Black Wave: A Family’s Adventure at Sea and the Disaster That Saved Them

This book is more a memoir of Jean Silverwood's experience of going to sea with her family than it is a true seafarer's adventure story. Having read many of those, as the wife of a sailor, I expected there to be more about the sailing conditions, details about the boat, and the disaster alluded to in the title. (Sea disasters usually end up with survivors floating for days in open rubber life rafts, thirsty, hungry, and sunbaked before they are finally rescued.) So if you are looking for the typical disaster yarn you will be disappointed. However, if you want to hear a first hand tale of what it's like to live aboard with 4 children and a marriage that is just barely holding together, this is the book for you.

Is this book a must read? Not in my opinion. I think it could've been written a little better. I did enjoy it somewhat though. The challenges they faced and the choices they made kept my attention and made me think. The family has been through a lot which is sad yet a little inspirational. I think the story had potential of being a big hit had it been put together in a more readable way.

As someone who would never choose to take a boat ride, this true and highly detailed story of a family's experiences and eventual disaster with their yacht was a very fast and exciting reading experience---but it also served to reinforce my personal feelings about boats!

Jean, the wife, describes things from her point of view and goes into everything---the good, the bad and the oh-so-awful aspects of being with your family in a small space for a lengthy period of time. They had absolutely wonderful experiences but it sounded extremely hard. There was a constant tension of emotions among all of them that worked itself out over time. John's description followed Jean's and provided an historical comparison to a previous shipwreck, long ago.

It was hard to read through the actual moment-by-moment destruction of the boat and yet the family still survived. It would be great to see a followup story about this family maybe ten years in the future.

Very good. Family disaster on their catamaran the Emerald Jane. Crash after many beaut. island visits around the world. Jane, John, Amelia,Ben, Jack, Camille. Horror, mixed with reports of good times and being saved. Crisply written with objectivity and feeling.

True stories can just as exciting as fictional ones, as this riveting tale of a families survival at sea illustrates. John and Jean Silverwood decided that a sailing trip was just what their family needed, as a way to give their children an education in what is really important, and a way to rejuvinate themselves and their marriage. They faced challenges they never imagined, the biggest of which was the wreck of their sailing craft upon a reef. In the aftermath John's leg was nearly severed when the mast collapsed on it and the entire family is left stranded on a coral reef fighting for their survival. The first part of the book is the tale of this incredible night when the Silverwood's faced the fight of their lives, interspersed with the stories of what led them up to that point. The second part of the book switches from Jean's point of view to John's where he tells about his post-accident recovery and the story of a previous ship that wrecked on the same reef. I enjoyed the first part more than the second as there was a lot more suspense since I kept wondering how in the world the father was going to survive. Their family dynamics were easy to relate to as well, as Jean was good about not sugar coating the tough times they went through with John's alcoholism. Definitely give this one a listen for a true life, thrilling adventure and uplifting story of family togetherness.

I'm afraid I have repeatedly attempted to return to this book, but after 5 attempts, I just couldn't wade through the borderline melodrama. If you happen to like handwringing-family/couples therapy drama, then this is for you. I approached the book from the perspective of travel, the challenge and skills necessary to cope under unpredictable and dangerous weather conditions, tight quarters and group dynamics, and instead felt as though I were reading a too-long Reader's Digest article. A disaster that saves a family? I beg to differ. Although it may have shocked them into realizing they need to prioritize family relationships over whatever haunted them before, it doesn't necessarily make a good read. I didn't particularly feel like reading alcoholic recovery/codependency literature, and I'm afraid that when reading this book, with each paragraph I kept wondering two things: 1. Hm. I wonder what the children's adult perspective on this experience will be (e.g., as in the case of Doug Pray in [[Surfwise]] ) and 2. Where were the editors to keep the handwringing under control?
Still, other people seem to have found Jean Silverwood's prose "poetic" - so in respect for others' opinions and taste, I say if you enjoy this particular type of drama, you'll enjoy this book, but I'm afraid it wasn't to my taste.

