Having read the bikes series, I was intrigued to read a sailing-themed book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the exploits of Lucy as she navigated the Atlantic Ocean in her boat. I really enjoyed the combination of story interspersed with the non-fiction homework assignments completed by her class mates. I can't wait to share this with my class.

I started this book feeling a little unsure. A child rowing across the Atlantic on their own? I mean, come on. But then I suspended my belief, misgivings and overprotective parent hat and ended up loving reading Lucy's adventure. I really couldn't put it down once she set sail. I found the narration at the beginning hard to believe but once Lucy was on her adventure the author's first hand experiences really came through in a way that only someone who has completed such an incredible feat could. The story was inspirational and fascinating. I liked how Lucy's own diary entries from her voyage were interspersed with the narrative, along with examples of homework about oceans from her classmates back at school. This is great book for inspiring adventure, a love of our oceans and a lesson in how anyone can think positive and show true grit & determination to achieve a dream. A good companion to an oceans topic in school for boys and girls alike.

The Girl Who Rowed the Ocean by Alastair Humphreys is a wonderful children's novel that will delight readers of any age. It is a follow-up to The Boy Who Biked the World trilogy.

Lucy is seeking an adventure and decides that she will row across the ocean on her own, all the way to Barbados. It is a massive undertaking, but with lots of preparation and her family's help, and with her classmates at home following along, Lucy embarks on the biggest challenge of her young life. Learning about the ocean, marine life, and the growing crisis of plastic pollution, Lucy navigates her way purposefully toward her goal, gaining skills and confidence along the way.

I highly recommend this book to children and adults alike, and to anyone who is looking for an uplifting tale that educates and entertains in equal measure. I will be adding The Boy Who Biked the World to my TBR.

Many thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an ARC.

I want to talk a little bit about this book I just finished, which is a fictionalized story of an eleven-year-old girl who rowed across the Atlantic Ocean. As I was reading it, I kept saying to myself, the author must have done immense research on this. I almost felt as though the author has done this trip himself.

And I was right, he had. He not only had done it, but interviewed others who had done it, collecting stories of all the things that happen when one is rowing from the UK to Barbados, and combined them into this very interesting, and informative story.

What I like a lot about this, is that when there is an info dump, it isn’t done by Lucy telling us about it, but rather by her school mates writing about it as a homework assignment, such as about the garbage in the ocean, or the whales that she would meet.

The other cool way of moving the story forward, was her journal entries, where she wrote about how she was feeling.

There is humor, there are scary moments, and there is wonder.

The author said he had a hard time selling this to publishers, because it was about a girl, and no one wanted to read an adventure about a girl. It was a great adventure, and I’m glad he went ahead with it.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

This is a story about adventure, persistence, and defiance. A girl rowing across the Atlantic ocean! I adored the story, witty writing style, and Lucy’s sheer determination. I could strongly relate with Lucy – I am always looking for my next big goal/adventure! I liked her whole process of getting help from everyone so she could figure out how to embark on this grand adventure, including a sponsorship from her favorite pizza place! This is a great read to kids for teaching the value of determination and hard work. I liked how the book gives some facts and tidbits (through homework) about marine life, first aid, rowing, actual logistics and ocean navigation, and how we can combat pollution in the oceans. This would have been a good recommendation for my local library’s summer reading program – Oceans of Possibilities. I now want to read The Boy Who Biked the World!

Having not read 'The Boy who Biked the World' but heard lots of good things about it I was really excited to read this one. I enjoyed it from start to finish and can see readers aged 7 and up really enjoying it too. The partnership between Lucy and her boat Izzy was really endearing and I like the way the narrative was interspersed with both diary entries and excerpts of report writing from Lucy's classmates. The book carries some important growth-mindset and environmental messages too. I'll be certainly recommending this book to colleagues and pupils at my school and ill be adding other Alastair Humphreys titles to my 'to be read' pile!

I read this with a group of children from 5 to 15 and they all enjoyed it. They found it exciting and wanted to know more about the story and the ocean. They all went out afterwards to find out more. You could almost taste the salt on your lips at times. I highly recommend this book.

I found this book to be fun, informative, and incredibly interesting to read. I also appreciate the fact that the author, who has himself rowed across an ocean, chose to make the main character a girl who embarks on an adventure rather than a boy.

