Prepare to ride waves of emotion in this hugely powerful and moving adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope…

Ten year old Julia, her mum, dad and cat Noodle have left their home in Hayle Cornwall to live on Unst, a remote Shetland island for the summer. Julia’s parents are two very strong-minded and slightly eccentric individuals, each the polar opposite of each other.

Dad works with numbers and is there to automate the lighthouse that is to be home for the summer. Meanwhile, Julia’s marine biologist mother is on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. Grandma Julia had suffered with dementia leading to her death and mum believes that the shark holds the key to slowing down the ageing of the mind and body.

Julia watches helplessly as her mother becomes totally fixated with finding the shark. It completely takes over, her behaviour becomes erratic and her mood swings from intense happiness one moment to feelings of enormous sadness and hopelessness the next.

When her mother’s obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on a dangerous and frightening adventure…

This is such a poignant and and touching tale. The words ebb and flow like the tide, lapping at your heart and brace yourself for some huge waves that will come crashing in and engulf you in some very hard-hitting and electrifying moments.

Tom de Freeston’s stunning illustrations will take your breath away. They capture beautifully the swirling seas and skies around the lighthouse and Julia’s churning subconscious mind. This is a shorter read than Kiran’s previous books but the illustrations speak a thousand words. I found myself lingering over them and returning to certain depictions later to ponder over them.


The shark takes on many meanings in the story and one of them is a powerful metaphor for mental health; lurking just below the surface in the murky depths until it crashes above the waves, unable to be contained any longer, drowning it’s helpless prey.

"The shark was beneath my bed, growing large as the room, large as the lighthouse, rising from unfathomable depths until it ripped the whole island from its roots. The bed was a boat, the shark a tide, and it pulled me so far out to sea I was only a speck, a spot, a mote, a dying star in an unending sky…"

Fearful, lost and confused by her mum’s worrying decline, the shark stalks Julia in her dreams; circling her, threatening to swallow her up. But where there is darkness, there must also be light and Julia’s light arrives in the form of Kin, a lonely island boy.

Star-gazer Kin is hunted by his own shiver of sharks. He and Julia are two misunderstood individuals who when they find each other, it’s like two whales on the same frequency, able to hear the hidden messages that others can’t.

This is Millwood Hargrave’s first collaboration with illustrator husband Tom de Freeston and what a captivating collaboration it is! It’s made all the more moving when Kiran references some of her and Tom’s own struggles with mental health in the author notes. It’s a book that will resonate with so many adults and children alike and allow conversations about mental illness to take place.

Kiran Millwood Hargrave can do no wrong! I’ve adored each and every one of her previous books and Julia and The Whale has earned it’s place in my heart alongside them.

With thanks to Orion Children’s Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this stunning book.

I am absolutely blown away by this book. I had to sit quietly after completing it just so I could process and marvel at its beauty.

First things first: the illustrations and design of the book. Wow. They packed a punch, that's for sure! The use of the greys and blacks against the yellow is striking and compliments the tone of the book perfectly. I want to go back and read the book just to appreciate the illustrations all over again!

This story is an incredibly special one and I applaud the author for tackling subjects that we, as a society, need to get comfortable talking about. The way Kiran Millwood Hargrave writes in a way that echoes the mood of one of the characters is genius. At times, I felt uncomfortable reading it...maybe even slightly afraid...but what fantastic writing to evoke such a response from the reader! This story moved me and surprised me. I went into this book knowing nothing and was utterly blown away by it.

All children's books have a message, a lesson to be learnt, something the reader can take forward with them. Lots of books now are - brilliantly - tackling subjects that for years were not prioritised, such as neurodivergent characters, single parent/same sex families, poverty, This one takes on a subject that I have never seen showcased quite so obviously in a children's book. Children across the country will read this and may resonate with Julia and her family dynamics. Adults across the country will read this and may resonate with it for a different reason.

This is a book that should be read by children and adults alike. I cannot state how important it is that they do. I absolutely loved this and will be adding it to my Y6 class library.