The subtitle of this nonfiction book really sums up the story: A Family’s Adventure at Sea and the Disaster That Saved Them. While the centerpiece of the book is the crash of the family’s catamaran on a coral reef near Tahiti and the horrific toppling of the huge mast onto the leg of John Silverwood, Jean Silverwood, the first narrator of this two-part telling concentrates most of her reflection on the unstable moments of her marriage and how their near tragedy saved the marriage. Doubts about what the couple wants from their relationship and John’s slip from AA are more prevalent in Jean’s summary of what must have been an amazing adventure than are specific travel vignettes. She does touch on the trials of life at sea, but it is secondary to repeated marital introspection. John’s account of the story focuses on his horrible evening trapped under the mast, although his story is somewhat disjointed and fuzzy due to his terrible physical condition. It is amazing what he endured and that he survived at all. We actually learn very little about the local Tahitian family that comes to their rescue after being alerted by the authorities who have reacted to the Silverwoods’ beacon. Anyone looking for a true sailing adventure had best look elsewhere.

John and Jean Silverwood lived with their four children in Southern California. They seemed to have it all - a beautiful home, comfortable income and lots of friends. But beneath the happy exterior, lay a family in a struggle with addiction and a search for larger meaning in life. They made a decision, which would change their lives, to set sail on the 55 foot catamaran Emerald Jane. For two years, the Silverwood family sailed the high seas, visiting remote islands, running from pirates and seeing some of the world’s most beautiful scenery and wildlife. Their adventure was full of challenges, but it forced them to grow and come together as a family. And then, near the end of the voyage on a velvety dark night, they collided with a coral reef. Black Wave is the story of their survival and how it changed them forever.

This true life adventure is narrated in two parts. In part one, Jean Silverwood describes the shipwreck that threatened their lives, and then looks back to recollect the weeks and months of their voyage. Her story is one of inner meditation - of her children and how they grew up in those two years, and of her marriage which was challenged by John’s alcoholism. She writes with a poetic style that is easy to read. She bares her soul and so the reader feels that they know her.

In part two, John Silverwood takes over the narrative. He reveals the aftermath of their voyage and parallels their story to one which happened in 1855 when a ship called Julia Ann struck the exact same coral reef and sank into the wild Pacific waters. Although the historic tale lends some perspective (and perhaps a link to our shared pasts), it changes the direction of the book to an historic rendering versus a personal family saga. I was much more captivated with Jean’s narration…perhaps because the real story here is less about the wreck and more about a family who discovered their strengths in the face of disaster.

This book is a quick read - and I enjoyed it. Although the two parts felt disconnected to me, this is a book which will entice adventurers and sailors. Filled with images of star studded skies over the vast ocean waters, Black Wave is also a book for romantics and dreamers.

Black Wave tells the story of a family that almost comes apart, but ultimately comes together at sea on a 55 foot catamaran. It is told through the lens of a disaster that befalls them.
I enjoyed the book. It took me some time to get used to the format which bounces back and forth between the family living through the moments of their disaster and the story of the voyage from start to that point. After a while it fell into a pattern and worked well. The main story is told from the wife's (Jean Silverwood) perspective, with a section at the end from the husbands point of view with added historical context.
There is value in reading this to understand the dynamics of family in a situation together (particularly if you sail or plan to).
What does it take to give an American child a real, working perspective on the world outside of Nintendo and Abercrombie? This is certainly one way, although I think I may stick with techniques that are a little safer.
Enjoy this quick read.

I enjoyed this, and could barely manage to put it down. The story of the family's coping with a wreck- with flashbacks to get them into the settign is well told by Jean Silverwood and engaging. The second part, by her husband is a much lesser work, but together the two tell the story of an adventure and a family. Not a life I'd choose, but that is why we read such adventures - to live vicariously through others....

