I have read all of this author’s books and her brand of writing has always been very distinctive to me. Very atmospheric, off beat characters with a hint of darkness, humor and a twist of magical realism.

However, with this latest book, I could not feel the author’s presence. Yes, it was atmospheric with strong writing, but it just felt like it could have been written by any proficient writer. The dual storyline never really came together in any meaningful way and although I appreciate that there must have been a huge amount of research that went into the Batavia story, I was left skim reading many sections just to finish so I can read another book.

I think if you are unfamiliar with this author and love historical fiction, you may find this a lot more satisfying than I did.

Sorry Jess Kidd, I love your work but this one was not a hit with me.

Ahhh this book was just brilliant! I loved loved loved the characters-very well written and so likeable. The storyline was beautifully structured. I wish this book never ended!

A great introduction to an Australian folktale, lived the different POVs and the unreliable narrator. A really atmospheric book with such a creeping sense of unease and menace.

I have heard a lot of praise for Jess Kidd’s writing over the years so thought I’d start with her latest novel The Night Ship. This book has a split timeline, and the central characters are two children who find themselves being away from home to start a new life. In 1628 Mayken finds herself on the Batavia, with her guardian, travelling to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (present day Jakarta) where she will join her father. In 1989 Gil is taken to live with his grandfather on the small Island of Beacon Island, a place where only four families live, and fishing is all that takes place there. Beacon Island is also the place where the Batavia lies after becoming shipwrecked on it’s way to Batavia, and a group of archeologists are looking for items on the ship. There maybe three hundred years between Mayken and Gil, but Jess Kidd weaves a story of two children, displaced and trying to find their way in this new world, whilst also holding on to the magical and mythical tales of their childhood.

The Night Ship is one of the most beautifully written and constructed books I have read in a while. Jess Kidd captures the essence of her characters and exquisitly brings to life the true of the Batavia, her time at sea and the circumstances that saw it shipwrecked. Her attention to detail, both physical and sensory is wonderful, and made me feel I was part of this story. In 1628 the Batavia is huge ship, teaming with life, full of wonder and in Mayken’s eyes open for adventure. Her friendship with a steward, Jan Pelgrom, may not be such a good idea, but throught him she discovers the lower decks and all that goes on there. She is witness to the Ships Surgeon and his duties, the cruelty to some of the younger cabin boys and the hierarchy , where solders are kept in the lowest decks, all packed in together, with no sunlight, little food and unfortunately more prone to sickness. Maykren’s eyes are innocent and yet full of wonder and I loved seeing all of this from her pont of view. The one part of this world she clung to was the story that the Bulleback, a creature of Folklore is trapped in the lower decks, looking to kill her guardian, who is sick. This creature haunts her dreams, and she fears it is out to kill the passengers. However, it is the ships crew who are more of danger, who after the shipwreck carry out some shocking scenes that are murderous and difficult to read at times.

It is intersting that in 1989 Gil is also haunted by a mythical creature, this time the Bunyip, a preditor that hunts for women and children. Like Mayken, this mythical creature haunts Gil’s dreams, as a symptom of their fears at their new situations and feelings of being alone. Whilst Mayken is on the ship with hundreds of others, Gil finds himself on a small Island, where he is the only child on an Island of four families who make their living from fishing. Gil is gieving for his mother when he finds himself living with his Grandfather who he barely knows, and is obviously unhappy that he is there. Like Mayken, Gil finds himself exploring his new home, especially a shrine to a ghost of a young girl who died in the shipwreck. The weaving of their two stories over alternative chapters make this such a compelling book to read.

I absolutley loved the amount of historical detail that Jess Kidd included on this book, and found myself looking up the story of the Batavia and it’s passengers and crew. It is quite a shocking story, of an environment where there were tensions between those in charge, that followed onto the Islands where those who survived the shipwreck took refuge.

I enjoyed this book tremendously, the perfect weaving of the two plot lines, and the wonderful style of Jess Kidd’s writing. Through the innocent eyes of childhood she takes us on a story of adventure, where tensions arrise that the young protagonists don’t fully understand but have a huge impact on their lives. Beautiful and breathtaking, this is an amazing read.

An enjoyable novel very well written. It will appeal to readers who enjoy history and those who like facts enhanced with fiction. Good all round read.

Loved. Loved. Loved!!!

