⭐⭐.5

“The Rage of the Sea Witch” is this cool adventure series that brings history to life with a mix of fantasy, humor, and some black-and-white illustrations. The story is all about Billy, this kid who hasn’t quite figured out his magical powers yet. His parents, who are always jet-setting around the world, leave him at Charles Darwin’s baffling museum-like house for the summer. That’s where Billy stumbles upon Charles D, a 200-year-old talking tortoise owned by the famous Darwin himself. Charles D knows everything about the house and its artifacts!

He’s super eager to help Billy unlock his magic and go on some epic adventures. And it all starts with this amazing Inuit ivory necklace that transports Billy back in time to an Arctic blizzard. There, he meets Ahnah, the necklace’s rightful owner, her shape-shifting grandma, and this mysterious explorer called Pytheas. Talk about an exciting journey!

Alright, let’s talk about that book cover! It’s seriously eye-catching and full of vibrant colors. I was totally digging it. But here’s the thing–as much as I wanted to love “The Rage of the Sea Witch,” it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was an okay read, but it didn’t blow my mind. The writing felt a bit amateurish and kind of clunky (if you know what I mean). It happens though, right? We can’t love every book we pick up. So, yeah, it was just alright for me.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

A beautiful and thought-provoking story about the consequences of exploration and colonialism.

Billy has been abandoned at a museum by his parents, and is prepared for a boring and lonely stay until he meets Charles Darwin, a 200 year old talking tortoise who was befriended by the great scientist as an infant.

Traveling through time and space, Billy meets a young Inuit girl and helps her reclaim an old family heirloom that has been gathering dust in the museum for centuries.

Well, this was an unfortunate mess. One minute it's about Billy, being abandoned in a country pile while his parents go off separately on their own exploratory missions across the world, the next it's about how he found a giant Galapagos tortoise in the vegetable plot. Turns out this old place was actually Charles Darwin's, as was the tortoise, and nobody had thought to say, or, you know, put a sign up. Then the next minute it's a fantasy jumble as Pytheas the Greek explorer and scientist, and an Inuit girl, and Billy all collide and you only have to wonder what the heck the point of it all is.

At least it literally is 'one minute this, the next minute that' for this is briskly read – helped of course by some quite unappealing illustrations. But is all this an edutainment designed to teach us about Pytheas? About Inuits? About Darwin? No, it's an excuse to have the magic of the Inuit grandmother (which includes being fluent in English, apparently) rife in the modern-day English world. Therefore Billy can learn that he really is, as his surname suggests, a shaman. And then countenance the woke, culture-killing idea that everything in the museum must be returned from whence it came. That being the final nail in this book's coffin, I really think it's better it doesn't get taken anywhere, like off a bookshelf. One and a half stars.

I really enjoyed The Rage of the Sea Witch and believe it will make an excellent story time book for my current class. Billy S, the main character, is someone you immediately empathise as he is left behind whilst his parents go away on their latest travel. Cue Charles Darwin (a giant talking tortoise), an Arctic Fox,an Inuit necklace and an adventure he'll never forget. The language choices were ambitious but accessible for the age of my class and I'll be keeping an eye out for book two in the series.

I’ve just finished #TheRageOfTheSeaWitch in one sitting. It was an interesting concept and I had to find out how it ends. In the story Billy Shaman discovers magic in the house his parents dumped him in so they could have fun without him. The fab illustrations on almost every page throughout bring this book to life. I love it when authors illustrate their own work because you really see the characters and events exactly as they imagined them. #NetGalley

A short but beautifully written book. The story of Billy and his marvellous adventure. Billy's parents are so busy with their own interests that they abandon him every summer with just about anyone who will take him. This summer is going to be different, Billy discovers he is a time walking shamen. This could be the start of a great series.

Billy Shaman, or Billy S, as he's known at school, has a mum who's a famous explorer who climbs mountains and a scientist father who looks for plants and insects. It would be really great if they took him with them on their expeditions unfortunately they leave him with friends instead even in the holidays!

This summer, he's staying in a house once owned by Charles Darwin but is now a museum and, amazingly, has a talking giant tortoise living in the garden! When Billy is visited by an Arctic Fox, he finds himself taken through the Inuit display into the frozen landscape, and that's when things really start getting weird!

This is the first in an informative new series by Roland Chambers featuring Billy Shaman and is a fun way to learn a little about Charles Darwin and the Inuit people. Although not a long book, at 176 pages, the story draws you in and is written in such a way that its targeted audience of aged 7+ should be enthralled from the start.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the opinions expressed are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this, I liked Billy, and the story was engaging from the start. Highly recommended.