The authorship of this book should be changed in this listing! It's by both Jean and John Silverwood, and my review was going to begin with "My intention was to rate this book a "5" until I got to John's (much shorter), very badly and annoyingly written, section at the end. The bulk of the book, written by Jean, was mesmerizing - the tragedy they survived was interwoven with the relationship difficulties they had on the trip, both with each other and with their elder son. John, a former alcoholic, began drinking again on the trip, and what I really wanted to read from him was some account of how he got to that point - but he seemed quite distanced from his feelings - and his references to being "hot" for his wife were revolting.

This book is so badly written it's shocking! The story is very interesting which is why I continued to read, but the writing is extremely disjointed. I feel like the book was written as bullet points and then published without the bullets.

A thrilling sea adventure about a Californian family of six who leave their secure life on land and trade it to live on a 55-foot catamaran called the Emerald Jane. I enjoyed the book even though I have never sailed a boat before. It is a story of love, family, alcoholism, piracy, courage and, heroism. The disaster that befalls the family will make me think twice about venturing on the open ocean in a boat. It might have been helpful if a map was included in the book to help readers track the family's progress.

I had to wait until this book actually came into the bookstore. I wanted to see the pictures that always accompany these types of personal stories. I read the book twice, trying to pinpoint my feelings and opinions about the events that, indeed, appear true and as far as I can tell, accurate. I decided that this family is somewhat nuts, and the parents are to blame. Dragging their four children (two of which were very young) into a lifestyle of countless inevitable dangers. This just baffles me. Jean and John seem very proud of their accomplishments. I see them as totally blind to the fact that they purposely inflicted years of emotional turmoil (and YEARS of therapy ) for their 4 children, especially the 2 youngest. It breaks my heart. The pictures in the book proved to me that these 2 small children will have decades of emotional conflict as a result of their parents' ridiculous notions. The haunting look on their faces was the last straw for me. I cannot believe that these people were not charged with some form of child endangerment. They damn well should be. Had these accounts excluded their children, and it was two grown adults embarking on this "adventure" I would have a completely different outlook. I cannot applaud two parents who would SELFISHLY and carelessly put their own children into this lifestyle. Unforgivable. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Black Wave is the story of a family from San Diego sailing around the world in their catamaran. The subtitle lets you in on the upcoming drama: A Family's Adventure at Sea and the Disaster that Saved Them. It only takes five pages into the book before the disaster strikes. The boat slams into a coral reef during the night, destroying the boat and seriously wounding members of the family.

I am generally not a big fan of stories that start with the climactic scene and then flashbacks to tell the story. It just seems to be kind of tired way of bringing people into the story. In this case, I found it worked. Interweaving the family's background with disaster unfolding made you understand and empathize with the characters as they struggled to survive.

I really enjoyed Part I of the book which was this story told by Jean Silverwood. Part II of the book was written by John Silverwood and tells some of the history of the reef. He focuses on a similar disaster, when the Julia Ann crashed into the same reef in 1855. Part II far less interesting and not as engaging as Part I.

In the interest of full disclosure, the publisher send me a free copy of this book to read, hoping I would review it. I am big fan of human adventure stories. Before the kids I had a few years of mountain climbing and adventure racing. Now, with two kids, I am much more of an armchair adventurer. Maybe it the family man in me that got so engaged in a family trapped in a desperate situation.

Whatever the reason, I thought the the book was a good read. But feel free to stop at the end of Part I.

This memoir chronicles Jean and John Silverwood's adventure (and disaster) at sea. It seemed like they had it all...wonderful children, a successful business, and plenty of money, but they wanted something more, so the entire family set off on the adventure trip of a lifetime. They rented out their house, bought a catamaran, took the kids out of school, packed up their stuff and sailed into the blue horizon, with the intention of spending the year sailing around the world. The story is an interesting and exciting one, but the presentation of it is severely lacking. The book is divided into two sections: one by Jean and one by John. Jean's section struggled with choppy writing and an inconsistent perspective - it was written in the first person, but the feelings and thoughts of the other family members are provided, an approach that came across as sophomoric. John's section begins with his memories of the trauma itself, followed by a lengthy description of another boating accident that occurred in the same spot during the 1800s. The book was only 200 pages; was it really necessary to spend so much time recapping another disaster? The entire section felt like filler and did not flow well with the rest of the book. Regardless, I was never compelled to stop reading, and I wanted to find out how the incident concluded, so in that way, the book was a success. Would I recommend it? I don't know...there are many other shipwreck memoirs that would come to mind before this one.