Lucy is a witty daydreamer who is true to age, and capable of inspiring children (male OR female) to live their dreams, however big or small, find the best in all situations, and see the beauty of the world around us. She is supported by her family and friends, and even gains the respect of other adults around her during her journey.

This book contains a mixed media feel, including entries from Lucy’s diary and homework assignments from her classmates, which are cleverly used to provide the reader with extra information regarding the ocean, weather, sea creatures, and other things relevant to Lucy’s journey that would feel bulky in the main text.

Overall, an entertaining and enjoyable middle grade book, which I’m thankful to have received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl Who Rowed the Ocean is an engagingly written book for young readers and one I would gladly add to my classroom shelf — a story if perseverance worth sharing and talking about.

This is a fictionalized story of an eleven-year-old girl who rowed across the Atlantic Ocean. While reading this, I felt the author has a very in-depth knowledge about the subjects conveyed in this story. Which made me wonder if the author has done a similar trip himself! When I look it up, it turned out he had. He not only had rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, but interviewed others who had done it, collecting stories of all the things that happen when one is rowing from the UK to Barbados, and combined them into this very interesting, and informative story.What I found enjoyable about the way it was written, was that the extra information wasn’t told from Lucy’s perspective, but by her school friends in a homework assignment style. (for example: the whales that she would meet.)What also helped speed the books timeline along, are the parts where they show diary entries. They describe how she is feeling physically and emotionally. The story has ups and downs, but mostly a lot of beautiful wonder. It truly is a funny, touching and inspiring story. There is a true emphasis on learning; which does not only happen in schools.. I learned so much from this story; the significant impact of the adult’s attitude upon children’s hopes, dream and ambitions. How quickly we pass our own fears and anxieties upon children and are therefore at risk of crushing the children’s ambitions and chaining them. Thank you for this phenomenal read!

Exciting heroine adventure story which will inspire children that they can do anything they put their minds to

My first impression of the book from the catchy title and cover is how a great adventure it is and that I wanted to read it. I am happy that the author published this book despite that two large publishers refused to. The book encourages reader to step out from their comfort zone and also talks about environmental issues, especially ocean. What's more interesting is the assignments of Lucy's classmate. Those are very insightful and creative!

Thank you Netgalley and Lightning Books for the avability of this book.

I loved The Boy Who Biked the World series and was looking forward to this one. I absolutely loved this one too, it was in a similar vein but different enough to not be 'samey'. An appealing storyline, great characters and very well written. Absolute must have for the bookshelf.

An exciting adventure story with an interesting heroine that is great for young readers. I will definitely be gifting this to my young cousins.

I enjoyed experiencing the main character’s passion for the ocean and rowing. There are so many wonderful things in this world to be passionate about and one of the things I love about reading is its ability to let you be inside someone else’s mind and experience their passions.

Lucy had so much to work through in this book and it was satisfying to watch her learn and grow. There were many wonderful themes that would be great for kids to find in their reading.

Good read…. Lucy wants to explore the world, and do something daring and difficult. But people laugh at her when she hatches a plan to row across the Atlantic Ocean.
So her family rallies round to help prepare for the journey, loading her boat with supplies for 3,000 miles of rowing. Her school friends follow her from afar, learning about the ocean, its wildlife and pollution.
Alone at sea, Lucy faces seasickness, storms and a very sore bottom, not to mention close encounters with ships and a humpback whale. Yet there are also the joys of wandering seabirds, shooting stars and magical sunsets, as she finds she is capable of more than she ever imagined. Step aboard and join Lucy on her life-changing adventure to become the girl who rowed the ocean.
The ocean-going follow-up to the bestselling The Boy Who Biked the World trilogy.

This book was such a fun read! I love both the protagonist and the plot. The story is captivating and pulls you in like the tide.

I really liked reading "The Girl Who Rowed the Ocean" because it's a fun story about a girl going on an adventure. As soon as I began, I couldn't stop reading it. I liked how the main character loved the ocean and enjoyed rowing. The book asks the reader to try new things and also talks about problems with the environment. There are many great things to love in the world. I really like reading because it lets you see someone else's point of view and what they care about. Lucy is studying the ocean, sea creatures, and the problem of plastic waste. She is making progress towards her goal and becoming more skilled and confident as she learns. The topic of this book is easy to understand and the author gives lots of details. I think anyone would like this book.