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The Shark Prince by Malia Maunakea

MMGM Review: The Shark Prince by Malia Maunakea

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The Shark Prince
Malia Maunakea
Penguin Workshop
Published May 5, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Shark Prince

From the award-winning author of the Lei and the Legends duology comes a sharp new fantasy about a Hawaiian boy who can transform into what people fear most: a shark.

Why go to school if you’re destined to die?

In a small Hawaiian village, Nohea is the latest son in a long line of male ancestors with a horrible secret: he’s half-human, half-shark. After his father—also cursed as a shark—kills someone who is surfing and subsequently disappears, Nohea is left isolated with only his mom as company. He knows he’ll suffer the same fate one day, so he can’t go to school or make any friends.

Worse yet, when he eventually succumbs to his shark-like cravings, he’ll be put to death and his family will be kicked out of their home on the Hawaiian homelands. But when Nohea sees a flyer for a surf competition three valleys over, he realizes the prize money might be enough to move his family to a new home when he’s gone. The catch? The competition is for school teams only.

So taking the biggest risk yet, Nohea joins the local public seventh-grade class, where he makes new friends, contends with a school bully, and gets so angry, he discovers a new row of supersharp teeth in his mouth! But this is only the beginning of Nohea’s problems.

Because soon, Nohea realizes that, one by one, his surfing friends are disappearing. Is Nohea killing his classmates without knowing it? Or is something even more dangerous afoot?

My Review

As a kid raised in the era that heavily emphasized sharks as beautiful, intelligent creatures rather than violent man-eating monsters, this book started out a little rough for me. Nohea lives in fear of the inevitable moment that he’ll become a monster, turn into a shark, and most likely kill people. He spends the first portion of this book with that mindset about his ability.

Eventually, he meets others who invite him to challenge that perception and think of his heritage as a gift rather than a curse. I love the way that this unfolds and the emergence of the character who turns out to be his mentor. I also love that Nohea meets others who aren’t afraid or judgmental about who he is.

Another great element of the book is the surfing. I’m not a surfer, so I can’t weigh in on any of the technical descriptions (though it sounds like the author researched this well). The surfing descriptions were dynamic and easy to follow. I loved the scenes showing both Nohea surfing to relax and his competition experiences. It was nice to see a fantasy novel feature sports, too.

This novel bridges contemporary and fantasy fiction, but it also bridges middle grade and young adult age groups. Nohea is thirteen in the story, and the content of the book is appropriate for middle grade readers. The themes and tension and the length of the book will make it appealing to readers at the older end of the age group and even some readers who’ve aged into young adult reading.

All in all, this book has a lot of great elements to offer readers, from its fantasy components inspired by Hawaiian mythology to its surfing scenes.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Nohea is a descendant of the Shark King, a god. He has been told that if he eats meat or becomes too angry about something, he will “shark out”… turn into a shark and eat whoever is in his way.

Violent Content
References to someone turning into a shark and killing someone. (Not shown on scene.)

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle.

Review: Porch Swing Girl by Taylor Bennett

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Porch Swing Girl
Taylor Bennett
Mountain Brook Ink
Published May 1, 2018

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

About Porch Swing Girl

What if friendship cost you everything?

Stranded in Hawaii after the death of her mother, sixteen-year-old Olive Galloway is desperate to escape. She has to get back to Boston before her dad loses all common sense and sells the family house. But plane tickets cost money—something Olive gravely lacks.

With the help of Brander, the fussy youth group worship leader, and Jazz, a mysterious girl with a passion for all things Hawaiian, Olive lands a summer job at the Shave Ice Shack and launches a scheme to buy a plane ticket home before the end of the summer.

But when Jazz reveals a painful secret, Olive’s plans are challenged. Jazz needs money. A lot of it. Olive and Brander are determined to help their friend but, when their fundraising efforts are thwarted, Olive is caught in the middle. To help Jazz means giving up her ticket home. And time is running out.

My Review

I really liked that PORCH SWING GIRL follows a girl dealing with grief and shows her progressing through some of those emotions and finding her way through. She struggles, for sure. At times she’s blind to other people’s feelings. But she’s really trying to figure things out. I definitely identified with her in that way.

The spiritual themes are really strong here. It’s definitely a story about a faith journey, so if that isn’t what you’re looking for, this may not be the right book for you.

For the most part, I thought her faith journey rang true and felt real. There was a moment when she has a misunderstanding with a friend and he makes a comment that was kind of… I’d call it “Christianese”. Sort of stilted and steeped in spiritual metaphor basically telling her he couldn’t date her because she’s not committed to her faith at that point.

I got what he was saying, but it did make me realize how hurtful and dismissive that type of comment can be. (Which may have been part of the author’s point.)

The themes about grief and the way everyone grieves differently, and the fact that we don’t know someone’s life just by looking at them really stuck with me in reading PORCH SWING GIRL. I loved her grandma and of course Jazz so much, too.

PORCH SWING GIRL is a really sweet book that would appeal to fans of Christian fiction and authors Diana Sharples and Stephanie Morrill.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
Olive’s mom is Hawaiian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
List.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing on face.

Spiritual Content
Most of the characters in the story are Christians and open about their faith. In the wake of her mom’s death, Olive is struggling with what she believes. Characters pray openly and attend church meetings. A boy tells Olive he can’t date her because she’s not a committed Christian. (His explanation is a little weird, but that’s his meaning.)

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of PORCH SWING GIRL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Me, Just Different by Stephanie Morrill

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Me, Just Different
Stephanie Morrill
Revell
Published July 1, 2009

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Me, Just Different

Senior year should be everything beautiful Skylar Hoyt can hope for. She has popular friends, a hot boyfriend. But a terrible experience gives her a late summer wake-up call, and for Skylar, it’s time to make some changes. No to parties, and yes to youth group top her list.

Until her family begins crumbling beneath her. Her parents seem to be moving opposite directions, with Skylar and her sister caught in the middle. Then Skylar discovers her sister’s secret. Should she tell? Can her parents’ fragile marriage handle a blow like this one?

With Skylar’s best friend acting weird and her boyfriend’s jealousy skyrocketing, she doesn’t have many places to turn for support. She finds herself lonely, troubled and in need of a real friend. Where can she find one of those?

My Review

ME, JUST DIFFERENT is the first book in the series The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt and author Stephanie Morrill’s debut novel. Morrill authentically tackles the drama of high school and a troubled home life, balanced with questions of faith. This is a clean, real look at surviving high school and the challenges a new Christian teen faces.

Morrill has this amazing sense of dialogue and always manages to write these quick one-line descriptions of things that leave me saying things like, “I know, right?” This book made me laugh but it also pulled my heartstrings. I loved Skylar and her sister and needed them to come through the difficult parts okay. This is a great pick for fans of Sarah Dessen or Sara Zarr. Definitely check this one out.

Content Notes

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
Mild. Some kissing. References to other behavior that has occurred, but nothing explicit.

Spiritual Content
Skylar begins to attend church and youth group again as she tries to reforge her faith.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
Some references to alcohol.

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