Tales of ocean voyages have fascinated generations of readers, even those of us who have never been fortunate enough to make such a journey. Each account is a unique blend of adventure, discovery, and often danger. John and Jean Silverwood’s story, Black Wave, combines all these elements as they recount their family’s experiences on their beloved sailboat the Emerald Jane.
The Silverwoods’ dream of taking their four children and embarking on an extended sailing journey began long before their departure in 2003. Things finally came together for them to make their dream a reality, and after extensive planning and preparations, the family moved aboard their 55-ft. catamaran and set sail. Most of this book is told from Jean’s perspective as she describes the highs and lows of their days in ports and at sea. The beauty of our planet, especially in and around the Caribbean islands and the tropical paradises of the South Pacific, is contrasted with the unforgiving power of nature – which is a form of beauty in and of itself. Their anecdotes of how the trip changed each family member, especially the changes it brought forth in their children, were heartfelt and sometimes amusing. Obstacles they faced, such as mechanical and maintenance issues with the boat, encounters with the modern-day pirates (which the travel industry would rather you not hear about) and just the daily issues with having six people confined in such close quarters are presented in rich detail. The odd but loving relationship a Captain has with his vessel is present, as is the frustration of having a sometimes unwilling, uncooperative crew. A horrific accident unfolds across this backdrop, and it will absolutely have you turning the pages to learn this engaging family’s fate.

I was riveted by the first half of this book. Jean's writing drew me in from the very beginning. She painted a picture with her words and was very honest about herself and her feeling.

The second half was a bit dull by comparison. The information was good and well written just not as exciting.

As many other reviewers have stated, Jean's piece of the book seems stronger than John's - almost as if John were reminded that he'd promised to do half of a book. After what he family had experienced on the heels of what should have been the adventure of a lifetime, I suspect they're allowed some leeway in this arena.

John and Jean Silverwood took their family out of their comfortable idyllic California lifestyle to sail the world, learn about life and generally grow as a family. Close to the end of their trip, the unthinkable happened - their boat came apart on a coral reef and their survival was at stake.

The book is fast-paced and a perfect summer read. The book is presented as a lesson in being a family, and they are willing to present their family not only as doing incredibly well under extreme circumstances, but also through a judgmental lens of what they'd been like before the experience. The Silverwoods do well to explain their fortune upfront and do not fall into a trap of, "oh, misfortune falls the fortunate" and leave the bonds their family shares sincere and not a nice tacked on "hook" for the book.

My only quibble is that this seems almost like a screenplay treatment. If this is sold as a screenplay (and I suspect options have already been purchased), I suspect the early flashback style Jean uses to be readily adapted to the screen. Perhaps I'm a little cynical, but I believe that this part of the California lifestyle is still firmly in place for the Silverwoods.

Jean and John Silverwood have it all, a beautiful family and a thriving business in California yet they felt something was missing. Both Jean and John spent a large part of their young adult life traveling and sailing. They always knew they would one day return to the sea. With four young kids in tow they decided to spend their retirement savings on a sailboat, Emerald Jane, to travel the world.

Black Wave is their story of sailing around the world and what happens one fateful night when they struck a coral reef and almost lose it all. The first half of the book is told from Jean's perspective. I thought much of the first section was repetitive. The second half was told from John's perspective. John went into great detail on another tragedy at almost the exact same point. While it was interesting to read this eeery similarity I wanted to hear more of his perspective on giving up everything to sail around the world. Jean went into this in her section but I felt she was only speaking from her point of view.