Kiran Millwood Hargrave does it again! I honestly believe she is one of, if not *the*, finest writer for children around. Not only does she write excellently and delicately crafted stories that hook the reader from start to finish, but her writing and understanding of character and children's perspectives just takes my breath away. Julia and the Shark is quite simply OUTSTANDING and a very very special book indeed.

I really enjoyed this and read it in about 2 hours.
It reminded me a lot of The Lost Bear, which is another book I adored. I like that there seems to be a trend at the moment for MG books about nature, climate change and protecting animals- this is so amazing to see and really excites me.
I really loved the setting- I would love to live in a lighthouse- how exciting! I think the plot line of Julia's mum's mental health is really interesting and described in a fantastic way that makes it really understandable and accessible for MG readers.
I love all the facts scattered around, one very minor thing that shark loving me would have liked, is a few more shark facts to dispel the 'killer shark, Jaws' myths. However, I am now very interested in learning more about Greenland sharks!
Highly recommend, and this should be in all schools please!

Julia and the Shark just reminded me why, as a 25 year old woman, I love middle-grade fiction so much. It was heart-wrenchingly powerful but still left me full of hope by the end. I will read anything Kiran Millwood Hargrave writes and in my eyes she can do no wrong so I wasn't surprised that this was a five star read.

However, the artwork by Tom de Freston was just as beautiful. Every page I was imagining as an artwork print on a wall. I think I am going to have to go out a buy a finished copy of the book come September as I just need to see it all in real life!

This is the story of Julia, and her parents, who travel to a remote island lighthouse where dad can digitise the lighthouse and mum can search the surrounding sea for the elusive Greenland Shark. Noodles, Julia's pet cat comes along for the adventure.
This book is heartfelt. Julia's relationship with her mother is strained which creates much of the tension in the book. There are other causes of pain in this book too; bullying, mental health issues, and much of it is created through lack of communication and misunderstandings. There is an environmental aspect too.
The characters are believable and easy to connect with. One of the overall messages from Julia and the Shark, is that of hope.
The illustrations are beautiful. Black, whites and grey shades which have a moody, haunting quality. Watch out for the addition of yellow towards the end pictures. Symbolic and beautiful.

Julia wasn’t expecting to move away from her home for summer, but her Dad’s work repairing an old lighthouse and her Mum’s obsession with finding the mysterious Greenland shark have led the family to relocate to a remote island off the coast of Scotland. She soon finds herself swept up in the insular community, making fast friends with Kin the curious boy who stargazes from the lighthouse where Julia lives. However, soon Julia’s Mum’s mission becomes all consuming and the family must do what it can to stop her and themselves from being dragged to the depths of the ocean.

I loved A Girl of Ink and Stars (which I only managed to read a copy of last year!) and so I immediately requested Julia and the Shark, expecting a beautifully written story full of lyrical and comforting descriptions and I was not disappointed one bit. Hargrave weaves a tale that is captivating whilst delivering incredibly important themes of family and mental health without patronising children in the process. It is so important to normalise discussion about mental health, especially with young people, and stories feel like a perfect starting point for having that discussion in schools or in families.

The relationships among Julia and the other characters are an integral part of this story and part of what makes this so heart wrenching. I loved seeing the development of her friendship with Kin and really felt for Julia when she found it herself challenged by whether she had said the right or the wrong thing – a dilemma most people can identify with. Similarly, the development of her relationship with her Mum and seeing her being so consumed with her obsession was simultaneously uplifting and emotional. It’s hard to say much more without spoiling the story, which I won’t do here!

Throughout the book, Tom de Freston’s illustrations are absolutely beautiful and the presentation of the text and imagery of the shark throughout work perfectly with the story, just making this an absolutely beautiful novel in every way.

Julia and the Shark is a story filled with hope in a dark place which left me feeling vulnerable in all the best ways. Captivating and an absolute triumph. 5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Children’s Books for providing an e-book review copy.

A delightful and beautiful book. It tells the story of Julia, a young girl who moves to the Shetland isles with her family for the summer. Her father is repairing the old lighthouse and her mother is on the hunt for a rare shark.
The language and description is beautiful, straight from the opening line and I can't wait to own the real thing to fully appreciate the amazing illustrations.
Thanks to the publisher for this ARC. Another triumph from Kiran.

