Beneath the Surface Review

Title of the Book: Beneath The Surface
Author: John Hargrove
Number of Pages: 257
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Review:
John Hargrove introduces Beneath the Surface by describing himself as a young boy with a dream,
a dream that was inspired by SeaWorld. Ever since his first visit to SeaWorld he has wanted to be a killer
whale trainer. He starts working hard to pursue this dream at age 6, he eventually got SeaWorld’s
attention with all of his letters and became a trainer apprentice. This was the start to his dream coming
true. John finally got his dream job as an older adult and it wasn’t everything he dreamed it would be.
After a few of his co-workers died while performing tricks and SeaWorld did nothing about it Hargrove
decided to do something about it himself.


At first glance Beneath the Surface appears to be any other unmasking. But after reading deeper into
it the reader realizes how disappointing and arduous it must have been for Hargrove to turn on a place
he loved for so many years. A part of what makes this book so special is how personal it is, and the
change of perspective from beginning to end. It is truly astonishing knowing that in the first part of the
book Hargrove loved every inch of SeaWorld and in the middle and last part of the book he is exposing
all the terrible things that happened to him and his co-workers, who were friends. I was truly touched and
amazed at what they had all been through, with no justice.



The way that John Hargrove portrays his experiences in Beneath the Surface is what makes this book so
amiable to read, if he hadn’t shown both sides of SeaWorld his point would not be as strong. In the
middle of the book Hargrove provides pictures from his injuries and other experiences at SeaWorld, this
part was very memorable because after reading about these things I made up pictures in my head of
what happened, but seeing a real picture of it made it that much more absolute.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, people that have been to SeaWorld or a zoo would
absolutely love to read this book, those who love animals or who can relate to a broken dream will
connect to this book, it is heartbreaking yet beautiful and a genuine delightful read.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Perfect Storm - A True Story of Men Against the Sea

Image
  Title of the Book: The Perfect Storm Author: Sebastian Junger Number of Pages: 236 Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ Review: A “nor’easter” propelled by hurricane-force winds was not what the sword fishing crew of the Andrea Gail had planned to confront. The events they encounter, and their conflict with nature provide detailed accounts of a storm that takes place and puts the lives of the entire   crew and their families waiting on shore for them against a the sea. Descriptions of sword fishing procedures and equipment used, maritime jargon, and meteorological phenomena all come together in this narrative to describe a historical event that was a rare circumstance. These details are an important part of the plot, and without these maritime terms, we wouldn’t be able to visualize the whole picture of the dangers within the storm in the way the actual characters experienced it. The drama and events that unfold from this catastrophic mix of weather conditions out at sea in the No...
Read more

Into the Wild Review

Image
Title of the Book: Into the Wild Author: Jon Krakauer Number of Pages: 203 Rating: ☆☆☆☆ Review: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer will either leave you eager to run away into the wild to try something spontaneous, or dead set on simply staying inside with a good book to spark your imagination. The story opens up with a man named Jim Gallien picking up hitchhiker Alex (later revealed as Christopher McCandless) on his journey to Anchorage, Alaska. After leaving his family and friends behind without any notice at all, Christopher McCandless starts out on an expedition into the wilderness to live an adventurous life of exploration and solitude, but only survives four months in the wild before his body was discovered. Krakauer reaches out to several individuals who encountered McCandless on his journey, and follows the events that led up to his sudden death that left the people who knew him shocked. While the story of Christopher McCandless is quite intriguing itself, Krakauer’s pe...
Read more
Image
Title of the Book: The Glass Castle Author: Jeannette Walls  Number of Pages: 289  Rating: ☆☆☆☆  Review: Try to imagine yourself in a different life. A life where your family doesn't stay put in one area or even a house, in a family that doesn’t conform to society's standards, a family that lives in the middle of the desert. Would you want to live like that? This is how Jeannette Walls lived her childhood life. Walls writes her memoir based on the type of childhood she grew up in. Starting her story off with a memory she had when she was a three-year-old cooking herself hot dogs on the stove. She had got her dress under the pot and her dress went up in flames, her skin burned brutally. That is one of many crazy events that happened in Jeannette’s life as a child with irresponsible parents. Jeannette Walls one of four Walls children, describes her dysfunctional family and how they lived through day to day life with an imaginative alcoholic father with empty prom...
Read more