I would have also liked to read about their kids and how they dealt with the aftermath of this horrible accident. Perhaps they will save that for another book. Overall, this was a good book, Jean has a gift for story-telling. I admire their courage for actually living their dream at a point in their lives where they could actually enjoy it.

This is an intriguing and captivating story. It is also a relatively easy and fast read. I was amazed by the family's courage in setting out on such an adventure. I enjoyed living some of their experiences vicariously and seeing a few places I had been from an entirely different perspective.
I was frustrated in the first section by the author's continued reference to personalities and personal growth experienced during their adventure. These interludes lacked any reasonable attempt at coherent character development. This caused me to lose momentum relative to the main narrative and feel cheated at the same time; like heading down an interesting road only to encounter a dead end.
The second section of the book was a total surprise to me, entirely unexpected. I thoroughly enjoyed the second viewpoint and the historical connections with a previous shipwreck.
Overall I can recommend the book as an entertaining read.

Jean and John Silverwood wrote a book chronicling their adventure at sea with their children. Of course, if a novel was written about their story, disaster had to strike.

The book starts off with Jean's perspective of the events that happened that year. you understand the disaster early on, and she peppers the narrative with flashbacks and vignettes. Initially, I was concerned that this sort of story telling would irritate me, but I found it to be a wonderful distraction of sorts to the events unfolding in the story arc.

Jean's portion of the story was enough for me. I felt that her husband's voice was not as sincere or even as interesting, and sometimes it struck me as rather preachy. Yes, the man went through a major trauma at sea. Yes, it changed his entire life and his outlook. However, I did not like the tone of his narrative. It seemed more add on, almost an afterthought to Jean's story. It almost seems as if he felt he needed to get his two cents in and hurried up and jotted down his thoughts. Perhaps John's narrative would have been better situated within his wife's story.

I'd also be interested in hearing the children's point of view on the situation. How are they coping now? What did they come to realize while they watched their parents and elder sibling struggle?

In short: Great story, poor structure, great writing on Jean's part.

A not quite round-the-world sailing story, told in split narrative. The dual voices, that of the husband and wife, and the uneven writing create a choppy style that leaves the reader slightly sea-sick.

Despite some motion sickness, the book was readable, but suffered from a slightly obnoxious motherly tone. The book picked up when the plight of the Emerald Jane was compared to that of a coal ship that suffered a similar fate 100 years prior, but in the end the book dragged, leaving the reader stranded in the doldrums.

I might recommend this book to family ready to embark on an adventure, but otherwise a better read would be Treacherous Waters, Epics of the Sea, edited by Tom Lochhaas.

I read Black Wave in one sitting.

It is the story of a family of six on a two-year, two-ocean voyage on board the Emerald Jane, a fifty-five foot long catamaran. But this book does not read like a logbook. In telling their story, the authors, or maybe I should say the survivors, focus on the details about the voyage that act as anchors for the emotional threads of their story.

The book begins with Jean Silverwood's retelling of the night when the Emerald Jane wrecked on a coral reef in the south Pacific. The boat was breaking up around them and John was pinned to the deck by the broken mast, leg almost severed, near death from loss of blood. That night technology first endangered them by guiding them onto a reef and then saved them by sending signals from their distress beacon to a satellite that forwarded the signal to Australia and to California.

Through Part I of the book, Jean moves from details of the wreck through emotional links to the past to touch on the sources of the courage and heroism of her four children, Ben age 16, Amelia age 14, Jack age 9, and Camille age 5. She also tells how and why she and her husband, John, decided to uproot their family for life on a boat, sailing from Long Island, New York, through the Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, and the Pacific. Her narrative ends with the arrival of rescue.

In Part II John tells of waking in a hospital in Tahiti and picks up the narrative of their rescue by paralleling the Emerald Jane's wreck with the wreck of the ship Julia Ann, which went aground on the same reef in 1855. John’s narrative, too, is an emotional map rather than chronological narrative. When John describes what happened to himself in that wreck and its aftermath, he says, “I went through a door and I came out on the other side, quite changed.”