An astonishing piece of historical fiction that had me under its' spell from page one and still has me mesmerized even now!! Jess Kidd has a wonderful way of storytelling, and I think this might be her best yet. Told over 2 timelines, featuring 2 amazing child characters who lived so far apart timewise, but had so much in common. Their stories will break your heart and inspire and I'm already itching to read it all over again!

This story is based on real life events, and starts in 1628 with Mayken who is travelling on board the Batavia with her nursemaid to a new life overseas. She has never met her father but is travelling to join him after the passing of her mother.

And in 1989, we meet the character of Gil, who is a lost soul after losing his mother and he's travelling to live with his grandfather who lives on an Island and makes a living fishing. The Island is where the Batavia ran aground causing a huge loss of life.

The switching timelines work in tandem to perfection - the excitement of Mayken, the trepidation of Gil, as they both set out on different paths and exploring the loss of their mothers and the impact that has on them as very young children.

It's a book that made me lose time as I just became so involved in the lives of these characters! From the settings, the complexity of family relationships to the pure emotion as you watch over these children as they're faced with all kinds of challenges.

I could easily wax lyrical for hours about this book as it was just a sheer delight to read from start to finish, but I won't so you can enjoy the drama of it all for yourself - cannot recommend it highly enough and easily one of my most favourite books of 2022

I did my best for 200 pages, but I just couldn't get into it... It somehow just wasn't interesting enough to hold my attention. Being Dutch I knew a bit about the story of the Batavia, so perhaps I missed the surprise element? But also the characters were not interesting to me, I didn't care about them. It all felt a bit simple and maybe written for a young audience?

I was familiar with the history of the Batavia and am interested in his period of maritime exploration and adventure. Consequently I had high expectations of this book as the original story about the attempted mutiny and the shipwreck itself is so compelling as a backdrop to a piece of fiction. Unfortunately I was disappointed as I could not relate to either the story of the young child travelling with her maid on the original ship or the young boy in the modern day story struggling with his identity close to the location of the submerged wreck. I struggled to link the connecting themes between the storylines and the superstitious element about the sea demon.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

“Only Little May is awake; ghosts don’t sleep. She’ll be drifting down quiet paths or inspecting her gifts at the Raggedy Tree. Gil will keep his mind here, on this lonely island, and not let it go back across the water, back across the land, to where the real ghosts live.”

My thanks to Canongate for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Night Ship’ by Jess Kidd.

I loved Kidd’s 2020 novel, ‘Things in Jars’ and so was very excited about her fourth novel, especially given its maritime setting. In it, Kidd interweaves the stories of two children separated by hundreds of years yet linked in ineffable ways.

The older timeline was inspired by true events. During her maiden voyage in 1628 the Batavia, the Dutch East India Company’s flagship, foundered off the coast of western Australia. About three hundred of its surviving passengers and crew were shipwrecked on the Houtman Abrolhos islands. Yet when rescue finally came many had died.

In ‘The Night Ship’ nine-year-old Mayken is traveling from Holland on the Batavia to join her merchant father after her mother had died. She is accompanied by Imke, her superstitious nursemaid. When Imke falls ill, Mayken hears of the Bullebak, a malignant eel-like creature of folklore and considers it responsible. She is determined to find and destroy it.

Disguising herself as a boy Mayken searches below decks for the truth. She also begins to have grotesque visions. Then seven months into the voyage the ship is torn apart on a hidden reef and Mayken and other survivors find themselves stranded on an inhospitable island.

In 1989, after the death of his mother nine-year-old Gil has been placed in the care of his reclusive grandfather. They live in a shack on Beacon, a tiny fishing island off the Australian coast, known for its treacherous reefs and graveyard of sunken vessels. Gil is struggling to fit in, which brings him to the attention of dangerous people.

The atmospheric island setting brings these two narratives together. Both emphasise the openness of children to the unseen. Lonely Gil is drawn to the Raggedy Tree, which the islanders decorate with ribbons and dolls to placate Little May, the unquiet spirit of a little girl who haunts the island.

It is clear that Kidd undertook a great deal of research into these historical events and used her considerable storytelling skills to create this novel.
I was pleased that she provided details in her Epilogue about the Batavia, including the search for the submerged wreck.

However, I will note that this was a dark, melancholic novel that included a number of disturbing themes and scenes.

Overall, I found ‘The Night Ship’ a beautifully written and deeply evocative tale of childhood, loss, and the power of the sea and its secrets.

