The Night Ship is the story of the Batavia which sailed from Holland bound for the Spice Islands in 1629. One of the passengers is nine year old Mayken whose mother has recently died. She is travelling with her nurse to join her father and it is her story we share told in alternate chapters with that of Gil.
Gil is also nine and he has also recently lost his mother. The year is 1989 and he is living on a small island off the coast of Western Australia with his fisherman Grandfather.
It is a sad tale, well written. I dropped a star because of the frequent use of bad language.
It is not necessary.

Two orphans separated across the decades and miles

The story of the Batavia ship and the journey to a new life

Historical intrigue

a world of make believe and magic realism

Quite violent in places. No, make that very violent!

Great writing and good pacing

Jess Kidd delivers what you don't expect in a very fascinating way

This book tells the story of two orphaned children, Mayken in 1629, and Gil in 1989. Mayken is sent with her nanny on board the ship the Batavia to stay with her father in Indonesia, while Gil is sent to a remote island off Australia to live with his irascible grandfather. Both children are loners and inhabit a world of make believe and myth.
I would say I really enjoyed the beginning of this story with Mayken starting out on her journey and life on board ship. The level of detail was fascinating and well researched. I found Gil's story much more difficult to warm to, but as the book went on both tales began to drag somewhat and I found I wanted more bonding between the stories than was given. There is quite a level of violence in both tales that I found a bit disturbing as well.
Well written but sadly not one of the more enjoyable stories I've read.
With thanks to Netgalley and Cannongate for an arc copy.

The Night Ship is the tale of two orphaned children separated by centuries but connected in many ways and based on the shocking true story of the Batavia, wrecked in 1629. Told in intricate detail to evoke the atmosphere on board ship, this is a well-written historical novel imbued with typical Jess Kidd magical realism.

This tells the story of the tragic lives of two children over two time lines. I found the pace of the book very slow and it did not hold my attention at all well. Although a well written book this was not for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Canongate for the advance copy of this book.

It took me a little while to get into this read as I found the story a little bit slow but as it progressed I really began to enjoy the book. Told in two different timelines of 1989 and 1629 it was interesting to see how the two stories began come together and although hundreds of years apart the links were there. It’s a magical book in parts but also very shocking and it made for quite hard reading in parts but I have to say Jess Kidd did it in such a thoughtful way with some beautiful writing and you could really feel the atmosphere especially on the Batavia.
So a book that surprised me in many ways and I loved the the historical facts throughout the read. To say more would spoil it so all I would say pick this one up it’s well worth the read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A Brilliantly written, parallel story based on the historical event of the wrecked Batavia. It focuses on two young characters- Maryken, a Dutch girl who in 1629, following the death of her mother, was sailing to live with her father aboard the Batavia and Gill who in 1989, following the death of his mother, is now living on the same island where Batavia's story ended, with his grandfather. The stories of Gil and Mayken alternate throughout the novel.

I enjoy books written in duel timelines especially those based on factual events however, as I knew nothing about the wreck, I opted not to research it until after I’d read the book.

This book is well paced and kept me hooked from the first page, it’s an emotive read, one that is part ghost story and part horror with two beautifully portrayed characters.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #Canongate for the ARC

I enjoyed this however the dual perspective was often confusing and the setting lacking. It dragged towards the end until a rapid fire pace but felt too late to lure me back in

I was excited to read this but unfortunately found it rather difficult to get into. For me, I struggled to identify with any of the characters, landscapes or situations. Although I was fond of Mayken and Gil by the end of the book, it took me a long time to ‘bond’ with them so to speak.

I appreciated the strength of the writing and the author’s imagination, but unfortunately this book wasn’t one for me.

** spoiler alert ** A parentless girl in 1629. A parentless boy in 1989. Both end up on the same island, close to Batavia - modern day Jakarta. One might call them flotsam and jetsam.
Their fates connect across the centuries as their lives take parallel turns for a little while - with very different outcomes.

It was impossible to say which narrative strand I liked more. When I was with Mayken, it was Mayken; when I was reading about Gil, it was Gil. Their lives could not have been more different, and yet they have so much in common - a childhood as it should not be for one thing.

I've seen this called straight-up historical fiction, but Jess Kidd wouldn't be Jess Kidd if she hadn't woven some dark magical realism into this story as well. Is it real? Is it in Mayken's imagination? We're left to draw our own conclusions.

I tried to draw out the reading experience because I enjoyed it so much - something I always find myself doing with Kidd's books. A masterfully told story from a master storyteller; I can't recommend it enough.

Content warning: this is not always an easy read and has depictions of violence against people (children included) as well as animals, although they're never very graphic.

