The Shark Caller

Description

Isabel is on a plane heading back to her island birthplace in Papua New Guinea. Izzy is looking forward to seeing her family again, but there's another tragic reason for the trip. Izzy's twin brother, Ray, died in a freak diving accident, and Izzy and her mum are taking his ashes home for traditional death ceremonies. After they arrive, Izzy realises things have changed since their last visit. Logging threatens the community's way of life and sharks no longer answer the song of the shark callers. Izzy's cousin Noah explains that the clan needs someone to undertake a traditional diving ritual. The person must be a twin from the shark calling lineage. The dive will be perilous. And Izzy is the last twin. Will she have the courage to attempt the dive? And what deep, dark secrets will the ocean reveal if she does?

Dianne Wolfer is the author of 15 books for teenagers and young readers. Light Horse Boy was a Children's Book Council of Australia Honour Book and won the 2014 Western Australian Premier's Book Award for Children's Books. Granny Grommet and Me, inspired by surfing grandmas, was also on the CBCA shortlist. Lighthouse Girl, winner of a West Australian Young Readers' Book Award, explores the story of Fay Howe, the Albany lighthouse keeper's daughter who signalled to soldiers in 1914. It inspired the hugely popular Royal de Luxe performance of The Giants at Perth Festival (2015). Dianne wrote her latest book, The Shark Caller, as part of the PhD she is currently completing at UWA, but she has been dreaming about this story for ten years.