This was a good book that takes place over two time periods, 1989 and 1629, it is based on a true event that happened in the 1600's. In 1629 the Batavia, a newly built ship is taking cargo and people to Western Australia, a seven month voyage. One of the persons on board is Mayken a young girl who recently lost her mother, her nursemaid Imke is accompanying her on the trip where she will eventually live with her father. In 1989 Gil a young boy is living on an island off the coast of West Australia with his grandfather, his mother had passed away and with no other relatives his grandfather took him in. Mayken talks one of the crew into allowing her to dress as a boy so she can venture below decks to explore the ship and becomes convinced there is a mean spirit on board that harms people. Gil is an introverted boy, his mother used to dress him in his grandmother's dresses and pretend he was in a fashion show, he has a lot of free time on his hands as his grandfather spends most of his days fishing., he also likes to visit the scientists on the island that are looking for anything that may have ended up on the island from the shipwreck Batavia, Gil gives one of the scientists a bobbin he had found. The two timelines have a somewhat mystical connection through a rock with a hole in the middle, when a person looks through the hole it is said they can see the future or the past. I really enjoyed this book and both characters were very well developed. Thank you to #Netgalley and #Atria for the ARC

now this one took me a while to get through, not even because of the length of the book but because the writing is extremely detailed so keep this in mind before picking it up. it was beautifully written, and i loved how easy it was to float between times, books written with chapters in different periods can often be super confusing and i applaud the author for making it easy to understand and accessible. the characters were well-likeable, and i loved the POVs from young characters, i don’t often read this book but i found myself giggling at what the children were saying. would recommend picking it up!

Things in Jar was a book that kept me enthralled, fascinated by the images and the storytelling. Also this book features the mix of magic realism, fantasy, and historical fiction and it's even more magical.
Jess Kidd is a very talented storyteller, a magician who keeps me enthralled and shows me dreams and nightmares.
The characters are two lovely children, the cast of characters is well done and interesting.
The style of writing and the storytelling are great and i loved every moment of this book.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of this book.

Beautifully written.
Personally I preferred Gils story to Maykens as I found hers repetitive in parts.

A thoroughly enjoyable read covering two timelines. Based on a true story this is very cleverly written by Jess Kidd. I would definitely recommend this.

1628 and on the death of her mother Mayken is to be shipped off to Batavia. Mayken is haunted by tales of monsters on board ship but finds that the monsters she fears are more human after disaster strikes the voyage. Three hundred and fifty years later Gil is hiding guilt about the death of his mother as he is sent to live with his grandfather on a remote island. The island is haunted by the ghosts of the shipwreck offshore but Gil finds he has more troubles close at hand.
Being completely honest I really struggled with the first half of this book, neither protagonist seemed sympathetic nor was their story fully rounded. It seemed that there was too much heavy-handed writing about monsters. However that changed as I read on and I grew to really enjoy the parallel stories, even if Mayken's fate was flagged up really early on. The wreck of the Batavia is something I had read about in non-fiction terms but I enjoyed this take.

It's been a topsy turvy year for books but The Night Ship is a thoroughly stellar yarn. Two story lines run in parallel - Mayken, a 9-year-old orphaned Dutch girl on Batavia, a ship bound for the East Indies in 1629 and Gil, a 9-year-old orphaned boy sent to his grandfather in Western Australia in 1989. Both are peculiar children and both will steal your heart. Mayken, especially, a precocious adventuresome spirit roaming the ship looking for monsters is a real charmer. Gil, on the other hand, is an awkward, lonesome boy who doesn't fit in anywhere.

I could not put this book down. I was transfixed by the writing, the journey of both children and the apprehensive pull of the closing chapters, wanting to know what happened and dreading it at the same time. Be warned, Mayken's story is based on real events onboard Batavia so it is some fraught reading. Not easy at all and heartbreaking as the tension ratchets up to the close.

This is the type of book that leaves a mark on readers long after the final sentence. I catch myself pondering it, marvelling at the cruelty of people, the mental toughness of survivors and the power of hope and love. The Night Ship is a wonderful reading experience, though bittersweet. Highly recommended.

