Caroline Oresteia is destined for the river. Her father is a wherryman, as was her grandmother. All Caro needs is for the river god to whisper her name, and her fate is sealed. But at seventeen, Caro may be too late.So when pirates burn ships and her father is arrested, Caro volunteers to transport mysterious cargo in exchange for his release. Secretly, Caro hopes that by piloting her own wherry, … wherry, the river god will finally speak her name.But when the cargo becomes more than Caro expected, she finds herself caught in a web of politics and lies. With much more than her father’s life at stake, Caro must choose between the future she knows, and the one she could have never imagined.
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Caroline Oresteia’s life changes drastically when she and her father arrive on their boat to a town where all the boats have been burned in the harbor. Caro’s father is taken prisoner and Caro is blackmailed into signing papers to ferry a crate by herself to a faraway town. She is not to open this crate, but of course she does. What she finds changes her path away from the river she’s always known into a world filled with politics and danger.
Caro was an easy character to understand and like. Her family has always let the river God guide them but Caro has never heard his voice. Desperate to “find” herself she leaps into accepting this challenge, only in part because they are holding her father hostage. She is really relishing the chance to prove herself and this trip while scary also pushes her outside of her comfort zone allowing her to grow.
Caro’s love interest started off an enemy but soon became a reliable friend and then more. I liked how that relationship developed and that Caro wasn’t the only character to show growth through the story. Song of the Current was also an action adventure tale along the lines of a Robin Hood or a swashbuckling tale. As Caro’s confidence builds her character becomes more pirate like and even heroic. It was a lot of fun to read and the story flew by very quickly.
I love YA action novels and Song of the Current hit the right note for me. It did start off a little slow but that was to be expected as the characters and world building needed explanation. As soon as she pushed off down the river and opened that crate the story took off and the adventure began.
So, so good! Give me more. Beautifully woven river culture, and Caro’s pull between the two sides of her family is perfect. Can’t wait to see what Sarah offers us next.
I ended up liking this book more than I thought that I would in the beginning.
There is a lot of talk about sailing and boat lingo that was sometimes hard to get through.
Carolyn has always sailed as first mate of her fathers wherry, until he is unnecessarily put in jail. She is sent on a dangerous mission to deliver mysterious cargo to another land. There is magic, gods, people, and things that get in the way on her journey. She also discovers more about herself. I like how she is strong and opinionated. I enjoyed the mystery/suspense/story. It was a little obvious I thought who the boy was when he was brought into the story.
There is sex (the first time is semi descriptive leading up to it, then skips over), the other times it is just mentioned. They talk about how there are no strings or commitment. It is not the first time for either teenager (and he boasts that’s it’s finally something he knows how to do). There is a mention of the previous time she slept with a boy. There is mention of her parents not being married. There is an alluding to a homosexual woman with an all female crew with no need for a man.
There is some language, violence, and murder.