This is the first novel by Jess Kidd that I have read, and I am suitably impressed. As soon as I read the following on page 2 I thought “yep, this is a keeper”:

"She had no intention of joining her husband, being too delicate for such a perilous journey. Mayken doubted this… Her mother was as durable as a well-built cabinet. Until a baby got stuck inside her.

Mayken must not say a word about the baby because it shouldn’t have been up there in the first place. She has practised with her nursemaid.

‘Your mother, she’s dead?’

‘Yes, from the bloody flux'.’

‘How did your mother die, Mayken?’

‘My mother died from the bloody flux, Imke.’

‘Tell me, child, how is your mother?’

‘She’s dead, unfortunately, from the bloody flux’"

The Night Ship is a dual timeline novel (which always ticks a box for me), and Jess Kidd uses this to wonderful effect. The novel follows the experiences of two pre-teen children - Mayken in the 1620’s, and Gil in the 1980’s. Mayken is travelling aboard the Batavia to her father’s home in the Dutch East Indies. Gil has been sent to join his last living relative (or is he…?) on a small island settled by fishermen and their family.

There is the expected crossover in certain events, experiences and objects that dual timeline stories tend to have. But Kidd goes further than that and very cleverly weaves the stories together in such a way that they meet and move away time and time again. It reminded me very much of the beautiful dance seen in a murmuration of starlings.

The book has a good pace, switching quickly from one time period to another, and Kidd has the confidence to mix and match chapter lengths, including very short ones, to maintain momentum.

Those short chapters do not mean that plot and character development suffer. The two main characters are beautifully drawn, as are their relationships with the adults they draw close to. I warmed to both of them and was deeply emotionally invested in how their stories would end. In fact, I was so caught up in the story I had to keep resisting the urge to scan further ahead to see how events panned out.

I’m not normally a huge fan of books where children are the protagonists, but I very much enjoyed this, and will be hunting down more of Jess Kidd’s books.

The Night Ship is due for publication on 4th August 2022.

As a big fan of dual time line novels based on true historical events, I was really excited to read this one. I found the character development of the two children Mayken and Gil exceptional, but the plot failed to keep me engrossed sadly. I found it to be a very slow burn with many minor incidents reported in depth, a little repetitive and too many characters that I did not engage with. It seems as if I am in the minority with not really liking this book; but I can see why others would love it.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher Canongate and the author for the e- advance review copy.

I have read all of Jess Kidd’s books. I thought that here last offering Things In Jar could not be topped but I was wrong.
i found I just couldn’t put this down until I got to the end. Loved the parallel stories 300 years apart. I already knew the story of the Batavia but just the same I was in tears at the end for them but also for the modern day character Gil. I highly recommend this book. It handles the violence of the subject without going into graphic detail. It would make a great reading group book as there are many things to discuss. What is evil how and why does it manifest, how can you defend yourself and those around you from it’s influence and effects I know it will keep me thinking for many weeks to come. A brilliant read.

Thank you so much for the review copy of this book! I haven’t got much done this weekend apart from read it, because of the zip and pace of the parallel stories, 300 years apart.
Mayken is a fierce and high born girl, restless at being forced to sail on The Batavia to meet the father she’s never seen in the granite palace with horses and roses. Driven to explore by her curiosity and boredom she becomes obsessed by the Dutch folk monster Bullebak. It snakes through the hold, it clambers the rigging, it sinks poisonous teeth into the extremities of sleeping passengers and crew, she thinks. People she thinks are trustworthy prove not to be so and the opium-raddled soldier, the tough sailor and others are more likely allies.
In 1969 an unhappy boy wanders Batavia’s Graveyard. His grandfather does not seem to want him and there’s an aura of something unsavoury he carries with him after circumstances of his mother’s death. The monster that lurks in his peripheral vision and nightmares is the Bunyip.

The writing is beautiful, even when what it is describing is terrible. The voices of the two main characters are pitch perfect, without any of the crashing notes you sometimes get when an adult tries to write as a child. Perhaps this is what makes the dark horrors within all the more upsetting. For however dark and threatening Bullebak/Bunyip is, there really isn’t anything that can surpass the evil in the hearts of men.
Physical objects span the centuries. - a hagstone, a whistle, a jug. Mundanities you might find while striding along a beach anywhere, here taking on a chilling significance.
If you haven’t heard of The Batavia before, I’d advise not reading up on it until you’ve read this novel, as some of the visceral punch of the later chapters could be lost.

Dual timelines, the 17th and the twentieth century are the theme of Kidd’s latest book. We follow the story of Mayken, aboard the ship Batavia in 1629, a young girl with a curious mind during a time when women were not supposed to care about anything more than marriage and children and the dangerous tensions aboard ship that ultimately have the capacity to destroy the vessel. In 1989, Gil’s life is turned upside down when the death of his mother places him in his grandfather’s care where he lives in a shack in a small Australian coastal village. There’s little for Gil to do in a town known only for its many shipwrecks and he soon finds himself on the wrong side of the law. Kidd weaves together the two timelines seamlessly, but I admit I was most interested in Mayken’s story

A novel of parallel stories, one set in 1629 the other in 1989 on a small coral island off Western Australia. This a moving and haunting story of two children whose lives are full of tragedy. The story from 1629 is based on a true event and I enjoyed the historical aspect. I found the pace of the book slow to begin with and then a bit rushed at the end. Although there were a few links between the two stories, they felt like two separate tales and I was disappointed that they weren't tied up more closely. The characters were however beautifully portrayed and this is what carried the book for me.

The Night Ship by Jess Kidd

1629. Embarking on a journey in search of her father, a young girl called Mayken boards the Batavia, the most impressive sea vessel of the age. During the long voyage, this curious and resourceful child must find her place in the ship’s busy world, and she soon uncovers shadowy secrets above and below deck. As tensions spiral, the fate of the ship and all on board becomes increasingly uncertain.

1989. Gil, a boy mourning the death of his mother, is placed in the care of his irritable and reclusive grandfather. Their home is a shack on a tiny fishing island off the Australian coast, notable only for its reefs and wrecked boats. This is no place for a teenager struggling with a dark past and Gil’s actions soon get him noticed by the wrong people.
I've been reading quite a few dual timeline books of late , and this one quickly turned into my favourite so far.
Mayken & Gil are both very different characters but unusually they are equally captivating .
The author really managed to get under the skin of both of them and made both times interesting to keep me reading until the very last page.
Didn't want it to end.

OH MY GOSH this book was everything. It was beautifully written with a great storyline, great setting and well developed and engaging characters that I took to my heart. I loved the dual timeline and this book examines what humans are capable of on both ends of the scale, it is bith upliftuing and heartwrenching at times. I will have this book in my heart for a long time. I loved it.