Rating: 
Summary: Effective and satisfying work
Review: I picked up the book quite randomly at the local book store. The first time I had just picked up a contemporary novel and bought it. I'm a college student, and can identify with Philip at times. I did think the language used probably should have been beyond Philip, but who is to say it's not a retrospective look? The book touched me more than I thought it would. I found it to be a quick and really good read, but what really hit me was the coming of age undertones. Reading as Philip struggles with letting go of his past, and childhood reminded me of such struggles.Reiken offers some interesting discussion on art and artists in the book, and I found the family's responses to the the loss and developments quite believable as best as I can empathise. Overall, I recommend it, it made me think more than I would have thought, and a lot of the cover praise seemed accurate to me.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read...
Review: After reading the first 50 pages and then putting it down for a while i realized i had not given The Odd Sea a good try so picked it back up and read through the entire thing in a day. This book is both thrilling and frustrating at the same time. I wouldn't reccomend this to anyone who longs for a happy ending but i would reccomend it to most everyone else. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and although at times i felt the characters spoke a little beyond their years, overall i give it a thumbs up. The odd sea is a haunting book about loss and the reality that we cannot solve every problem or mystery. If you want a great quick read, i suggest picking this one up!
Rating: 
Summary: An amazingly good novel
Review: What a book! I was taken by the description on the back cover. For once I was right to trust my instincts. As soon as I read a page, I could not put this novel down! Reiken's voice is pitch perfect, and the story carries tremendous amounts of emotion while never once becoming sappy or sentimental. The pacing of the novel is so carefully timed that we follow the narrator Philip Shumway through all the stages of loss and we feel everything with him, step by step, and come away with the same quiet, ultimately uplifting resolve. Beautiful sense of family dynamics. Just an absolutely wonderful book that EVERYONE should read.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive Debut
Review: This is a book that is as much about what it seems (the story of a family coping with a lost son) as with probing the metaphysical nature of absence as a profound presence in all our lives. How the author pulls all this off while also creating an engaging, deeply moving, sometimes hilarious story is the most impressive aspect of this wonderful first novel.
Rating:
Summary: Worth a read, but not all THAT good
Review: I enjoyed the book, in general: I felt that the family dynamics were well portrayed, the characters were appealing, and the way that everyone gradually transmutes the memory of Ethan according to the cast of their individual minds was very believable. As someone unfamiliar with the area where the story takes place, I got a good sense of the "feel" of living there -- not just the appearance but the smells, sounds, and tactile sensations of the towns and the woods. On the other hand, the writing style that everyone raves about didn't strike me as all THAT wonderful. There isn't much difference between the way Ethan writes in his diary and the way the narrator describes things; there were a couple of pointless repetitions; and the phrase "the odd sea," which the author says early on became his family's shorthand for the place where lost things end up, is used only once or twice more in the novel -- I felt the author could have done a lot more with this theme without being heavy-handed. At times I felt I was reading a draft rather than a finished work, e.g., some of the "linking" sections, although the crucial conversations or thought processes they linked were usually very well done. I think the book is a pleasurable way to spend a couple of hours (it's short and easy to read), but it didn't knock my socks off.
Rating:
Summary: A NEW AUTHOR AND A RISING STAR
Review: i was hooked right from the start by two things- the start of a great story and great writing. this book was simple,subtle, engrossing, spiritual, and intense all in one. that is no easy task!! several times as i closed the book for the evening i said "wow" as i put the book down. i wish frederick reiken luck on two levels- 1.great sucess so as many as possible can "get" his writing/storytelling. & 2. on a selfish level i wish him sucess however it comes just so i can take in more of his work. ENJOY!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A haunting and healing novel
Review: I'm a mom with grown children, and the tragedy off Martha's Vineyard has upset me more than it should. So it was hard, in some ways, to read The Odd Sea, because it's a book about the disappearance of a son. But then, as the book continues, and the strength and love within the family emerges, I found myself healed. This is surprisingly deep novel, packing more wisdom per page than the average debut fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: This book certainly shouldn't be judged by it's cover.
Review: I have recently had good luck picking interesting books to read just because I liked the cover of the book. "The Odd Sea", however, didn't deliver anything nearly as mysterious as the image of the boy disappearing in the cover picture. I found Frederick Reiken's first novel to be a disappointing attempt to convey the feelings of a family that has just suffered the loss of a child. Also, considering that the story was told from the perspective of a young teen, the language used to relay events was something that just wouldn't come from someone in that age group. Certain parts of the novel came off as a "how-to" manual, with descriptions of the father's obsession with building timber frame homes and Ethan's girlfriend's sheep breeding hobby. I suppose that was the author's attempt to show how they threw themselves into their acitvities to try to forget about Ethan's disappearance, but something was lacking. Mr. Reiken did a much better job depicting the mother's depression, hospitalization, and obsessions after Ethan's disappearance. Although she stayed up all night baking, he didn't go into the details of each recipe she used. "The Odd Sea" was an "easy read", but not something I would recommend as a "must read".
Rating:
Summary: powerful and haunting ... as all great books are
Review: Some books you fly through and never think of again. There are others that you finish reluctantly, wishing that they would never end. Then, there are those rare few that you put down with a combination of regret and relief. This is one of the last ... a book that moved me to the point of that seeming contradiction. I wanted it to go on forever, yet was relieved to be free of its emotional yoke. A truly powerful book that is destined to haunt with meloncholy each of its readers.
Rating:
Summary: unputdownable
Review: How are we present and absent in each other's lives? What is the true nature of absence? This poignant, funny novel which illuminates humaness and art is not to be missed. I couldn't put it down. A grabber from the beginning.
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