I want to thank NetGalley, Canongate and Jess Kidd for a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here expressed are my own.

DNF at 54% but I'm still rating it 3.25 idc

Listen. It's not even a bad book okay, I just can't. I can't even say I'm not the audience for this book, I think this is a very me book, it's just a pacing thing.

The Night Ship follows two children, Mayken and Gil, who live centuries apart but are connected by their presence on a small island, arguably in the middle of nowhere. Both characters have distinct voices and I'm particularly fond of Mayken (you don't get it; she's got spunk she's got gender she's got grit, she's everything to me) and her chapters. I also harbor a soft spot for Gil, I think he's a funny little guy and when I say funny I mean I think he's neurodivergent<3 AND HE'S ALSO GOT GENDER

The thing about this book is it's just so slow. I don't know if it's just me, I don't think of myself as someone who needs a lot of action in books, I think most of my TBR list are slow- to medium-paced and I'm perfectly okay with that. It's just that I am a bit over halfway through this book and I cannot in good conscience say that a lot of things have happened. And again, I like reading stuff that is character-focused and not as plot-heavy but not a lot has happened in terms of the children's character arcs either! Like I have read over two hundred pages !!!!! And for what !!!

This isn't to say that there hasn't been any excitement at all, I actually bookmarked an entire chapter because I think it's a fascinating and excellent execution of an unreliable narrator. I loved reading that and trying to get to what the truth of the matter was while still experiencing things through an unreliable voice. It's just that such moments were few and far between.

I want to finish this book, I really do. It just feels like pulling teeth every time I force myself to go back to it. The actually reading experience is fine, like I think the writing style is right up my alley and I AM fond of the characters it's just, I do very consciously have to make myself pick it up again. Overall, I'm quite sad this book didn't work out for me. The fact that I'm still rating it 3.25 is testament to how much I like the writing and the story itself. I do think I'll give it another go eventually but I can't say I feel very hopeful about finishing it then either.

Just to end on a nicer note, I'm gonna share some of my favorite moments from the book:

"Dutch talks about the stars and points out constellations. Gil pays no attention. He would rather the stars stayed wild and not become something else he has to know about."

" 'Have you any stories?' Mayken asks [...] The old sailor obliges. He tells the sleepy child stories of cursed ports and blood-red roses, of the gunner's beautiful daughter, of love knots and promises. His words are snatched up and hauled away by the wind, which picks up as the ship ploughs on through the night."

For the next one, you'll need some context. Mayken pretends to be a boy named 'Obbe' whenever she visits the lower levels of the ship.

"Obbe leaves a ribbon for the gunner's wife, who mourns the loss of her front tooth. Obbe finds a pair of clogs for the soldier's wife with swollen feet. Obbe brings pickled plums to the down-at-heart sailor. Obbe knows the people now and they know Obbe."

My BABIES I'll miss them I will. Thank you as always to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with the ARC.

This is not a book for the fainthearted. Even though I was prepared for the harrowing true story of the Batavia's last voyage, the author's imagination and descriptive story telling often left me breathless. Particularly the legend of Bullebak, an eel -like creature that haunts Mayken's thoughts and dreams and is the harbinger of sinister goings-on. In the more recent timeline Gil encounters the equally mysterious, though a bit less frightening Bunyip and as the story progresses connections between the lives of the two children become stronger. I wasn't totally convinced by Mayken's adventures on board ship but her ability to cross boundaries of class and status introduced characters that played valuable roles in the months ahead. Gil's life I found more credible although the initial decision to send a young boy to live on an island with little supervision and no source of education was a little odd. The arrival of Dutch provided a much needed steadying influence. I loved Enkidu, Gil's tortoise who was imbued with all sorts of wonderful meaningful looks and emotions.Tension builds quite slowly during much of the book and there were times it was easy to set aside but in the last third or so it was difficult to put down as the lives of both children reach climatic heights.
The events covered by final chapters were difficult to read but by intertwining the lives of Mayken and Gil, the reader is left with a sense of hope for the future rather than despair for the past.

The Night Ship by Jess Kidd follows two children, Mayken and Gil. separated by centuries, yet joined by an infamous ship. In the 1600s, Mayken is sailing with her nursemaid on The Batavia, from Haarlem to a remote destination across the sea, to meet Mayken's estranged father. The brave, resourceful little girl endures a voyage both horrendous and wondrous in equal measure, until tragedy strikes. Gil, lost and motherless in the 1980s, washes up in the Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia, a place haunted by the story of The Batavia's wreck. His struggles mirror Mayken's in many ways, and reflects the hope that endures in children, even in the darkest of times.
Jess Kidd brings this true story of mutiny and murder so vividly to life, I was transfixed, from Mayken's very first salt-laced pages, to Gil's final resolution. .

