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| Shark Beneath the Reef | 
 enlarge | Author: Jean Craighead George
Publisher: HarperTrophy
Category: Book
List Price: $5.99
Buy New: $0.01
You Save: $5.98 (100%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  (10 reviews)
Sales Rank: 540543
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.5
ISBN: 0064403084
EAN: 9780064403085
ASIN: 0064403084
Publication Date: April 15, 1991
Release Date: April 15, 1991
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Like his father and grandfather before him, 14-year-old Tomas Torres dreams of catching a great shark in the Sea of Cortez -- and he will catch it, although there are other things he should be thinking about. With an education, her could someday become a marine biologist. Tomas's family want him to stay in school. But Tomas knows he will be more help to them if he leaves school now to become a fisherman.
Should he drop out?
The choice is Tomas alone -- a difficult one for a boy just becoming a man. It is only underwear, in a confrontation with the fisherman's greatest prize and worst enemy, that Tomas finds the strength to make his decision.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 a great book May 30, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Tomas Torres is a Mexican teenager who is forced to make the decision of whether or not to stay in school or go on to be a fisherman like his father and grandfather before him. Tomas wants to keep his fathers business alive, while his teacher is pushing him to stay in school and study marine biology. Opinions are split, things go wrong, read the book and find out what happens. A Shark Beneath The Reef is a wonderful book about a boy who is faced with the decision of school or fishing. His father was killed by a shark, and he has always wanted to continue his legacy. Tomas gains many different opinions on the topic before he decides. The marine police around his town are trying to shut down his fathers fishing business, and Tomas is caught up in the business of trying to save it, all while trying to make his decision. This was a very well written, well-researched book. The author uses great nature descriptions in the book, which really add to the book in many ways. I would recommend this to anyone looking for simply a good book.
The first thing I liked about this book is the different settings and how well they are described. For example heres how the author chose to describe a morning on the beach: "The mountains stretched north and south from horizon to horizon , and in the low light they looked like a gargantuan cutout of a jaw of sharks teeth. Above them stars shone as bright as fire. The sun would not be up for another hour." Its sentences like these that bring life to this book.
Another thing I liked about this book is the use of Mexican culture throughout the book. At the begging of the book it talks about the Mexican God Quetzalcoatl and the lady of Guadalupe. There is also a scene later in the book that describes a Mexican fiesta in which there is parades and dancing. This is a very neat and educational aspect to this book.
The final thing that I liked about the book is that while it is a very detailed book, the plot is very simple and it is an easy to read book. The plot of this book doesn't shift around too much, its beasically all about Tomas and his decision. The author provides characters and detail to add volume and description to the story, but the plot is simple throughout.
Overall, A Shark Beneath The Reef is a wonderful book with many delighting aspects that should be read and enjoyed by people of all ages.
 one of the worst books ever written April 8, 2005
This is by far one of THE worst books I have ever read IN MY LIFE. The lead character, Tomas, is played out as a normal Mexican child, yet the author makes it sound like he is an adult. It is set in Baja, Mexico, i'm sure this place is rural and doesnt have a lot of people, but I'm sure they have better things to do then stalk sharks and pretend there are boats on top of mountains. About 85% of this book is about Tomas talking about fishing. Okay, if you are contemplating being a fisherman, GET this book, I'm sure it can help you. For the rest of you, if you buy this book you are just wasting your money.
Shark Beneath th Reef March 22, 2005
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
HEY! WELL I HATE THIS BOOK!!! IT IS SOOO RETARDED!!!!!! I WANT SOME CHEAT NOTES SO I CAN FINISH THIS STUPID PACKET!!AHHHHHH!!!!!! WELLLLLLLBYE!!!!
laugh out loud!!!!!
love,
a person!
Shark Beneath the Reef March 15, 2003
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Shark Beneath the Reef is an excellent book about a Mexican boy who lives near the Sea of Cortez. His family catches and sells sharks for a living. He heard about an enormous shark who lives under the coral shelf. He dreams of catching the shark and holding it above his head in the plaza as a hero. He is also making his mind on whether he is going to school or becoming a shark fisherman. Meanwhile, his family is suffering because the sharks have gone out of the area and they have very little to sell. The government officials also wants to begin taxing the fishermen because they are making the beach a tourist site. The family camp is on that beach, so they try to avoid the the officials as much as they can. I liked this book was because of the plot. It was action sometimes and drama at another. The positions of the plot sections were completely mixed up, but exactly in order. The moral was also astounding. I am still amazed at how the story ended out. I thought it would be a simple decision, but it turned out to be completely different. Absoluteley excellent literature. You have got to read it!
 One of George's best August 28, 2001
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
From Jean Craighead George, best-loved author of more than eighty nature books for young readers, comes another marvelous story about a complex culture, family importance, and the vast relationship between humans and the natural world. This is one of her best, along the same line as the provocative WATER SKY--the story of a young man who learns about the whales of Arctic Alaska--and THE TALKING EARTH, about a girl who rows through the Everglades, befriending animals along the way. Although Ms. George is best-known for her classics, MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN and the Newbery Medal-winning JULIE OF THE WOLVES, her other novels are great adventures, too. SHARK BENEATH THE REEF is the story of Tomas Torres, who, at fourteen, is learning about his changing home and trying to cope with the new decisions he must face, the most important being his choice to become a fisherman or a marine biologist. A great shark only complicates this decision, as Tomas's dream is to kill the shark and carry it into his small Mexican town above his head, with the bells of the mission tower ringing in praise. However, it is when Tomas comes face-to-face with the shark that he realizes how vital it is to his family's well-being, and he forgets his dream and thinks, more sensibly, like a man. The ending is one of the best parts about the story, when Tomas and his teacher discuss the varying faces of nature and how it cannot be controlled, although humans may think they'd like to and can. The entire story sparkles with details about the teeming life of the seaside environment, interesting, well-described characters, and the importance of legends and heroes to many cultures. Nature and animal lovers will enjoy reading about the different creatures and birds found in this part of the world, although not much is given to the shark to allay fears about its legendary ferocity.
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