A story that takes place in two timelines, centuries apart. Gil in 1968 and Mayken in 1628 on a doomed Dutch East India Company ship called the Batavia after the place it’s heading. (Batavia is now Jakarta.). In 1968 Gil, age nine, has come to a small seasonal fishing community on one of the Abrolhos Islands, off the west coast of Australia, to live with his curmudgeonly grandfather Joss, after his feckless mother has died. Gil is maladjusted after the circumstances of his mother’s death, and his grandfather doesn’t help much at first, being in the middle of a feud with one of the other fishing families. Gil manages to get himself firmly embroiled in the feud. Back in 1628 Mayken’s mother had died and her voyage (to join her father) embodies a fictionalised account of an infamous shipwreck and the terrible events that followed, when the survivors washed up on the inhospitable island. But before the wreck we follow Mayken, a bit of a wild child, as she explores the ship, and tries to catch a mythical shadow monster. The two stories run side by side. In 1968 there is an archaeological team digging the wreck, so Gil reads about the shipwreck and believes that Little May’s ghost haunts the island. The writing is elegant, but dark. The pace is measured. While Gil’s story is grim, it has a satisfying ending, however, we know from the start that Mayken/Little May did not survive the wreck and subsequent marooning of the Batavia’s survivors, but her story is still compelling.

Jess Kidd’s fourth novel is based on a true story: the ill-fated voyage of the Batavia, which set off from the Netherlands in 1628, bound for Indonesia, but wrecked on the Abrolhos Islands off the western coast of Australia in June 1629. If you look into it at all, you find a grim story of mutiny and murder. But we experience the voyage, and view its historical legacy, through the eyes of two motherless children: Mayken, travelling on the Batavia to be reunited with her merchant father abroad; and Gil, who, in 1989, moves in with his grandfather at his Australian beach hut and observes archaeologists diving into the wreck.

Chapters alternate between the two time periods. Mayken is in the care of her old nursemaid, Imke, who has second sight. As Imke’s health fails, Mayken goes semi-feral, dressing up as a cabin boy to explore the belowdecks world. Gil, a tender, traumatized boy in the company of rough grown-ups, becomes obsessed with the local dig and is given a pet tortoise – named Enkidu to match his own full name, Gilgamesh. Mayken and Gil both have to navigate a harsh adult world with its mixture of benevolent guardians and cruel strangers.

An explicit connection between the protagonists is set up early on, when a neighbour tells Gil there’s a “dead girl who haunts the island … Old-time ghost, from the shipwreck,” known as Little May. But there are little links throughout. For instance, both have a rote story to explain their mother’s death, and both absorb legends about a watery monster (the Dutch Bullebak and the Aboriginal Bunyip) that pulls people under. The symmetry of the story lines is most evident in the shorter chapters towards the end, such as the rapid-fire pair of 33–34.

These echoes, some subtle and some overt, are the saving grace of an increasingly bleak novel. Don’t be fooled by the focus on children’s experience: this is a dark, dark story, with only pinpricks of light at the end for one of the two. In terms of similar fiction I’ve read, the tone is more Wakenhyrst than The Essex Serpent; more Jamrach’s Menagerie than Devotion. (It didn’t help that I’d just read Julia and the Shark, an exceptional children’s book with a maritime setting and bullying/mental health themes.) I engaged more with the contemporary strand – as is pretty much always the case for me with a dual timeline – yet appreciated the atmosphere and the research behind the historical segments. This doesn’t match Things in Jars, but I was still pleased to have the chance to try something else by Jess Kidd.

Based on the real-life voyage and wreckage of the Batavia, a ship of the Dutch East India Company, The Night Ship tells the story of a young girl named Mayken and her adventures above and below deck in 1629. Meanwhile, in 1989, a boy named Gil is sent to live on a tiny island off the coast of Western Australia, where he discovers the story of the infamous shipwreck.

Jess Kidd is a fantastic writer. The Night Ship is very reminiscent of The Terror, in the way that the supernatural elements entwined in a historical story. A haunting atmosphere adds to the supernatural feel, without events ever spilling fully into the fantastical. There is an underlying implication to events that suggests that monsters aren’t needed within the story, because there are plenty to be found among the humans.

I’m not convinced that Mayken and Gil’s stories tied together particularly well, but individually they were both intriguing and engrossing in very different ways. Mayken’s story was perhaps the more exciting, especially knowing that a wreckage and a mutiny were incoming, while Gil’s was pretty heart wrenching.

It isn’t an easy read, but is beautifully written and well researched.

Jess kidd never disappoints. Her writing style, historical knowledge and sense of reader engament is always spot on. This book follows two main characters. One historical and one set in more modern times. The depth of characters and details in the story lines, makes this book difficult to put down. Very unique, educational and yet still an enjoyable read.