In the second volume of her Hannah trilogy, summer has arrived, and fourteen-year-old Hannah Anderson is excited about spending it with Max (who has been giving her stomach butterflies lately). But things are happening in Cowichan Bay that Hannah can’t explain. When a mysterious accident leads her to a nest of starving eaglets, she meets Izzy Tate, a young Metis girl staying in the village for the summer. Why is Izzy so angry all the time, and is it just a coincidence that she is the spitting image of Yisella, the Cowichan girl Hannah met the summer she was twelve? But Hannah has more questions. Why is Jack, her supernatural raven friend, bringing her unusual “gifts” in the middle of the night? Is it all connected to a ring of poachers and marijuana smugglers who have apparently moved into the valley. The eaglets are in danger and so are the Roosevelt elk. And what’s with the Orca 1, the “supposedly” abandoned tuna boat anchored out in the bay? After Hannah and Max make a grisly discovery in the woods, they know they must take action. When Izzy agrees to join them on a midnight kayak trip, the three discover the poachers on the Orca 1, and they are soon in a fight for their own lives and the lives of the animals being hunted for their parts.
“This is a fun story with thoughtful and educational elements which are subtly woven into the narrative.”—Kris Rothstein, CM Magazine
“The story has many diverse plot threads, and though the novel connects back to the first book, it stands up well as a read alone.”—Kristin Butcher
“Hannah & the Salish Sea pits three spirited teenagers against a gang of unsavory poachers and pot-growers. A quintessential west coast adventure story that’s part page-turner, part budding romance, and part homage to the traditional stories of the Cowichan First Peoples.”—Nikki Tate
“Carol Anne Shaw provides young teen protagonists with contexts for their own parent and family issues, first attractions, peer pressures, jealousies, trust, and reactivity while learning to be themselves, not what others want them to be. . . . Within the framework of a gloriously natural setting, a First Nations history, and contemporary environmental issues, Hannah and the Salish Sea is sure to draw new readership from those who don’t want to relive too much angst in their books.”—CanLit for Little Canadians
“A delightful evocation of West Coast island life, complete with poachers, grow-ops, First Nations legends and two adventurous and confused fourteen-year-olds.”—John Wilson