At the end of her section, Jean answers, as she calls it, the big question: Was it worth it? Yes.

Is this book worth reading? Oh, yes.

Black Wave is Jean and John Silverwood's chronicle of their decision to take their four children out of their cushy California lives and pursue their lifelong dream of sailing the world. Worried that their children have not learned to really experience life and meet the world head on, the Silverwoods decide that, despite the dangers inherent in sailing long distances, the risk would be worth it to see their family grow together and their children mature in these unique circumstances. On one hand, they were right. On the other, they get much more than they bargained for when their ship wrecks on an isolated coral reef.

Jean's portion of the story alternates a night fraught with terror as the family battles for their lives on the coral reef with flashbacks of their trip up to that point. The recounting of the shipwreck is terrifying, the chronicling of the family's experiences at sea amusing and sometimes heartwarming. However, the interspersing of the two is clumsily done, alternating between tenses and time frames and locales in such a way that it begins to be confusing. Jean's narrative comes to life as she keenly observes her two eldest children coming of age throughout the journey and sees them as their new adult selves on the night of ship wreck. Unfortunately, she occasionally seems to get caught in a trap of trying to describe inherently difficult to describe feelings and situations and failing to do so. These efforts lead to writing that fails to seem genuine and often comes off as overwrought.

John's portion of the story is oddly incongruous with Jean's given their experience of the same events. Instead of weighing in at length on the experience of the trip, he mostly dwells on theories of how the ship came to wreck on this little known stretch of reef and a historical tale of the Julia Ann, a ship that wrecked on the very same reef many years earlier. I found the story of the Julia Ann to be well-written and engaging, with its historical figures coming to life through John's capable writing. John's efforts to return to the theme Jean has begun are also well worth reading as he attempts to identify those qualities in his family members that made it possible for them to survive their harrowing night on the reef.

Overall, I was confused by this book. While its parts are interesting and keep the pages turning, the book as whole just doesn't come together well. Upon reaching the end I was perplexed about what the Silverwoods intended this book to be. Is it a story of their ship wreck? A history of someone else's ship wreck? A contemplation of what caused the ship wreck(s?)? A transcendant tale of a family that truly learned to live life in unusual circumstances whose members grew and matured together and eventually beat the odds because of the lessons they learned throughout the trip? Had the Silverwoods been able to agree on one angle to focus on (ideally, the last), instead of spreading themselves too thin trying to include a little of everything, this book may have been great. As it is, this book's identity crisis undercuts its effectiveness.

Overall Black Wave is a quick, good read. I love all things ocean and enjoyed reading this book. For those who aren't in love with the sea itself, the story of the Silverwood family is even more fascinating than the deep and will hold your attention, keeping you reading, to the last page.

Jean begins the narrative by sharing some simple details of what was happening aboard the Emerald Jane the night of their shipwreck but before the wreck had occurred. I expected the story to continue on this vein while getting to know the Silverwoods, but instead the coral reef interrupted the introductions as thoroughly as it had the Silverwoods' voyage. I liked the way Jean jumped right into the telling of the wreck, switched back to the story that brought them to that point, but would soon to return to the reef. The two stories are seamlessly joined through Jean's storytelling.

I was surprised by John's input in part II of the book, though I was pleased to hear from him. He added the history of the coral reef they had hit and explained some of the finer details of sailing that had brought the Emerald Jane to be on the reef instead of in deeper water. Part II sometimes had the feeling of having been added as an afterthought, but John's perspective on the trip was important to a more thorough understanding of the family's journey at sea as well as their personal one.

Black Wave, by John and Jean Silverwood, is a perplexing read. On the one hand, Jean Silverwood presents a riveting narrative of her family’s epic ocean excursion intertwined with the devastating night when their catamaran is wrecked on an isolated reef. Her prose effectively weaves the story back and forth between the dark, life-threatening disaster and the light, self-discovering voyage. On the other, John Silverwood presents a coarsely written after-the-fact interpretation and summation juxtaposed with a historical justification for his part in the wreck. His prose is far from flowing, far from engaging, and an unfortunate blight on an otherwise decent work.

