Talking turtles, otters, & Selkirs, oh my!

A good book for a young Redon or anyone who loves communicating animals and Sci-fi. Sentient plants and an otter eho is exactly like what an otter would be like if an otter could talk. A fun sequel from a favorite author.

This is labeled and marketed as an adult novel but it's really a middle-grade novel. I might have liked this if I was 10-12. It felt like a kid interested in the science fair wrote this not adults. You could skim this book and not miss anything. Repetitive, no action, telling not showing writing style, no emotional investment, dialogue reads like a 4-6-year-olds where they are all about them and have little understanding of what's going on around them but they are put in charge. Oversimplified young child-like writing and reasoning.

I couldn't stand any of the characters, they were all very immature but talked big at times with a capacity they should not have had and the adults were just there to point the two main characters in the direction they needed to go next. The kids were the real ones in charge and considering they were 7 then 10 doesn't say much. They had zero growth in personality or thinking/understanding. Considering where they live, how they were brought up (without consequences for any of their actions and letting them be in charge), and who they/their parents were this lead to absolute stupidity and silliness that was annoying and eye-rolling inducing rather than funny or cute.
There was no real conflict, nothing really happened that was exciting or emotional.

*BIB*

Great buddy read with Joanne.
A fun, light and entertaining read with a great concept, a good plot and unique characters. Take one sentient planet, two wonderful children who can morph into seals, a sacred turtle with a very big and strong but gentle guardian and throw in a pair of furry wild cats to serve as nannies and protectors along with a lot of very chatty playful seals and you got yourself a real treat. The interactions between the animals and humans were absolutely charming. I loved those the most. If you are ever in a need of a smile on a cloudy day, i suggest you pick this book up and give it a try.
If a Shonghili's comment won't bring a smile to your lips when he says: "I flash my furry butt at you, big fella, and flap my hind flippers in your general direction. I don't want to see anything hotter than a teakettle for the rest of my life", I'm sure seeing a wild snow leopard trying to remove a dirty diaper without scratching the kit's pelt will do the trick.

Very imaginative

Twins are born with special powers like their Da (Dad) and the ability to mind talk to some sea and river denizens. Their great adventure helps a planet five birth too an island.

It would help to have read the original Petaybee books before reading this. I have read them, but long enough ago that I wished I remembered some of the details better. That said, I enjoyed this new series from McCaffrey and Scarborough. It begins with the birth of twins, part of a new generation on the sentient planet Petaybee. They are selkies, who can change into seals in the water, like their father. As they get older, they long to escape the restrictions put on them by their parents to protect them from ill-meaning people who wish to "study" them. They are sent to live on a space station in the care of a family friend, but evildoers catch up with them there. They are sent home in the nick of time and use their unique talents to help rescue their father. Some interesting side characters include Sky the otter who befriends them and Ke-ola, a young man of Hawaiian descent who helps solve another problem on Petaybee. Recommended.

This was a fun book to read with my pre-teen daughter

Slow to start but was good after that. I enjoyed the first 2 Petabee novels but missed the third. This is the 4th. I need to go back and read the 3rd. It probably have been better if I'd read the one before it.

I really enjoyed these characters and the sentient planet of Petaybee. I will definitely read the entire trio of stories.

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I completely change my mind on a series, so want to change my scoring down a lot)

First time read the author's work?: No

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes -- One of my favourite authors, I tend to rate her series at 4 or 5 stars.

---------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

It is one of those stories, written for children, in which the main protagonists are irritating, adults are irrational just so that the kids can have their moment under the spotlight and be the heroes.

The main antagonist is weak and poorly written. The moral of the story is reused, the "new themes" unexplored and thus uninteresting.

A wonderful buddy read with Laura! This book is great for both young adults and adults. I loved it for its light reading qualities. Nothing extremely scary. Those parts that were scary did not last long. I love animals and always imagine what they would say if they could talk. The authors do a great job of translating animal speak to make it very believable. I like the idea of a sentient planet. There were parts with real suspense as well as parts with incomparable beauty. The descriptions of the planet and its people are lovely. The authors did some cultural research for Hawaiian and other cultures for this book and their hard work shows.