Name: Oliver and the Seawigs
ISBN: 9780192734556

Philip Reeve

Along with his friends, a grumpy old albatross, a short-sighted mermaid, and a friendly island called Cliff, Oliver sets out to rescue his missing parents. On their perilous journey the friends meet evil islands, a boy called Stacey (not a girl's name) and more sea monkeys than you can wave some seaweed at.

Oliver and the Seawigs

Yoomi

I received this book as a free copy from NetGalley.

"Years of exploring had taught him that you don't solve problems by sitting around complaining about them. You have to do something." And that is just what Oliver does when his parents disappear after going out to explore some islands that mysteriously appeared by their house. This isn't the first book where the main character is a child with parents who don't pay much attention to him or who have disappeared but I was pleasantly surprised to see that Oliver is a kind and resourceful boy. His parents make a mistake but are not at all stupid and make things right in the end. And there are sea monkeys and mermaids and more to be discovered along the journey to rescue his parents. Even better, it turns out Oliver had learned a thing or two from them. The illustrations are perfect and add to this wonderful story about friendship and family.