For those searching for adventure non-fiction, Black Wave is worth a look. For those searching for a little bit more—a little more history, a little more action, a little more finesse—pick up a work by Nathaniel Philbrick, James Delgado, Gregory Gibson or even Clive Cussler.

More often than not, when I watch a recent Hollywood release I find myself disappointed. Not so much with the movie itself, mind you- but with the incongruity between the marketing and the movie. When you sell me an action flick, I don't expect a character study. If you sold me a character study to begin with, then my palate would have the correct expectation and I might leave happy.

Whoever wrote the promotional copy for this book, and whoever chose the cover art, should be shot. I hated roughly the first 100 pages of this (actually quite good) book, just because I expected something different. Yes, I knew the Moby Dick endless descriptions of nautical things I couldn't care less about would be there. I kept waiting for delivery on a different promise, and it just never showed up.

Perhaps it was unfair of me to expect Into Thin Air, or Into Thick Water. Regardless, I did. I was not prepared for a sweet book. I would not have chosen to read this book had the form matched the function. That would have, in some ways, been my loss. Once I put aside my preconceived notions, it improved. A little more attention to the 'coming of age' angle could only have helped. I can completely see how the sparseness served the purpose, but it appeared to be a big part of the authors' reasons for writing the book. I believe it was given short shrift. Additionally, I would have enjoyed the kids point of view. They seem like smart, capable individuals.

The rather obvious literary device of keeping John's contributions for the end just made me angry. I hate art that behaves in such a condescending manner. This book is published in America. We Americans have proven time and time again that we can suspend disbelief with the rest of them. Look at our politicians, for Pete's sake! Give us some credit.

I love sentences, and there were few lovingly crafted examples here. I love intelligence, and this was clearly dumbed down for the masses. This book was almost certainly better before an agent and an editor and a clearly idiotic marketing department butchered it. I hope it does well for this family, but I also hope Random House sees the error of its own ways.

In Black Wave, Jean and John Silverwood describe in thrilling detail the family's decision to pack a 55-foot catamaran with their lives and head into the relative unknown, alternately basking in paradise and being chased by pirates and personal demons--if Black Wave was fiction, it would be wholly unbelievable--before being ultimately tested on a submerged coral reef.

The first two-thirds of the book (told by Jean, the mother and wife) thrust the reader right into the ocean with the Silverwood family. Switching between the fateful night their boat ran aground on a coral reef and the both peaceful and turbulent times that got them there, the story crashes on you and ebbs like the waves in the surf that helped the coral tear apart their catamaran.

If Jean's part of the book is symbolized by the crashing waves, then John's is similarly like his own convalescence after the family's ordeal: full of refection and a search for answers. While the last third (john's third) of the book really slows down the pace of the story, it by no means ruins the book... though I could have done with a few less references to how hot John is for his wife.

As a high school English teacher, I am always looking for books that will grab my students' fleeting attention and hold it for the duration of a read. Black Wave is that kind of book--fairly brief and action-packed--especially in the first two-thirds of the story. Overall, it's an enjoyable read I'd recommend to anyone. (4*)

Black Wave was a surprise for me. Written by Jean and John Silverwood I found it compelling and fascinating. The first half of the book is written by Jean Sliverwood and I found it well-written, a page turner. I liked the way she moved back and forth from the past to the present and never leaving you wondering for too long on what was happening in the present.
John Silverwood's half of the book could have been condensend to just the information about his theory as to why they encountered the problems they did. His personal views about his wife and other tangents he goes on did not add anything to the book and did not compel me to keep reading.
Don't let his half prevent you from reading this story. Just browse through his section.
The growth and capacity to do the right thing under pressure that is described about the children is fascinating. It almost wants me to take my children on an extended sea voyage -- almost. I am of the school which needs to always see land in the distance when I'm on the water!
(This book was reviewed as part of Library Thing's Early Reviewer group.)