Few authors leave me breathless with awe like Jess Kidd. The Night Ship is bold and thrilling, and yet beautifully crafted, like an elegant ship, sailing the seas. The Night Ship, in my opinion, is her best book yet.

This book was everything and more than I was hoping for. I thoroughly enjoyed it. This story will stay with me forever!

I really was not sure about this book, but I try very hard to read and review all the ARCs I get, because that's only fair, and I asked for this one without realising that it was about the Batavia. I already had a rough idea of the story of the Batavia and I knew it was a tragedy, and let's be honest, I am a big fan of the happy ending. I couldn't see how it would be possible to weave any sort of story around such a dreadful event and still have some redemption. I was wrong, Jess Kidd worked magic and suspense around the awful, and gave us the innocence and strength of childhood.

The Night Ship is a rather beautifully haunting double-time narrative between two motherless children, Mayken in 1629 being sent to join her father on the brand new ship Batavia, and Gil in 1989 sent to live with his grandfather on the island which would become Batavia's Graveyard.

The back and forth between the children is what makes the book so readable. Some truly dreadful things happen to both of them, but they are self-reliant, curious, slightly feral, and older than their years. They are also loved and protected by some of the adults around them, whilst being threatened by others. The hag stone and their shared monster mythologies work as a sort of touch stone, connecting the two children through the centuries.

Gil and Mayken's stories alternate with the chapters, and the chapters seemed to get shorter as the tension builds towards the end of the novel. Or maybe that was just because I was so desperate to know how it all ended. There is hope, if not happiness.

I have read Jess Kidd's other books and I love how unpredictable they are. Despite knowing what happened to the Batavia, I did not know how this would end until I turned the last page. So satisfying, and just a wonderful read. If you are a fan of historically correct intricate narrative (and who isn't?), or just love a good story, you should definitely pick this up.

P.S. - The things I looked up because I wanted to know more
Batavia's Graveyard
The mutiny on the Batavia
Hag stones
The Dutch East India company and where they operated
The key players - Pelsaert, Cornelisz and Jacobsz

I really enjoyed this one - especially Mayken's timeline, albeit it was sad knowing what was to come, and then the final third of that story took an inevitable dark turn.

It was atmospheric, and the characterisation was superb in both timelines, the different people Mayken met on the Batavia were so well fleshed out, and the characters in Gil's timeline were very well done too, they could easily have blended into one.

This is totally different to Jess Kids’ previous novels but is just as captivating. Telling the dual stories of Mayken, a young Dutch girl sailing on the doomed ship Batavia in the 1690s to join her father in Australia and Gil, a young boy living with his grandfather on an Australian island in the 1980s, this novel deals with so many aspects of human frailty and suffering but also hope and bravery in the face of evil. I was waiting for Mayken and Gil to ‘meet’ but that never happens, however their stories intersect and Mayken’s footsteps echo through Gil’s waking moments. Beautifully written and based on a true story which was completely new to me, Jess Kidd has written a masterpiece.

I am a huge lover of historical fiction so I really enjoyed the subject of the novel. I’d never heard of The Batavia before so I was fascinated to learn more about it. I really enjoyed the dual timelines and felt that it helped to keep the novel pacy and engaging. The characterisation was also well done and I found myself feeling invested in the fates of both Mayken and Gil. However, it was such a grim read in places that I found it difficult to pick it up at times. I would definitely recommend this though.

Gosh this is probably the saddest, darkest book I've read for a long time!

It's beautifully written and I loved the narratives from both protagonists Gil and Mayken. I thought their childlike perspectives of the grim events they experience are believable and multilayered.

The dual timeline worked for me in the sense that I was equally engaged in both narratives and rooting for both characters. I enjoyed the mythological elements and how they reflected danger, threat, and fear in the children's lives. But I was a little disappointed that there was not more to bind their stories together. I was left grasping for parallels and to understand what the book was trying to say.

The ending is incredibly grim and sad and I think Kidd has recorded an important story of a terrible historic event. I just felt an overall literary theme and message wasn't communicated strongly enough.

With thanks to Canongate and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This is a layered novel of historical fiction meets ghost story. The book is based on the true events of The Batavia, a Dutch ship sunk off the coast of Australia. The two story lines follow two children, 350 years apart, whose personalities are so well constructed you can’t help but love them and whose circumstances demand resilience and bravery beyond the capabilities of most adults.

There’s a little bit of everything in this book and I can’t say I ever felt like I knew what was going to happen in the story… only that I was desperate for it all to work out. *I won’t read and tell.*

This book is due to be published in the UK in August this year, and I would recommend getting a pre-order in if you can!