Leaving Protection

Rating:
Summary: Leaving Protection: Worthy of Gimmel
Review: Will Hobbs is no stranger to the genre of realistic nature-related fiction. I would in fact find it safe to say that Will Hobbs has mastered this genre. Leaving Protection is a great example of his L33T \/\/r1t1|\|g 5k1llz.
Leaving Protection is a story of a boy named Robbie, who leaves his floathouse home at Port Protection to get a job as a deckhand to a salmon troller. He arrives in the port town of Craig to find that nearly all the openings for deckhands have been taken. Luckily, he gets a tip from a local that a certain "highliner," or very successful fisherman, might be able to use his help. Well, Robbie's curiosity gets the better of him as he begins to snoop about aboard the guy's boat, and stumbles across this odd plaque. The captain of the Storm Petrel, Tor Torsen, catches him and after much begging, Robbie manages to persuade the highliner captain to hire him - or so he thinks. Robbie eventually learns from Tor the meaning of the plaques. The plaques were buried along the coast hundreds of years before by the Russians to stake their claim on Alaska. Tor hunts for these plaques and unearths them to sell on the black market for his retirement fund. As they pursue these plaques, Robbie feels as though danger is imminent. Does he know too much? What does Tor have in store for him? Meanwhile, a monstrous storm approaches. What is Robbie to do?
The main reason behind my great enjoyment of Leaving Protection was Will Hobbs's attention to detail. Hobbs makes such colorful descriptions of the fishing. As I read Leaving Protection, I could feel my sea legs returning. I braced as the Storm Petrel skipped across the bay. I saw the ever so lustrous King salmon leap out from the water. I heard the dull thud of the gaff making contact with its skull. I could feel the sea spray on my face and taste the salty water on my tongue when a swell came.
One problem I initially encountered was a weak sense of character complexity, but when you live on a boat for a couple weeks, it doesn't take a three-ring circus to entertain you. Besides, the filler between the single-sided suspense is probably the best part, sort of like a 99¢ cheeseburger from McDonald's: the air-pocketed storyline holds the compressed, pre-cut character patty in place, while what appears to be a half-melted slice of cheesy nothingness keeps it all glued. Try pulling the bun off, and half of it is stuck to the cheese, while the other half is in flakes on your lap. You can't slip the meat out, because that cheese is sticking for good. The fishing is the source of calcium. It strengthens your structure and it's the only thing in that sandwich that's good for you.
I may be able to better appreciate Will Hobbs's descriptions because I have sport-fished for salmon in Southeastern Alaska on three occasions. However, even if you have never seen live salmon, Will Hobbs does a great job of depicting the actual setting - it's even historically accurate. I think Leaving Protection deserves a full 5 points, and if I had another dollar, I'd buy another burger.


Rating:
Summary: Good Sea Story
Review: This book is about a boy named Robbie who
tries to get a job as a fisherman. He has always
wanted to be a fisherman. He thinks he is happy
when he becomes a fisherman, but as he works for
a man named Tor, Robbie discovers that Tor has
more of an intention than catching fish. Robbie
discovers that Tor is trying to find a very
valuable plaque. Robbie is dragged out farther to
sea, and learns that he will have to face a
violent storm, that will test his courage to try
to save somebody's life and risk his life at the
same time.
This book was PRETTY good. I liked the
character,Robbie the most because he has a lot of
courage to try to save somebody in a violent
storm at sea. Robbie's character was developed
o.k. but it did not show how he felt during the
storm when he might have lost his life and when
he was trying to save someone else. I did not
like Tor's character because he never seemed like
he was in a good mood that much. He also did not
show his pride for catching fish and he did not
show his gratefulness when Robbie tried to help
him. The book could have been improved if it had
more of a point than catching fish, and if they
got stranded on an island or something,it would
be more interesting. It needs more of a
background,kind of. I would recommend this book
to people who like stories about fishing and
being stranded at sea. This book would of also
been more interesting if it was more about being
stuck at sea. FROM FLAMINGNET BOOK REVIEWS
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