's a relatively quick read, as the "chapters" are quite short and sometimes only a few words. I don't know if I was enjoying it per se, but I did find myself wanting to get back to the book asap and find out what was going to happen next. That is, until maybe the last quarter. Then I just got kind of tired of Jay and his implausible, yet "scientifically accurate" issues.

For one thing, he's a kid. Only 17. So that makes it a little more difficult to hear about what he had been through. Now, I am not a diver but would one really expect to find a body in the OCEAN? Especially after that much time had passed? So even though Jay was looking for closure through finding bones to bury, he sort of got through his own thoughts, his hallucinations, his experience with possible death.

And can we talk about Mitt for a minute? He was HORRIBLE to his son. The whole first 3/4ths of the book we hear about how abusive Mitt was to Jay. So much so that he killed himself as sort of a final act of rebellion to influence Jay. But then by the end, we are supposed to believe that Mitt was teaching his son all of these life lessons rather than drunkenly yammering on about his thoughts.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. This one was not for me.