Maya and her family have always known the water, but it’s hard to be an animal lover in a family of fisherman. When Maya discovers a family of sea otters living in Riley Bay, she’s determined to keep them safe even if it means keeping them a secret from everyone else. Until one day while checking on them she realizes she’s being watched. When poachers approach and her family’s livelihood is at stake Maya must try harder than ever to do what’s right.
I give this book three stars (out of five). I really liked this book. I think it had great characters and a great plot, even if they’re all relatively simple. The book itself is really short and I read it in under an hour, so it’s a pretty short and enjoyable read. The main character, Maya, is a fourteen year old girl who’s father and brother are fishermen.
She’s found a small group of sea otters hanging out around Riley Bay, and sneaks out each morning to check on them. But as poachers try to illegally take sea urchins, Maya and her family are not only in their way but intentionally trying to catch them out.
[Spoiler warning, skip the next paragraph to avoid them]
But in a sudden plot twist it’s discovered that the poachers are actually being led by the coast guard and a family friend, with an intense chase scene Maya and her brother Saul trick the poachers into getting caught by the police. The sea otters stay safe, Maya and her family are happy and peace is restored.
The ending was actually really cool and I was very surprised with the plot twist, it made the story a lot more intense and impactful. I think this would be a great easy reading book or for people who can’t or don’t like reading longer books. It’s easy to read and the story isn’t too long or complex but it’s still a great story. Even without a good reason to read easy or simple books I still really enjoyed this one.