The Doldrums Book Review by Mitchell

"When dreamers wake up, their dreams have only just begun. They wash their faces and brush their teeth and open the front door hoping everything strange and out of the ordinary is waiting for them."

Nicholas Gannon, "The Doldrums"

The Doldrums is a fictional book by Nicholas Gannon and it was first published on 29^th of September 2015. It is a great book for all ages and it is highly recommended for everyone.

The book is about a boy named Archer (a dreamer) who was born to the rich Helmsley’s family. Sadly, when Archer turned nine, his grandparents, who were world-famous great explorers, got lost on an iceberg in Antarctica. Archer lived like a prisoner with his parents, in his grandparent’s museum-like home, as his mum feared that he had inherited his forebear’s dangerous wandering genes and might do something risky. He made some friends at school: Oliver, who is afraid of dangerous adventures and Adélaide, who just moved from France and had a wooden leg. The trio planned to go to Antarctica to save Archer's grandparents. What an adventure!

This emotion laden, fun-filled adventurous story shows the power and joy of friendship. It's a conflict of man vs. other people and man vs. society; with Archer the dreamer in his own world and locked in battle with his parents, teachers and the world around him.

Nicholas Gannon, a first time novelist, displayed both artistic and comical wittiness in writing The Doldrums. The illustrations were vivid, through the book, Nicholas was able to create a great picture of what was happening in the story and this made the book seem like a movie whilst reading. There were cliffhangers through the setting and the characters. The Hemley’s house was magical and creepy! Nicholas added a twist of emotions to the story, in which he was able to make the reader have a lot of mixed feelings at the same time, like when, Archer met the captain of the ship. It was all excitement and joy at first, which later turned to sadness.

This classic, spellbound and engaging 340-page novel is a must read. The whole story made me appreciate the love of family, and it also showed me the power friendship has in overcoming difficulties.