I think Orphans of the Tide is one of my favourite books ever so I was desperate to read the sequel and continue the adventure. I wasn't disappointed and loved it even more than the first. The characters are brilliant and the plot wonderfully revealed. Lots of surprises and just a great fantasy adventure that kids will love. I've shouted about it everywhere!

The sequel to Orphans of the Tide sees Ellie and Seth leave their home island for more fantastical adventures and emotional home truths. Ellie, at the start of the book, is struggling with leaving her past behind. After that conclusion the previous novel, I'm glad that Ellie's thoughts and feelings weren't simply glossed over for the sake of a new plot. Instead Murray takes his time to develop Ellie, and let her seek out her own answers. She's a really wonderful, well developed and thought out character. Morally grey at times, yet fiercely loyal and full of courage.

I will say that this wasn't as strong as the first book in terms of payoff. There's no massive plot twist, however overall the story itself is full of strong fantasy elements and a new mystery to unravel. It was captivating and intriguing, and wonderfully unique.

"Orphans Ellie and Seth have crossed an endless ocean in search of freedom and peace.
Arriving on the shores of a colourful tropical island ruled by a mysterious queen, it seems they might just have found the perfect new home.
But there is trouble brewing in paradise and soon Ellie and Seth find themselves caught up in a dangerous struggle for power - and forced to confront terrible truths from their past . . ."

The first Orphans of the Tide book absolutely blew me away. The uniqueness, the characters, the plot...oh my word. I found every single page incredible. I desperately awaited the sequel.
It didn't disappoint. Now in a new setting, there are different obstacles to overcome, ones that really threaten their friendship and ones that threaten their lives!
It had everything that the first book had - excitement, thrills, devastation, joy... Struan Murray is a force and I can't wait for book 3.

Having read the initial book in the series, my class could not wait to see what happened next & neither could I! What a great development in Ellie & Seth’s story…. We can’t wait to read the third!

A fabulous middle-grade adventure! Ellie and Seth’s story carries on from where ‘Orphans of the Tide’ finishes, however it could be read as a stand-alone. Lots of plot twists and turns to keep you reading to the last page. A great end-of-day story for year 4, or for years 5 and about to read alone.

I liked, but didn’t love, the first book in the Orphans of the Tide series but this second instalment was fantastic! Ellie and Seth have escaped from the enemy and arrive on Shipwreck Island. There a mysterious queen who is said to have life bringing powers rules over her people, but when crops start to fail, her power is challenged. Ellie befriends her and tries to use her skill in invention to help but nothing seems to go quite right.

Having already established the world really well in book one, this was a cleverly plotted and engrossing adventure. There were enough reminders of the world that everything flowed seamlessly and it was easy to recall what had already happened.

I liked that the characters were flawed and made mistakes (particularly Ellie) as this meant she seemed more real and would be more relatable to the readers.

An excellent fantasy novel - struck just the right tone for this age group.

3-3.5

Apologies that I did not read/review this within a good time frame.
This installment has left me intrigued for the next book, however unfortunaltey did not grip me as much as the first. Still enjoyed Seth and Ellie. The enjoyed the edition of Viola and Molworth. Unfortunatley the main character edition of Kate in this one fell flat for me.

Will however be picking up the next one which is just around the corner.

I absolutely loved orphans of the tide and this sequel did not disappoint! I loved it! Ellie is such a fantastic strong female lead, and I loved her relationship with the Queen. I can't wait for the third in the series.

This book follows on from the first book about 2 Oprhans Ellie and Seth.
They have left the island they were on and have found a new home. The shipwreck island is an amazing place with the Queen in place. This book is filled with amazing adventures it had cool illustrations, you learn more about Seth in the story.

What a fantastic story! Gods and monsters, friendships and temptations, power and propaganda, all dealt with so well in a completely thrilling tale.
I loved this continuation of the story started in Orphans of the Tide, and the way it went in a very new direction. Seeing how the gods and their vessels are treated on a different island was fascinating and the complex character of the Queen was quite brilliant.

A brilliant follow up to Orphan's Tide. My class loved that adventure and twisty plot and were desperate for more pages each time we stopped.!

Better than the first one, and that's saying something1 this continues the drama and adventure from Orphans of the tide, with new characters and familiar villains and friends playing a part. Can't recommend highly enough, and can't wait for the third instalment.

Absolutely brilliant. I thought that the first one was great but this one completely smashed it. Expanding the world perfectly, building upon the foundations laid in the first book, this was wonderfully written and completely engrossing. I really hope we get more because I am officially obsessed with this series.

Brilliant! Again! I loved Struan Murray's first book, Orphans of the Tide and this one is just as brilliant. To be able to create such an incredible world with such history and detail that it feels so real is a joy to read. Long may this series continue.

Ellie and Seth have arrived on Shipwreck Island, having left the Enemy's City. With some new friends, they begin to learn more about who they are, what part they play in their world and how it came to be the way it is. It's difficult to say much more without giving things away, either from this book or the one before it so you'll just have to take my word for it that this is an amazing series that you really don't want to miss.

OotT has been the favourite (or second favourite to Crater Lake) book of the year for every child that has read it and I already have a list of children waiting to read Shipwreck Island. Now I just have to work out who gets to read it first.

