Belinda Murrell, The Silver Sea, Penguin Random House, August 2022, 288 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781761045554
Second in the Tuscian series inspired by the Italian Renaissance, The Silver Sea can also be read as a stand-alone novel. Sophie, the protagonist of the story lives in contemporary Australia but is over visiting her nanna in Kent, England while her mum and brother are at a summer school for geniuses in Oxford. When she wakes one morning to find her grandmother missing and Baccio the magic cat arrives to inform herthat her grandmother and grandmother’s sister, Caterina Rossellana are in grave danger she soon finds herself drawn into another adventure back in time.
After arriving at her cousins’ place, Sophie and Niccio follow the trail of the missing prized cavalli horses and nanna and nonna while cousins Bella, Bia and Leo remain behind to defend the Castello de Verrona. After several adventures the pair join a circus troupe of commedia dell’arte performers who will be crossing the Silver Sea to Venetto, the floating city, to perform to the frightening Mago, the ruler of the city and the place where the grandmothers are being held. With every turn, the hope of saving nanna and nonna seems more impossible. Can they free their elderly grandparents before they are fed to the Mostro, the sea serpent that lives in the waters below the dungeons of the Castello? And will Sophie ever see her family again?
In this carefully crafted tale that weaves magic, mystery and peril with rich historical detail, Belinda Murrell brings to life the precarious and sumptuous world of Renaissance Italy. And in Sophie and her friends she has created wonderful role models as they learn how to manage their fears and grow as individuals as they face adversity.
With a glossary of Tuscian words at the beginning of the novel, this would be a great addition to home or school library.
Suitable for ages 9+
Reviewed by Mem Capp
