The Salt-Stained Book cover art

The Salt-Stained Book

Strong Winds Trilogy

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The Salt-Stained Book

By: Julia Jones
Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
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About this listen

In 1945, two brothers die in the icy Barents Sea and a book is all that survives of them. More than 60 years later, Donny and his mother set out for Suffolk to meet his mysterious great aunt. There is an accident and Donny is taken into care.

But are the officials all that they seem and why won't they believe Donny's story? Soon he discovers that his life has been built on a lie. Only the new friendships he makes and an unsuspected talent for sailing help him steer his way through dangers that he cannot understand towards a knowledge of his own identity - and the secrets of a salt-stained book.

This is the first volume of the acclaimed Strong Winds series.

©2011 Julia Jones (P)2014 Julia Jones Action & Adventure Mysteries Mystery & Suspense Fiction Suspense Sailing
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This book was slightly unusual and I enjoyed it. I felt the story about a young boy Donny and his first taste of sailing was a little too mixed up to be a pure sailing adventure and at times bordered more on a boy lost in the social services and care system rather than an escapist adventure. The book never got too bogged down in "social comment" and it did make me want to listen to the end.
The narrator was quite good but I didn't like the "voice" she used for Donny. An adult woman mimicking a young boys voice can be quite irritating and I felt she could have just used a normal voice for him. To me, it felt like Donny (the protagonist) was perpetually sulking.
On the whole an interesting storyline and worth a listen.

Interesting and unexpected

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What made the experience of listening to The Salt-Stained Book the most enjoyable?

Having already read the book in print form, I found hearing it narrated by Anna Bentinck very enjoyable.

What did you like best about this story?

It deals with less commonly encountered issues, such as mental health and how government intervention to "fix" families can fail.

What does Anna Bentinck bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Bentinck's narration is brilliant, and hearing the characters speak breathes new life into them. Some of the characters have accents or mannerisms which are much more effective when heard. For example, Toxic Tune's strange pronunciations of words such as "I'm" (pronounced "aim") is mentioned in the book, but it is only when heard that one gets the full effect.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, although I had to break it into two halves because of personal circumstances.

Even better as an audiobook

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