This book is a once in blue moon type of book. As ever, Kieran Milwood Hargrave’s story telling is simply stunning. It is the story of Julia, whose mother is on a quest to find a special and unusual whale. This journey takes her to the far north - Shetland. Whilst there,Julia makes friends with locals but more importantly finds out more about her mum.

A beautiful story that delves into issues of mental health in a superb fashion with the most beautiful illustrations. A must read for everyone - children and adults alike.

If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early.

This book in three words:
Poignant. Poetic. Pensive.

Julia and the Shark is a beautiful book, not only in presentation but also in form. It’s a captivating story of love, loss and light and I was utterly enchanted by it. With her usual style, Kiran Millwood Hargrave brings the reader on a journey alongside the character. The relationships outlined by the tale are so intricately created that they feel tangible. The illustrations and the text layout perfectly compliment the prose, really adding an additional layer to the story. It is well worth reading and would enrich the reading repertoire of any child in year 4 and above.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

OK, so while the expectations and comments from the intended readers of this book will range from OMG wow!! up to pure expletive at inaudible frequencies, I have to mention my expectations and comments. And my first impression was that this book was not at all subtle enough in doing what it was setting out to do. Julia, our pre-teen heroine, has been packed off with her parents and their cat from the family home in SW England to be lighthousekeepers for a summer, in the far NE of the Scottish islands. Here be Vikings, that kind of Scottish island. Dad is going to be automating the lantern, which is his specialist thing, while mum will be leaving her career in algae behind to hunt the elusive Greenland shark. And Julia, well, she will be homesick and alone – until she suddenly finds company one night.

The issues are there, however, even if the qualities and the pleasure of reading these pages are there, too. One is that this book wants to chime with the autistic savant thing – Julia admitting she doesn't do numbers, yet hoarding information from the mother she's excessively proud of, and having something of the parents' genius about her, which is echoed in her new friend's astronomy. This might almost be called The Curious Incident of the Shark in the Lanternlight, or something. The other issue is that, with this aiming for (and succeeding in that aim of) a mature-seeming, grungy, dark visual feel, we're instantly reminded of another Well-Disguised Issue Book featuring illness. It's blatantly obvious too soon that the mother is obsessed for a reason with the shark she seeks, as it is said to live slowly through to a ripe old age. Some people have reasons to want to slow certain biological processes, you know.

So while there is not a reason for Liam Neeson to practice the voice of a lighthouse for the as-yet-unrealised film version of this, the core elements of its DNA were writ too large for me. Or so they felt for a good (for which read bad) chunk. In the end, however, with a few revelations that we've been led up the garden path a little, this just about manages to be its own thing. Let's face it, the number of times we're happy to read formulaic, genre pages, and it's the fact two thirds of the core of this that are vaguely relatable to other books that I'm quibbling about? Nothing, but nothing, for this age range has attempted using a shark in so symbolical a way as here, and if they have they will not have succeeded at all as well as this. Reading this felt like watching a very familiar movie, yet halfway through the cut jumping to a brand new director, doing entirely different things and with a bigger budget to take us to unexpected places. And when they had full flight – author, designers, all the creators ensemble – they certainly took us there with a drive that was undeniable. All feeling that this was manipulating itself to look like other people's prior successes kind of got washed away.

Anyway, the fact this does have a recognisable feel to it will probably not hurt it. This will explode this year, and I did ultimately feel privileged to see this long before it's on everyone's lips. Four stars plus, in the finish.

We have been spoilt recently with a range of top quality MG texts with emotional & ecological themes (The Last Bear, Shark Caller and Between Sea & Sky to name a few). However, I was left transfixed & speechless at Julia And The Shark. Brutally beautiful with searing honesty, this epic tale takes us on a search for a shark & so much more...I'm not sure how I can say anymore without giving away spoilers (trigger warning - mature themes, I recommend an adult reads this first to judge it's suitability for the child), but I need to buy a hard copy for my class, everyone deserves to read this from UKS2+.
It's literally a book of art, Kiran Millwood Hargrave collaborating with her husband, artist Tom de Freston to share a very special part of themselves with us. Absolutely recommend!