Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan
Genres: Adventure, Contemporary, Sci-Fi
Intended Age Group: Middle Grade
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Edition: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-368-07792-7
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book
Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a five-year high school that graduates the best marine scientists, naval warriors, navigators, and underwater explorers in the world. Ana’s parents died while on a scientific expedition two years ago, and the only family she has left is her older brother, Dev, also a student at HP. (And they’ve heard all the Harry Potter jokes already, so don’t go there.)
Ana’s freshman year culminates with the class’s weekend trial at sea, the details of which have been kept secret. She only hopes she has what it’ll take to succeed. All her worries are blown out of the water when, on the bus ride to their ship, Ana and her schoolmates witness a terrible tragedy that will change the trajectory other lives.
But wait, there’s more. The professor accompanying them informs Ana that Harding-Pencroft has been fighting a cold war against its rival school, Land Institute, for 150 years. Now that cold war has been turned up to a full boil, and the freshmen are in danger of becoming fish food.
In a race against deadly enemies, Ana will make amazing friends and astounding discoveries about her heritage as she puts her leadership skills to the test for the first time.
Personal & Info
I meant to read this shortly after Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, but I wasn’t in the mood at the time. It’s apparently recommended to read that first to have some background foundation before going into this book, since this is sort of a spin off. I did not read any of the other books by Verne that had more Captain Nemo in them. Due to how much time has passed, I’ve probably forgotten some things, so I’ll do my best with what I remember for this review.
It may have been a blunder to only read Twenty Thousand Leagues, because this book also mentions The Mysterious Island quite a bit. I didn’t see that one recommended anywhere as a thing to read before going into this. You can probably read the whole thing just fine without reading any of the Verne books, but if you do read them you have more understanding regarding what the characters are talking about, and you may be able to pick out some references to the source material.
However, the book clearly states the Verne books are not entirely accurate as a way to allow for the story and technology to be a little different. So, even if you did read one or both, there are things that will be different. If you are a stickler for details, this might bug you. So, basically, it’s a good idea to read both books for the background, but you don’t have to, but also take everything with a grain of salt if you do.
There are a forward and an introduction at the beginning of the book. The forward gives some enthusiasm and introduction to the book. The introduction talks more about the inspiration behind the book, as well as some information about Captain Nemo for those who might not know about him.
Characters
Ana Dakkar is the main character. She attends Harding-Pencroft Academy, a school for future marine scientists and naval officers.
Dev Dakkar is Ana’s older brother. He is a senior at school while she is a freshman.
Socrates is a dolphin friend to Ana and Dev, but mostly Ana.
Ester Harding is Ana’s roommate and one of her best friends. She is in House Orca.
Top is Ester’s emotional support dog, but he supports anyone who needs it. He is part Jack Russel and part Yorkie.
Nelinha da Silva is also Ana’s room mate, and her other best friend. She is in House Cephalopod.
Gemini Twain, also known as Gem, is the House Shark Prefect. He acts as Ana’s bodyguard throughout most of the book.
Dr. Theodosius Hewett is a theoretical marine science teacher. He doesn’t seem very likable.
Jupiter is an orangutan chef who speaks sign language.
Ophelia Artemesia is a Harding-Pencroft alum. She knew Ana’s parents, and she is from House Orca and Shark.
Luca Barsanti is also a Harding-Pencroft alum. He is married to Ophelia, and comes from House Cephalopod.
There are a bunch more characters, but these are the ones I think are most important. Most of the list is available in the beginning of the book, before chapter one. There is a full list of the freshman class along with which Houses they are in.
Some of the villains have names, but I don’t think they are truly important enough to bother mentioning here.
Story & Thoughts
The school uses a four house system to divide the classes by specialty, which is kind of cool. The houses are Shark, Orca, Dolphin, and Cephalopod. They have a list at the beginning of the book, along with the freshman class, to tell you which characters are in each house and what each house specialize in. The story makes it relatively easy to remember which does what as it goes, too.
The premise revolves around Captain Nemo being an actual historical person. There are names from the Verne books scattered everywhere throughout: Harding, Pencroft, Aronnax, Land, Verne. It does a good job giving nods to the Nemo books. The titles of the books themselves come up fairly frequently as part of the lore of the schools’ origins, and many of the characters have read them.
It took a few chapters for me to get into, mostly because I wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn’t like Twenty Thousand Leagues much, so that made me a little wary of this book. The story moves quickly, but the majority of the first half is traveling, with a few events to push the plot forward.
I could predict where the story would end up early on. It’s not an elaborate story, but it is done well enough that I like it despite having figured out the major plot twist right away. I think it’s a good sign of the book’s quality when I don’t like the book that inspired the story, but I do like the resulting story.
I won’t bother trying to point out differences compared to the source material, because they state in the book that the Verne novels are not the whole truth, nor entirely accurate. It’s a good excuse for some creative liberties.
I love how diverse the cast is. The school seems to recruit all types of people from all over the world. There is even autistic representation with Ester.
When all is said and done, I feel like this book is a great starting point for a new series. There are no current plans for that, but the story leaves it open. Maybe some day.