Shipwreck Island is the second book in a series of two. The first one was Orphans of the Tide which introduced me to the characters and is definitely worth reading.

This book is about the same girl, Ellie Stonewall, and her friend, Seth, who is actually a god. They have sailed away from the Inquisitor's Island and reached and strange island where nearly everybody praises and loves the queen. Then Ellie meets Kate, and her friendship with Seth starts to fall apart. But strange things are happening and you don't know who you can trust......

I loved this book because it was so full of twists and turns. As soon as you think you can trust someone, something happens that contradicts everything you thought you knew about that character!

The end suggests there'll be a third book, which I am looking forward to reading.

(Reviewer age: 10)

I had high expectations after reading Orphans of a Tide but I needn’t have been worried, Orphans of a Tide Shipwreck Island didn’t disappoint! The element which made this book stand out for me was you could ever quite trust a character fully as you never knew who was going to be a vessel. I shall be recommending this book to my year 6 children in class.

This is the second instalment in the Orphans of the Tide series.

Orphans, Ellie and Seth, have left the city in which they met behind, for adventures at sea and on another land. Everything about their new environments is new to them, and they become different people, themselves, in the act of discovering them. Ellie can only hope they aren't growing apart as they grow-up, whilst Seth seems entirely unaware and dismissive of her concerns and of her person.

Despite focusing on a series of fantastical problems and action-packed issues, just like the first instalment, this also felt like a far more emotional read. Much of this is initially focused on Ellie's feelings of displacement in their new setting, which only became heightened when Seth's character altered soon after they arrived there. This featured a more fantastical conclusion to these problems, but I can imagine many younger readers experiencing the same emotions that Ellie was working through, for much of this book. This, therefore, proved as instructive and relatable as it did magical and whimsical. I have, so far, whole-heartedly loved adventuring to other worlds in this series!

A brilliant sequel to an amazing book, this was a thrill to read!

Catching up with Ellie and Seth as they finally arrive at this 'other island', we watch as they slowly come to understand that all is not as perfect as it seems there. Seth is quickly accepted by the people of Shipwreck Island but Ellie is left feeling lonely and useless when she can't seem to find a place for herself and her inventions, feelings of which the weakened Enemy tries to take advantage. She quickly gets mixed up in a power struggle between the Queen of the island and the charismatic nobleman Loren, however, and must make some difficult choices as she tries to protect everyone from the consequences of their actions, and from the Enemy itself.

You can really feel that Ellie and Seth have developed a close bond over the course of the first book and then the however many months of drifting at sea, This, and their well developped and reintroduced character flaws make the problems their friendship encounters over the course of this book feel very genuine. The new cast of characters is also interesting and colourful, and I look forward to seeing if they will reappear in the rest of the series.

I can't wait for the conclusion!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Puffin in exchange for an honest review.

Orphans of the Tide was one of my favourite books of last year, so I highly anticipated the release of its sequel. Even knowing a bit more of what I was getting myself into this time, this book still managed to surprise and delight me in so many ways that more than met all of my expectations.

I really don't want to say much about the plot as I believe these books are best if you go into them knowing nothing and just enjoy the ride and theorising along the way. What I will say about the plot is that it is masterfully created. The weaving of information from the present with events of the past is very cleverly done. When reveals come, it is fascinating to look back at the clues that have been left for you and the misdirects hidden throughout. I am also a big fan of the 'answer one question, leave you with two more' style of storytelling. I love YA and adult fantasy books where the complexity of the world building and plot encourage theories and discussion between fans and it's so great to have a middle grade series which I can do that with as well.

The plot is not the only brilliant part of these books. The characters are also well fleshed out, intriguing and (where they're supposed to be) likeable. You want to know what happens, because you want to solve the mystery, but you also want things to work out well for the main characters. They're relationship with each other was handled well and it was good to see their disagreements as well as their triumphs when working together as having both of these brought an authenticity to their friendship. I also enjoyed getting to see them spend time with other characters. Molworth is an absolutely fantastic character creation and I loved every scene with him in.

I am very eager for the next instalment, but I am also grateful for the gap in between books as it gives us time to discuss and speculate about what will come next! I would recommend this series to readers aged 10+ who are looking for a fantasy/adventure story with lots to sink your teeth into.

Oh, My, God! The best sequel I ever read EVER. I am so excited just writing this review and telling to the future readers how good this book is. You obviously have to start with Orphans of Tide, otherwise, you will miss it all!
And now about the second one, it is as incredibly good as the first one and it’s been a very long time since I’ve enjoyed a book and most of all, THE SECOND ONE TOO.
The world-building is incredible. Murray thought of everything. All the stories are linked, all the secrets are well kept until they have to be discovered and the God's universe is absolutly Fantastic. I mean, starting in the first book with a boy coming out from a whale thanks to a girl who cut open the gut because she knew that a dead whale could explode! What a beginning!! Now they both are in Shipwreck Island and just when you think that the author already told you everything, he managed to take your breath away till the last chapter. I am soooo thrilled and I wish I could stay in this world forever. I can’t imagine how a child, boy or girl, will be so entertained by all these world-building details and mysteries. It is a real work of art, Murray is an amazing storyteller and I am recommending this book to the younger and older because it is very good.