The Highest Tide - Jim Lynch

I saw this novel in a bookstore one day and debated buying it. I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't because I found it in a charity shop a few days later! Not that its not worth the full price but I'm always on the lookout for a bargain. This was a book recommended by the Richard and Judy book club (But don't let that put you off!) and is effectively a coming-of-age tale set against the unusual backdrop of Puget Sound, Washington. It is the debut novel by the author, James Lynch. PLOT The story is told in first person by Miles, who is an over intelligent 13 year old boy who lives by the Sound. He has an obsession with marine life, stemming from reading a lot ...  Read the complete review

This is the first novel by Jim Lynch. He lives in Washington State, USA, where this book is set. It is another book that I have read and enjoyed from the famous (or is it more infamous now?) Richard & Judy Book club. It may be considered uncool but it makes it so much easier to find enjoyable books to read. Though there have been some that I haven’t enjoyed, most have been a pleasure to float through. So I was looking forward to dipping into this one. It is the story of a thirteen-year old boy, called Miles, in a coming-of-age saga. He is short and a bit out of the normal run of things for boys his age. He lives by the side of a bay and he has learnt so ...  Read the complete review

THIS is my second read selected from the 2006 Book Club list (www.richardandjudy.co.uk) being recommended by Richard & Judy (Channel 4). I chose this book not because of its reviews on-line but it struck me most is the title itself - reminded me of my childhood summer holidays in the central part of the Philippines. When I was in my teens, spending the summer is the most enjoyable one compared it with Xmas holiday. Sad to say, I don’t really get much of the Christmas gifts/presence, but instead I have to earned it by singing carols in the neighbours. Unlike summer (April to May), I really had a good time collecting live shells and some fish for dinner, and ...  Read the complete review

This is a good book especially when one considers that it is the author Jim Lynch's first novel. The subject matter of the book is on first inspection rather random and unusual, but this is still a very enjoyable read, and if time permits the novel can easily be read in just a few days. Indeed the novel centres around a young boy called Miles and the events that befall him during one particular summer holiday. Miles is a rather solitary, brilliant and unusal young boy through whom we discover the magic and wonder of various aquatic life in Puget Sound (Washington state). One night when he discovers a giant squid near his house he is suddenly pushed into the limelight and ...  Read the complete review